Effects of oil droplet and agar concentration on gel strength and microstructure of o/w emulsion gel

The effects of oil droplet size and agar concentration on gel strength and microstructure of emulsion gels were investigated by compression test and c ryoscanning electron microscope (Cryo-SEM). At all agar concentrations, the compressive stress values of emulsion gels were lower than those of the oi l-free gels. Compressive stress and energy were significantly affected by o il droplet size and agar concentration, but compressive strain was not. SEM observation revealed that the overall volume of void spaces decreased and strand compactness increased with increasing agar concentration. Gels conta ining oil droplets had some void spaces between the gel network and the oil droplets. The strands of emulsion gels did not cover the oil globules comp letely, a phenomenon which was also observed for the gel with high agar con centration.