Abstract:To study the effects of food additives on the physicochemical and functional properties of liquid whole egg (LWE), three different food additives (sodium citrate, sodium D-isoascorbate, and sodium bicarbonate) were added into LWE. The physicochemical and functional properties of LWE, including pH, colour, particle size, protein solubility, turbidity, foaming properties, emulsification properties, and gelling properties, were determined. Results showed that the different types of food additives had a significant effect on the pH, particle size, protein solubility and turbidity of LWE, thereby affecting their functional properties. With the addition of 10 mmol/L sodium citrate, the pH and particle size of LWE were increased, and the protein solubility and gel hardness of LWE were improved by 6.29% and 11.52%, respectively. Adding sodium D-ascorbate at a concentration of 4 mmol/L enhanced the colour of LWE with protein solubility increased by 17.50%, which also improved the emulsification properties of the diluted LWE, with emulsifying capacity and stability increasing by 14.06% and 5.45%, respectively. The addition of sodium bicarbonate did not significantly improve the material properties of LWE, however, adding high concentration of sodium bicarbonate (200 mmol/L) resulted in reduced brightness, increased redness, and decreased yellowness of LWE, which made LWE unacceptable. The results of this study could provide a theoretical reference for the use of different types of food additives in the processing of LWE.
