Ascorbic acid (AA) was microencapsulated by spray drying, using gum arabic and rice starch as covering materials. The AA was dissolved in solutions of the wall material prior to processing. For the rice starch, gelatin was used as a binding agent and recovery was effected with calcium pectate. The morphology of the materials was analysed by optical and scanning electron microscopy, it thus being possible to verify the formation and evaluate the structural characteristics of the microcapsules. The capsules produced with gum arabic were smaller (d(50%) = 8.0 mu m) and with a multimode particle size distribution, whilst uncovered starch capsules containing 1-2% gelatin presented a distribution mainly in the range of 5-40 mu m. The capsules recovered with calcium pectate had average diameters 10-15 times greater than those obtained only by spray drying. The stability of the encapsulated materials was studied at room temperature (RH 60-65%) and at 45 degrees C (RH 60-65% and 90.7%). AA microencapsulated in gum arabic was shown to be as stable as free crystalline AA under environmental conditions, whereas that encapsulated in rice starch was less stable. Increasing the amount of the binding agent gelatin increased the stability of the uncovered starch encapsulated AA. Recovery with calcium pectate notably increased the stability of the starch encapsulated AA, as compared to the uncovered samples.