On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1189

aromatic broth with some olive oil. The
soup is finished at a vigorous boil, which
breaks the oil into tiny droplets and coats
them with a stabilizing layer of gelatin.
The consistency is thus a combination of
gelatin’s viscosity and the enriching
creaminessoftheemulsifiedoildroplets.
GuidelinesforSuccessful
EmulsifiedSauces

FormingEmulsionsEmulsionshavealways
beenconsideredfickleconcoctions,by
chemistsaswellascooks.Onechemistwrote
in1921thatcontemporarybooksonpharmacy
were“filledwithelaboratedetailsastothe
makingofemulsions,”andrecordedtwosuch
details:“Ifonestartsstirringtotheright,one
mustcontinuestirringtotheright,orno
emulsionwillbeformed.Somebooksgoso
farastosaythataleft-handedmancannot
makeanemulsion,butthatseemsalittle


absurd.”Theworryisalwaysthatatsome
pointtheemulsionmaybreakandseparate
intoblobsofoilandwateragain.Thiscan
happen,butit’salmostalwaysbecausethe
cookhasmadeoneofthreemistakes:hehas
addedtheliquidtobedispersedtooquicklyto
thecontinuousliquid,oraddedtoomuchof
thedispersedliquid,orallowedthesauceto

geteithertoohotortoocold.
Thereareseveralbasicrulesthatapplyto
themakingofanyemulsifiedsauce:
Thefirstmaterialsintothebowlarethe
continuousphase—usuallythewaterbasedingredient—andatleastsome
emulsifyingandstabilizingingredients.
Thedispersedphaseisalwaysaddedto
thecontinuousphase,nottheotherway
around:otherwiseitcan’tbedispersed!
Thedispersedphaseshouldbeadded
verygraduallytobeginwith,asmall
spoonfulatatime,whilethecookwhisks
orblendsthemixturevigorously.Only