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Shelf Life Extension
Freshly baked, grain-based foods tend to lose their desirable, tender crumb within a few days. An increasing number of commercial bakeries are looking for more natural methods of extending shelf life and egg products can help maintain quality throughout the anticipated shelf life of baked goods.1 Staling, drying out or retrogradation is the result of […]
Richness
One flavor house1 describes ‘richness’ as “hard to define in words but easy to experience on the tongue.” Richness, it says, is “brought about by a complex blend of taste and aroma components working in harmony to provide a soothing, succulent and desirable taste profile.” What is it about eggs that contribute the elusive quality of […]
pH Stability
The functional definition of pH is the measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution commonly measured on a scale of 0 to 14. pH 7 is considered neutral with lower pH values being acidic and higher values being alkaline or caustic. PH is the most common of all analytical measurements in industrial processing […]
Leavening
Leavening is basically the production or incorporation of gases in a baked product to increase volume and to produce shape and texture. Without the air or steam baked goods essentially would all be flat.1 Eggs can contribute to this process of leavening in two ways. First, when fresh, refrigerated or frozen eggs are present in […]
Humectancy/Moisturizing
Humectancy, particularly in baked goods, requires the formulator achieve a delicate balance between moist eating quality and water activity control. Too much water activity will prompt mold growth, effectively ending the product’s shelf life. Too little water, in the case of staling or retrogradation, and the product also is no longer suitable for consumption. Egg […]
Fortification/Protein Enrichment
Among other nutritional benefits, some formulations concentrate on protein fortification or enrichment of foods that may or may not already contain protein. Consumers in the past few years indicate they are interested in increasing protein intake with the majority selecting eggs as their preferred option for protein fortification.1 One large egg contains a wide variety […]
Flavor
Among all product attributes, taste outranks any other product attribute each and every year in an annual survey conducted by the International Food Information Council Foundation. Taste or flavor is the deciding factor for consumers who purchase foods and beverages.1 Though eggs contain more than 100 volatile flavor components, the end results may be described […]
Emulsification
An emulsion, as defined by Food Technology, is a “temporarily stable mixture of immiscible fluids, such as oil and water, achieved by finely dividing one phase into very small droplets.”1 Nature designed multiple functions into the egg, including its ability to emulsify. While most commonly associated with mayonnaise,2the emulsifying capacity of whole eggs, egg yolks and […]
Edible Packaging Film
Egg whites can be used to prepare edible packaging films, with the egg albumen similar in nature to other types of proteins used for this type of film. “Egg albumen films are clearer and more transparent than those made from wheat gluten, soy protein isolate and corn zein,” according to one source.1 Transparent egg white […]
Crystallization Control/Freezability
Food crystals are neither good nor bad because some are beneficial to food while others are detrimental.1 The key is control. The formulator who masters crystallization can create the desired product taste and texture, with crystallization an important aspect for both those qualities in applications such as frosting, nougat, truffles and ice cream, to name a […]