Abstract
Foaminess is one of the important functional properties of eggs. At sponge cake making, foam is prepared with not only egg white but also whole egg. The foaming properties of whole egg were investigated and made a comparison with those of albumen and those of yolk.
As compared with albumen, the foaming power of whole egg was high, but its foam stability was low. Furthermore, effects of protein concentration, pH and salt addition on the foaminess of whole egg were larger than those on the foaminess of albumen. On these points, the foaming properties of whole egg was much similar to those of yolk rather than albumen.
At the presence of oil the foaming power of whole egg, although not as good as that of yolk, occurred much better than that of albumen. It was shown by microscopic observation to be due to the emulsifying properties of yolk.
These results suggest that egg yolk contributes primarily to the foaminess of whole egg.
