The stability of the coconut milk emulsions homogenized with
different surface-active stabilizers after subjecting to different
temperature treatments is summarized in Table 4. The homogenized
coconut milk was unstable itself and its stability decreased
either after freeze–thaw or after heating to temperatures sufficient
to denature the coconut proteins. The samples emulsified with
proteins were stable to low temperature treatments but only the
caseinate samples were stable against heating. Coconut milk
emulsion prepared with WPI was stable against heating at 70 C
but extensively flocculated and coalesced after being treated at
90 C and 120 C. Coconut milk emulsions homogenized with
small-molecule surfactants showed good stability against heating
treatments but were completely destabilized upon freeze–thaw
due to their thin interfacial layer which was less effective in protecting
the droplets from either partial or full coalescence.
This work shows that the interfacial composition is critical to
understanding the effects of processing on coconut milk emulsions.
Therefore, the selection of surface-active stabilizer is important in
producing coconut milk products that are able to maintain good
stabilityand quality after being treated under processing conditions.