Physicochemical properties of a dressing-type o/w emulsion as influenced by orange pulp fiber incorporation

A low-in-oil dressing-type o/w emulsion incorporating a rich-in-fiber orange pulp commercial product, either in crude form or following comminution, was prepared and the rheological properties and physicochemical stability of the emulsion were studied. Interactions between the adsorbed at the droplet surfaces yolk proteins and the pulp surface constituents, possibly electrostatic in nature, resulted in extensive droplet aggregation. This was reflected in the dramatic increase of emulsion rheological parameter values, derived by applying the power or the Casson equation to shear stress-rate of shear data. Pulp incorporation resulted in an improvement of emulsion stability against creaming while the stability against droplet coalescence was only marginally affected. In addition, the rheological parameter values of the fortified with pulp emulsion exhibited an appreciable increase with storage, especially in the case of emulsions incorporating the crude pulp. These findings are combined with oil droplet or pulp particle size and ζ-potential data to probe the emulsion structure and explain its behavior during aging.