Selective production of emulsifiers from glucose and fatty acids has been achieved using an immobilized Candida antarctica lipase. Optimization of process selectivity considers the solubilities of the sugar and its monoesters in acetone at different temperatures, the percentage of this organic solvent in the reaction mixture, and the reaction temperature. The solvent (acetone) is both easily eliminated and accepted by the European Community for use in the manufacture of foods and/or food additives. Different fatty acids with a longer length chain than that of caprylic acid may be employed. For saturated fatty acids longer than lauric acid, continuous precipitation of the monoester as it is formed at 40 degrees C permits nearly complete conversion (98%) of glucose to the monoester within 2-3 days. The procedure does not require total dissolution of the sugar, and precipitation of the monoester permits selective conversion of charges of glucose higher than 100 mg/mL solvent. A scaleup of the process under the optimum conditions gives high yields of 6-O-lauroyl glucose, which may be readily prepared on a gram scale. Copyright 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.