A novel continuous process for making mayonnaise and salad cream using the spinning disc reactor: Effect of heat treatment

Abstract

The suitability and applicability of spinning disc reactor (SDR) technology has been explored as a new process for producing mayonnaise and salad cream. Physicochemical properties such as particle size distributions and sensory perception of SDR-processed mayonnaise and salad cream were investigated. The effect of heat treatment on the processing of mayonnaise and salad cream was also studied. Particle size distribution results show that the addition of a constant oil volume (at a controlled flow rate) during the SDR processing of mayonnaise and salad cream generates highly stable oil-in-water emulsions with well-defined droplet size distributions with average droplet sizes in the range of 6–9 μm. The consistency and creaminess of SDR-processed mayonnaise were compared to a commercially available product, using a sensory taste panel. Sensory evaluation revealed that the SDR-processed mayonnaise was acceptable to consumers while the consistency and creaminess of the product were comparable with that of a commercial mayonnaise. For traditional mayonnaise or salad cream preparation, raw eggs are used and the use of SDR temperature control could provide the benefit of product pasteurization. Processing of mayonnaise and salad cream via the SDR at 58 °C did not change the oil droplet size distribution significantly and since the residence time on the disc is short, the functional properties of the egg yolk proteins were not affected. Therefore, the benefit of using the SDR technology is that it combines the homogenisation and pasteurisation in a single continuous process which uses less energy and provides better quality control.