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Effects of Recipe Variations on Egg Protein Coagulation in Baked

Custards

Nicole Roberts

NTR 502

Advanced Food Science Lab

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INTRODUCTION

Eggs are used in a variety of baked goods as thickeners, emulsifiers, binders, and foams.

While egg yolks contribute flavor, color, and fat to a food product, egg whites provide protein.

This protein gives the food product stability and structure (Walter & Beathard, 2015, p 85).

When an egg is heated, the proteins in the egg become denatured and coagulate. This helps the

thickening process (McWilliams, 2017, p 297). The egg whites in a custard recipe are what helps

the custard keep its shape (Walter & Beathard, 2015, p 85).

There is a large temperature range over which egg coagulation can happen, so if a food

product is not removed from heat at a certain point it can lead to curdled sauces, weeping

custards, or tough fried eggs (McWilliams, 2017, p 298). Egg white proteins coagulate at slightly

lower temperatures than egg yolks. Egg whites contain ovalbumin, which is easily denatured by

heat (McWilliams, 2017, p 288). Egg white proteins coagulate at around 140 degrees F, whereas

egg yolk proteins coagulate at around 149 degrees F if no other ingredients are added to the egg.

If other liquids or sugar is added to the egg, the temperature at which the mixture coagulates

increases. In custards, the milk and sugar dilute the proteins of the egg and raises the temperature

of coagulation (McWilliams, 2017, p 298). The more an egg protein is heated above its

coagulation point, the more tough it will become. When eggs are mixed with other ingredients,

the mixture will curdle as the egg protein surpasses its coagulation point. Food products, such as

custards, should be removed from heat or cooled immediately after reaching the correct

coagulation temperature. If the custard or other food product is not removed from heat, there is

the risk of it becoming curdled due to residual heat continuing to cook the product and causing

the internal temperature to rise (McWilliams, 2017, p 299).

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There are two different kinda of custards. In this experiment, researchers will be

examining baked custards. A baked custard mixture is cooked in the oven without being stirred

or agitated. This causes the custard to gel. A custard consists of several ingredients, including

eggs, milk, and sugar. The egg proteins help the custard to thicken. The milk contains mineral

salts, which further helps the egg proteins coagulate. Additionally, the more sugar is added to a

custard, the higher the coagulation temperature will be (McWilliams, 2017, p 299).

The purpose of this experiment is to examine the effect of recipe variations and different

mixtures on egg protein coagulation in baked custards.

METHODS

Six research groups were assigned a variation each of a basic recipe for baked custard.

The basic recipe for baked custard can be found in Walter & Beathard (2015, p. 90). One group

followed the basic recipe for baked custard as a control. The second group used 2 egg yolks in

place of the 1 whole egg. The third group used 2 egg whites in place of the 1 whole egg. The

fourth group used ¼ cup granulated sugar in place of 1 T. granulated sugar. The fifth group used

distilled water in place of milk. The sixth group followed the basic recipe for baked custard, but

excluded the water bath for the custards.

Each group pre-heated the ovens to 350 degrees F and baked the custard for at least 50

minutes, with the exception of the group that did not use a water bath. This group cooked the

custard for 42 minutes at 350 degrees F. A few groups had to continue baking after 50 minutes.

The control group cooked the custard for 70 minutes total, while rotating the dishes every few

minutes. The 2 egg yolk group and the double sugar group cooked for 60 minutes at 350 degrees

F, then 20 minutes at 400 degrees F. After cooling, the custards were evaluated for appearance,

flavor, and texture. Observations were recorded (See Table 1).

