## 1 Introduction  
Microencapsulation is a \"micro-packaging\" technology by which gas bubbles, liquid droplets, or solids particles, collectively referred to as \"core\", are embedded or entrapped in particulate matrices, referred to as \"wall\", thus forming structures that are referred to as \"microcapsules, capsules, microspheres or micro-beads\" [1,2]. Wall matrices that are utilized in food applications are designed to preserve the inherent physicochemical, biological, and/or functional properties of the encapsulated core, and, ultimately, releasing it at a desired time and conditions, at a pre-determined rate and mode [1, 2, 3]. Microencapsulation allows for controlling and modulating the interactionsamong different compounds in a given food formulation and it is aimed at protecting different constituents of food systems against deterioration or loss during processing and throughout the shelf life of the product, pending consumption [4; 5; 6; 7; 8]. Many different physical and chemical microencapsulation methods have been developed and allow for preparing a broad array of different microcapsules [4; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13]. Microcapsules for food applications differ in their composition, dimensions, geometry, microstructure, physico-chemical, and textural properties, as well as in their core-release- and functional-properties [1; 3; 4; 6]. Successful application of microencapsulation concepts in food systems has allowed preparing highly-functional microcapsules that are tailored to meet different, otherwise unmet objectives and challenges. Traditionally, objectives for microencapsulation in food applications included masking of off-flavors, enhancing oxidative stability of formula constituents, preventing loss of volatiles, compartmentalization of ingredients, etc. [3]. However, in recent years, the effective delivery of desired specific nutrients, sensitive- and functional- food ingredients, microorganisms, enzymes, and other biologically-active compounds has become a major objective for microencapsulation in food applications [2; 4; 7; 9; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20]. Information about the potential health-promoting properties of different natural biologically-active compounds, such as phytochemicals and constituents of different botanical extracts, calls for enhancing their consumption through foods [2]. The inherent susceptibility of many of these compounds to conditions and environments that are common in food manufacturing, delivery, and storage, requires their microencapsulation prior or during their incorporation into food products [2]. Microencapsulation has allowed meeting the latter challenge and has enabled developing and marketing a new generation of value-added food products that are referred to as \"functional foods\" [2; 4; 7; 10; 21]. The availability of generally recognized as safe (GRAS), highly functional, and affordable encapsulating agents (wall materials) is of prime importance to success in microencapsulation for food applications [2; 22]. Different animal- and plant-derived proteins exhibit physico-chemical and functional properties that render them attractive encapsulating agents, or functional wall constituents, for microencapsulation in food applications. Among these desired properties are surface activity, emulsification, foaming and gelation properties, pH-dependent zeta-potential, drying and film forming characteristics, pH-dependent solubility, etc. [23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35]. The utilization of microencapsulating agents consisting of blends of proteins and carbohydrates has been reported to allow for modulating and tailoring the manifestation of different phenomena and mechanisms that govern the encapsulation of food ingredients. A wise selection of proteins and carbohydrate for a specific application enables adjusting the physico-chemical, functional, and structural characteristics of core-in-wall-emulsions (CIWEs) and of the microcapsules that are prepared with them [30; 31; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41; 42].