Level Up - Emulsions

Level Up is a new series from Bon Appétit Management Company focused on cooking techniques that our chefs use every day to elevate their from-scratch dishes — and you can, too! Read the tips, watch the video, and try the recipes. We’re collecting all of the Level Up installments here.

Emulsions make what seems impossible into reality: Liquids that normally don’t mix — oil and water, for instance — become one.

Emulsion is the key to spreadable mayo, a silky pan sauce, or vinaigrette that clings perfectly to your greens. What’s the secret behind this magical unification of liquids? The energy of whisking or blending breaks one liquid into tiny droplets that are dispersed throughout and contained in the other liquid. According to food scientist and author Harold McGee, when a single tablespoon of oil is beaten into egg yolk to make a mayonnaise, the whisking energy breaks the oil into 30 billion separate droplets! Those droplets contribute a smooth, uniform texture to the mayonnaise, or to any other dressing or emulsified sauce.

• So you “broke” your emulsion. Fine Cooking’s handy culinary emulsion chart helps you fix it.
• Bye eggs, hello… chickpea water? Ditch the emulsified eggs and try aquafaba in this vegan mayo recipe via New York Times Cooking.
• Does your olive oil emulsion taste bitter? Nik Sharma explains how to de-bitter your emulsified sauces in Serious Eats.