A two-stage Maillard temperature control strategy in the cooling direction improves the emulsifying properties of sunflower seed protein.

For the Maillard process, this study developed a two-stage temperature-path control (TPC) technique (90 °C-4 h to 50/70 °C-1/2 h). It thoroughly examined how various TPCs control the interfacial behavior and structural development of sunflower seed protein-glucose Maillard conjugates. While maintaining a high degree of reaction, the 70-2 TPC method significantly improved the emulsifying activity index (EAI, 27.12 ± 0.04 m2/g) and emulsifying stability index (ESI, 35.50 ± 0.31 min). This method preserved molecular flexibility and amphiphilic balance by preventing excessive disulfide bond cross-linking brought on by extended high-temperature heating. These structural benefits resulted in a significant decrease in interfacial tension and increased conjugate adsorption at the oil-water interface (54.43 ± 0.46%). As a result, emulsions stabilized by these conjugates showed considerably better storage stability, a higher absolute zeta-potential value (-45.10 ± 0.36 mV), and a smaller droplet size (20.11 ± 0.33 μm).