Process for cooling dispersions and liquids

A process for deodorizing and subsequently cooling dispersions or liquids comprising a) passing steam through the dispersion or liquid to be cooled and held in a vessel (1), said dispersion or liquid being caused to foam up as a result, b) discharging the foam from the top section of the vessel via a nozzle (5) into an evacuated separation vessel (4), the foam being broken in the process, c) condensing the water vapor formed from the foam in a heat exchanger (8) and removing volatile organic components at the same time, and d) returning the broken foam to the vessel (1), in which the steps a) to d) are performed until the dispersion or liquid has been deodorized to the desired extent, wherein, after completion of the deodorization (in accordance with steps a) to d)), the hot dispersion or liquid is discharged from the bottom section of the vessel (1) through the nozzle (5) into the evacuated separation vessel (4), so that the dispersion or the liquid is cooled, the nozzle (5) and the evacuated separation vessel (4) also being used beforehand for performing step b), wherein the water vapor held in the separation vessel (4) is condensed at the heat exchanger (8) which was also employed beforehand in step c), and wherein the cooled dispersion or liquid is discharged from the bottom of the separation vessel (4).