Emulsions vs Colloids

[fajitapot]

Why do we say "emulsions" (hot dogs) when they're actually "colloids"?

 

[indaswamp]

https://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-types/emulsified-sausage

 

[fajitapot]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emulsion

 

[indaswamp]

Paging Chef jimmyj......

I'm fairly certain I know the answer but I'll wait and see how jj addresses the quandary.

 

[DanMcG]

It's actually a meat suspension, but emulsion is the word that stuck for whatever reason over the years I guess. Maybe at the time sausage making was more of a craft, rather then a science?

Suspension Not Emulsion
Culinary schools, numerous books, and even scientific articles often refer to sausage mixes or meat batters as "emulsions." There is even a whole category of sausages specifically called "emulsified sausages," which includes the humble hot dog.

Strictly speaking, this is not accurate.

An emulsion is defined as a mixture of two immiscible liquids, one of which is dispersed in the form of small droplets or globules in the other liquid. Liquid that forms the small droplets is called the dispersed-phase, whereas the liquid in which the droplets are dispersed is called the continuous phase. Mayonnaise, a mixture of oil dispersed in water, is a classic example. With meat batters and sausage mixes, we are not dealing with liquids.

In distinction, as Asghar lays out succinctly, "solids dispersed in a liquid (continuous) phase are designated as suspensions. In view of these definitions, the so-called meat emulsions (of frankfurters or similar sausages, and of several luncheon meat products) are not true emulsions. They can better be regarded as meat suspensions. In fact, all known meat emulsions consist of multiphase systems in which the continuous phase (called matrix) is a complex hydrophilic colloidal aqueous solution of salts and soluble proteins. Solid compounds, such as insoluble proteins, fat particles, and other insoluble components of muscle tissue and spices are dispersed and immobilized in the matrix to give body to the resulting product." "Hence," he concludes, "the properties and behavior of [so-called] meat emulsions could not be evaluated in terms of the classical theory relating to emulsion."

Myosin dissolved in the aqueous phase acts like an emulsifying agent, surrounding and coating the dispersed fat particles. So it may help to think of it like an emulsion. But treating meat batters just like an emulsion can lead to bad practice. Recipes sometimes specify intensive kneading or mixing, in order to make a proper "emulsion," but this leads to fat smearing and is detrimental to the texture of a good sausage. If sufficient myosin has been extracted, it simply needs to be evenly dispersed, not whipped into an "emulsion."

Source; http://thesaltcuredpig.com/Porkopedia/index.php?title=Myosin

 

[indaswamp]

Bingo....