Foam Stability and Properties in Food Systems
Summary
Foams are dispersed systems of gas bubbles within a liquid or semi‐solid matrix and play a central role in the texture, appearance and mouthfeel of many foods, including mousses, meringues, whipped creams and aerated confections. Key to the performance of food foams is their stability, which depends on the interplay of interfacial phenomena, bulk rheology and microstructural organisation. Proteins, hydrocolloids and particulate ingredients adsorb or assemble at the air–water interface to form viscoelastic films that slow film drainage and coalescence. Meanwhile, the continuous phase viscosity and elasticity influence bubble size distribution and resistance to deformation. Advances in imaging, microrheology and computational analysis are shedding light on how molecular interactions and formulation variables govern foam expansion (overrun), drainage kinetics and collapse under stress or during storage. Practical applications range from extending shelf life and improving nutritional profiles to developing low-fat or sugar-reduced products that retain desirable aeration and sensory qualities. The global significance of foam research lies in its capacity to guide the design of stable, scalable and sustainable aerated foods with tailored functionalities.
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Foam Stability and Properties in Food Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in foam stability and properties in food systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Foam stability: The capacity of a foam to retain its structure over time under specified conditions.
Overrun: The percentage increase in volume achieved by incorporating air into a liquid during whipping or mixing.
Viscoelasticity: Material property exhibiting both viscous flow and elastic deformation when stressed.
Interfacial tension: The force per unit length at the interface between two immiscible phases, such as air and liquid.
Lamella: The thin liquid film separating adjacent air bubbles within a foam.
References
- Quantitative image analysis of protein foam microstructure and its correlation with rheological properties: Egg white foam. Food Hydrocolloids (2022).
- Effect of particle characteristics and foaming parameters on resulting foam quality and stability. LWT (2022).
- Effect of Xanthan Gum, Kappa–Carrageenan, and Guar Gum on the Functional Characteristics of Egg White Liquid and Intermolecular Interaction Mechanism. Foods (2022).
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