Rheology in novel egg cooking methods

Heat-induced gelation of egg proteins, influenced by factors such as temperature and time, affects texture. This study compares three cooking methods—hard-boiling, sous vide, and periodic cooking—using rheological measurements to investigate the sol–gel transition and texture development in both egg phases. The goal is to understand how thermal histories of actual cooking conditions impact gel formation and egg texture. Differences between texture development in egg yolk and albumen as a result of rheological measurement and mathematical modeling are highlighted. An optimum is found when they are cooked at their corresponding denaturation temperatures of about 65 and 84 °C for yolk and albumen, as it happens in the newly designed periodic cooking.