Scanty-water oil-in-water emulsion glasses synthesized through a low-energy process: Nucleation and growth mechanism

•Identify O/W emulsion gel and emulsion glass w and w/o the addition of gelator.•The O/W emulsion glass with scanty-water was successfully fabricated.•Two methods for forming emulsion glass with low energy consumption were proposed.•One approach is associated with the growth of glass nuclei in the oil environment.•Another method induces direct transformation from emulsion to glass by adding oil.