Frozen Egg Products
Usage
Ingredient especially for the commercial food processing industry.
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Availability
30 lb container and 4, 5, 8, 10 lb pouches or waxed plastic cartons
Commercial - 25 and 50 lb boxes, 150, 175, and 200 lb drums.
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Advantages
Long shelf life, functionality, variety of blends.
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Processing Overview
Shell eggs are washed, rinsed, sanitized, and candled, then broken, monitored for quality and imperfections, and yolks separated from whites by automation. Separation is not necessary if whole eggs are being processed. Egg products are then clarified, filtered, pasteurized and filled into containers and frozen at –10° to –40°F (–23.3° to –40°C).
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Egg yolks and whole eggs generally must be mixed with sugar, salt, or other edible ingredients such as corn syrup, phosphates, or other carbohydrates, to prevent gelation (increased viscosity) caused by the lipid portion of the lipoproteins in the freeze-thaw cycle. (When the protein molecules interact with each other upon thawing, they form insoluble aggregates that make thawed yolks gel-like and gummy.)
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Gelation of the yolk or whole egg may be prevented by homogenization and the addition of about 10% sucrose or sodium chloride prior to freezing. Some egg white products contain an ester-type whipping agent such as triethyl citrate.
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Added Ingredients
Citric acid may be added to some yolk or whole egg products to prevent greening.
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Storage
Stored at 0° to –5°F (–17.8° to –20.6°C) frozen eggs can be held for years.
Defrost only as much as needed, in unopened containers, in refrigerator or under cold running water.
Use defrosted product immediately, or store refrigerated for no longer than three days.
With extended storage, some physical changes like coagulation of certain protein fractions of egg whites or gelation of the yolk, may occur.
Frozen eggs cannot be refrozen once thawed. Store thawed eggs at the coldest possible refrigerator temperature (40° to 45°F, 4.4° to 7.2°C).
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Products:
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Whole eggs, whites, or yolks
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Scrambled egg mix
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Salted whole eggs or yolks
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Sugared egg yolks
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Whole eggs with yolks and corn syrup
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Whole eggs with citric acid
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Whole eggs with corn syrup
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Various blends