Eggcellent Gastronomy

Saturday's lab session presented a twist on the usual when the class discovered that the whipping of egg whites can be chemistry too!  Similar to heating an egg, the physical action of beating an egg forces air into contact with the proteins, thus, creating a fluffy and voluminous foam!

Ill give it to you straight: 9 groups-each with a different bowl or additive, 1 glass bowl, 1 plastic bowl, 2 stainless steel bowls, 4 glass bowls. Each group was to whip their egg whites on the highest setting for a predetermined amount of time.  One stainless steel group was instructed to "overbeat" their eggs.  Additives to the glass bowl groups included salt, sugar, cream of tartar, and water. 

 The results:  Interestingly enough the cream of tartar group using the glass bowl had the best mass to volume ratio, indicated the additive to have the best effect for voluminous egg whites.  We later learned this to be attributed to the acidity of the COT and its protein denaturing effects.  Coming in close second was sugar, most likely due to foam-stabilizing effects, and lastly salt and water seem to present a negative effect on the foam volume, creating instability.  "Overbeating" also seemed to have a negative effect as it decreased moisture and allowed for less foam.

Much egg science was learned during these short trial runs. We later used this knowledge to create the most delicious Créme Anglaise. Read on!