The baking properties of pasteurized whole egg

Abstract

A comparison was made of raw and pasteurized egg from twenty-eight processing plants. The average composition of the raw egg agreed closely with published data on commercial shell egg but the pasteurized samples contained slightly less fat and total solids.Pasteurization resulted in a small, but statistically significant, loss of baking quality in 'sponge batter' sponges but in 'all-in' sponges the mean difference in performance of raw and pasteurized egg was not significant. The mean performance of pasteurized egg in baked custards was slightly inferior to that of raw egg, and a small proportion of the samples examined performed rather poorly in this respect. No significant differences were observed between the baking characteristics of pasteurized first and second quality egg.When raw and pasteurized egg were stored for about 2 years at a temperature of 12-16"F, the raw egg maintained its quality but the pasteurized egg deteriorated after about 30 weeks storage when used to make products sensitive to egg quality.However, even after 2 years storage the pasteurized samples gave satisfactory results in other baked products. No significant changes in performance were observed over a period of 4 days when pasteurized egg was held at 38-40°F without continuous agitation.Separation of fat occurred when liquid pasteurized egg was kept or transported without agitation and this led to a small loss of baking quality.Raising the pasteurization temperature above 148°F resulted in a further small loss of baking quality. The additional loss resulting from raising the temperature to 152°F was comparable in extent to that caused by normal pasteurization.The homogenization of thawed pasteurized egg of poor baking quality improved its performance in sponges and baked custards.