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Phospholipids in egg yolk prevent oil and vinegar from separating in sauces. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

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Egg yolk lecithin stabilises oil and water mixtures

Phospholipids in egg yolk prevent oil and vinegar from separating in sauces

Egg yolks are natural emulsifiers primarily due to lecithin, a molecule containing both water-attracting and oil-attracting ends. When whisked into a mixture like mayonnaise or hollandaise, lecithin coats microscopic oil droplets and suspends them evenly throughout the water base. This prevents the oil droplets from coalescing and separating.

Where this comes from

Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Tags: eggs, emulsion, sauces

Egg yolk lecithin stabilises oil and water mixtures: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Phospholipids in egg yolk prevent oil and vinegar from separating in sauces. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a food fact?: Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.