Preparation of sucrose fatty acid esters as food emulsifiers and evaluation of their surface active and emulsification properties.

A simple method for the preparation of sucrose esters, from fatty acids and the least expensive sucrose, has been conducted. Fatty acids namely lauric, palmitic and oleic were used in their preparation in the absence of any organic solvent. Reasonable yields amounting to 86.5%, 87.3% and 88.6% for sucrose esters of laurate, palmitate and oleate were obtained, respectively. The products were evaluated for their hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB), surface and interfacial tension properties as well as emulsion stability. The results showed that these sucrose esters exhibit similar properties as those of the commercially prepared compounds.