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RESULTS

Table 1
Custard Appearance Aroma Flavor Consistency of %
texture Sag
Control Pale yellow on top, Very eggy, Sweet, Semi-firm, jiggly,
white underneath, shiny no hint of eggy little gelatinous 67.9%
sweetness
2 egg Yellow on top, some Hint of egg, Slightly Slightly creamy, 30%
yolks brown spots, whiter bland, bread- sweet, slightly thick,
underneath y eggy gelatinous, jiggly

2 egg White, a little bubbly Bread-y, Sweet, Firm on top, 17%

whites on top, film on top, bland eggy thicker in middle,
shiny on bottom firm

Double Film on top, darker Slightly Very Little watery, little 47%
sugar yellow spots, lighter sweet, eggy sweet gelatinous, firmer
yellow and white spots, on bottom than in
little watery on top, middle
slightly crispy at edge
No milk Pale yellow watery, few Slightly eggy, n/a Watery, liquid n/a
(distilled eggy chunks and hint of
water) coagulation on surface, sweetness
not set at all sweet, bland
No water Chunky, watery around Eggy, slightly Sweet, Chunky, slightly n/a
bath edges, darker spots sweet eggy watery, texture of
around edge, pale scrambled eggs
yellow

It was expected that the egg white variation would be the firmest and the egg yolk and

sugar variations would be the least firm. It was also expected that the control would be firmer

than the egg yolk and sugar variations, but less firm than the egg white variation. The double egg

white variation was expected to have the lowest coagulation followed by the control and then the

double egg yolk variation. The outcome of this experiment was not as expected. While the
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double egg yolk variation was less firm than the double egg white variation, the control was

much less firm than both of these variations. The no water bath no milk variations were unable to

have a percent sag completed due to the custard’s inability to hold shape.

DISCUSSION

Researchers did not have access to glass pans, so stainless steel pans were used to bake

the custards. More heat is able to pass through a glass pan. The water bath in a glass pan can

reach 185 degrees F, whereas the water bath in a stainless steel pan can only reach 180 degrees

F. If a custard is unable to reach at least 185 degrees F, it may not set properly (McGee, 2004).

This could be one explanation for why the control group had to bake the custards for longer than

50 minutes. Additionally, the researchers in the control group had to rotate the custards every so

often to get more of an even cook. This could be due to the oven not functioning properly and

could explain why the percent Sag was so high in the control group compared to the other

groups.

The distilled water group saw no coagulation in the custards, with only a few small eggy

chunks at the surface of the liquid. The mineral salts in milk help the egg proteins in a custard

coagulate. When a custard is baked with distilled water, the egg proteins will not coagulate due

to lack of mineral salts (McWilliams, 2017, p 299).

The double egg yolk group had to cook the custards for 10 minutes longer than the

receipe called for, and then had to increase cooking temperature for another 20 minutes. Because

egg yolks coagulate at a higher temperature than egg whites, this could explain why the double

egg yolk group had to raise the temperature of their oven for the custards to set. The double egg

white group custards were firmer than the double egg yolk group custards when using the

percent Sag as a measure. Egg whites not only coagulate at lower temperatures, but egg whites
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also contain larger amounts of protein (McWilliams, 2017, p 287). This helps with the thickening

process.

The double sugar group was less firm than the double egg yolk and double egg white

group. This was expected as the more sugar is added to a custard, the higher the coagulation

temperature is (McWilliams, 2017, p 299). The double sugar group baked the custards for 10

minutes longer than the recipe called for, and then had to increase the temperature for an

additional 20 minutes to get the custards to set. The double sugar custard was also a little bit

watery, which could indicate syneresis. This could mean the temperature of the custard got too

high when baking or by residual heat (Walter & Beathard, 2015, p 90).

The custards that were baked without a water bath did not cook evenly, hold shape, and

had the texture of wet scrambled eggs. The purpose of the water bath is to help the custard cook

evenly and reach the proper temperature for setting. Without the water bath, the outside of the

custards cooked more quickly than the inside of the custards. This created the outside edges of

the custard to be dark brown and crispy, but the center to be light yellow and unable to hold

shape.

This information may be useful to chefs and food scientists. When creating products, it is

important to know how changing a recipe will effect the final outcome, or how manipulating a

recipe may give a certain desired result. This could include making a product more or less firm,

or having to alter the amounts of other ingredients when increasing sugar or milk amounts.
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REFERENCES

McGee, H. (2004). On food and cooking: The science and lore of the kitchen. Scribner.

McWilliams, M. (2017). Foods: Experimental perspectives (8th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.

Walter, J.M. & Beathard, K. (2015). Understanding food principles and preparation (5th ed.).

Cengage Learning.