On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1198

sametemperature.
EggsasEmulsifiers

Aswe’vealreadyseen,cookscanuseegg
yolkstothickenallkindsofhotsauces.The
yolkproteinsunfoldandbondtoeachother
whenheated,andsoformaliquidimmobilizingnetwork(p.604).Eggyolksare
alsoveryeffectiveemulsifiers,andfor
asimplereason:theythemselvesarea
concentratedandcomplexemulsionoffatin
water,andarethereforefilledwith
emulsifyingmoleculesandmolecule
aggregates.
Emulsifying Particles and Proteins Of the
various yolk components, two in particular
providemostoftheemulsifyingpower.Oneis
the low-density lipoproteins or LDLs (the
same LDLs that circulate in our blood and
whose levels are measured in blood tests


becausetheycarrypotentiallyartery-blocking
cholesterol). LDLs are particles made up of
emulsifying proteins, phospholipids, and
cholesterol, all surrounding a core of fat
molecules.TheintactLDLparticlesappearto
bemoreeffectiveemulsifiersthananyoftheir
components. The other major emulsifying
particles are the larger yolk granules, which
contain both LDLs and HDLs (the “goodcholesterol” high-density lipoproteins are
evenmoreeffectiveemulsifiersthanLDL)as

well as dispersed emulsifying protein,
phosvitin.Yolkgranulesaresolargethatthey
can’t cover a droplet surface very well, but
when they’re exposed to moderate
concentrationsofsalttheyfallapartintotheir
separateLDLs,HDLs,andproteins,andthese
areveryeffectiveindeed.
Using Eggs to Emulsify Sauces As
emulsifiers, egg yolks are most effective
when they’re raw, and when they’re warm.