The influence of flavor oil composition, cosolvents (glycerol and propylene glycol), and cosurfactant (lysolecithin) on the formation and stability of lemon oil nanoemulsions stabilized by sucrose monoesters was examined. At ambient temperature, nanoemulsions containing 1-, 3-, and 5-fold lemon oils were stable to droplet growth, whereas those containing 10-fold lemon oil were unstable. For 10-fold lemon oil nanoemulsions, the droplet growth rate increased with increasing temperature, cosolvent addition, and decreasing lysolecithin concentration, which was attributed to the influence of these factors on the phase inversion temperature. Clear nanoemulsions could be formulated that maintained small mean particle diameters (d approximate to 81 nm) during storage at ambient temperature for 1 month. The information generated in this study is useful for designing stable flavor nanoemulsions for applications in functional foods and beverages. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.