Comparison of Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Chicken and Duck Egg Albumens

ABSTRACT The aim of this research was to investigate the physicochemical and functional properties of fresh and pasteurized chicken and duck egg albumens. The results showed that pasteurization of both chicken and duck albumens significantly decreased (p≤0.05) viscosity, but had no impact (p>0.05) on pH or free sulfhydryl groups. Chicken albumen was shown to have higher (p≤0.05) foam expansion, but lower (p≤0.05) foam stability than duck albumen. Pasteurization decreased (p≤0.05) the foam expansion of both albumens while decreasing (p≤0.05) the foam stability only of duck albumen. Investigation of the gel properties showed that duck albumen has greater hardness and lower expressible water (p≤0.05) than chicken albumen. Pasteurization increased the hardness and decreased the expressible water of both the chicken and duck albumen gels. This study suggests that the superior gel properties of duck albumen offer potential approaches to improving the quality of gel food products.