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Chapitre D'ouvrage Année : 2009

Egg proteins

Résumé

Hen egg was categorised by Baldwin in 1986 as a polyfunctional ingredient, as it can simultaneously realise several technological functions in the same formulated foodstuff. Its emulsifying, foaming, gelling, thickening, colouring and aromatic properties make it still today a universal basic ingredient for the domestic kitchen and the food processing industry. Whereas egg yolk is well recognised for its emulsifying properties, egg white (or albumen) is a reference in terms of foaming and both parts are used as gelling ingredient in many foods. Yolk takes part in the formation and the stabilisation of emulsions. In spite of the intensive use of yolk in formulated foodstuffs, and since the invention of mayonnaise three centuries ago, the role of its major constituents is not clear because of its complex structure. Yolk is a mixture of proteins and lipids forming natural assemblies at various scales. These natural assemblies contri- bute to the nano- and the microstructure of yolk. Thus, an understanding of the emulsifying properties of yolk lies in the comprehension of these various levels of structure. The exceptional foaming properties of the albumen are also the base of traditional recipes among which meringues act certainly as reference. Indeed, the extreme simplicity of their formula (albumen and sugar, possibly added with flavours) allows albumen to express in an optimal way its foaming properties. However, the technological parameters influence the final quality of foam obtained, and three types of meringues (traditional meringue, Swiss meringue and Italian meringue) can be distinguished, depending on whether whipping is achieved in the presence or absence of sugar, and at ambient or warm temperature. But there is also a great number of other products in which previously foamed albumen is added, which are either fat-free formulas (angel food cake) or lipid-containing formulas (spoon biscuits, `sponge' cake, blown). In such products, the complexity of the phenomena is extreme, foaming and emulsification taking place simultaneously, which makes the control of the physico-chemical and technological parameters of these operations very delicate. Concerning the gelling properties of albumen and yolk, they are related to the heat-gelation capacity of egg proteins. Then, these properties imply a cooking step during the food processing. The heat gelation of egg proteins completely conforms to the model of heat gelation of globular proteins. The corresponding mechanisms have been extensively studied, on egg proteins as well as on other ones, and the key technological parameters have now been identified. However, the addition of other ingredients in mixture with egg (polysaccharides, for example) complicates the understanding of the egg gelation behaviour, and developments with more complex models are still needed.
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hal-01454417 , version 1 (06-06-2020)

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  • HAL Id : hal-01454417 , version 1
  • PRODINRA : 226849
  • WOS : 000277276000015

Citer

Valérie Lechevalier-Datin, Marc Anton, Francoise Nau. Egg proteins. Handbook of hydrocolloids, 173 (2. édition), CRC press, 948 p., 2009, Woodhead Publishing in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition, 978-1-4398-0820-7. ⟨hal-01454417⟩
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