Understanding Vinaigrette Emulsions

A more precise definition of an emulsion is a mixture of two normally unmixable fluids in which one of the fluids is broken up into tiny droplets and dispersed in the other. The liquid broken into droplets is called the dispersed phase of the emulsion. The other liquid, which surrounds all those droplets, is called the continuous phase. In a standard vinaigrette, the vinegar is the dispersed phase and the oil is the continuous phase. Thus, the vinegar is broken into tiny droplets during mixing and evenly distributed throughout the oil.