The objective of this research was to determine the effect of high-intensity ultrasound (HIU) on the crystallization of an interesterified soybean oil. Samples were crystallized at 24°C and 34°C with and without the exposure to HIU (3.2 mm-diameter tip, 20kHz frequency, 216 µm amplitude, 10s) and stored at 25°C for up to 24 weeks. Physical properties such as solid fat content (SFC), melting enthalpy, melting peak, and elasticity were measured after 60 min crystallization and after storage at 25°C for 48 h, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks. Hardness of the sample was measured after storage at 5°C for 48 h. An increase in SFC and melting enthalpy was observed for sonicated samples crystallized at 34°C and an increase in elasticity was observed for sonicated samples crystallized at 24°C (p<0.05). Elasticity of the non-sonicated samples crystallized at 24°C was lower (p<0.05) for samples stored at 25°C. HIU increased (p<0.05) the hardness of the samples crystallized at 34°C and stored at 5°C for 48h (0.85±0.04 to 2.23±0.25 N for the non-sonicated and sonicated samples, respectively). No significant change was observed in physical properties of sonicated samples crystallized at 24°C and 34°C during the 24 weeks of storage. Bubble dynamics were also investigated during sonication using a laser set-up and a hydrophone. Bubble dynamics results showed the presence of a bifurcated streamer for samples sonicated at 34°C but not for the ones sonicated at 24°C. These results suggest the presence of a bifurcated streamer might affect HIU efficiency.
