Experiment No.

5
EGG FOAM STABILITY
Objectives: To identify the effect of sugar on the stability of the egg white foam.
To identify the effect of sugar on the beating time of the egg white
foam.
To identify the factors that affect egg foam stability.
Data:
Table 1. Height and time for beating of egg foam
Variation
Height (mm)
A
25
B
18
C
15
D
17

Beating Time
9 minutes 6 seconds
6 minutes 49 seconds
6 minutes 6 seconds
7 minutes 23 seconds

Interpretation, Analysis, and Discussion:

As shown in Table 1, Variation A has the highest height, followed by Variation
B, then Variation D, and finally, Variation C. Also shown in the table, Variation A has
the longest beating time. It is then followed by Variation D, then Variation B, and
then Variation C.
Egg whites are made up of water, proteins, and small amounts of minerals
and sugars. When egg whites are beaten, foam is produced. Air is added and the
egg white protein, albumen, is denatured. Denaturation is the change of a proteins
shape under stress, in this case, beating. This exposes the hydrophobic and
hydrophilic ends of the protein. The proteins align themselves between air and
water forming bubbles with their hydrophilic chains pointing into the water and
dangling their hydrophobic chains in the air. In addition the proteins can bond to
one another side-to-side as crosslinks which add to the stability of the foam. The
denatured protein coats the air bubbles and holds in the water, causing them to
become stiff and stable (BoVkoV and MkoV, 2010).
There are factors that can affect the stability of foams. One is sugar. In the
experiment, Variation A, B, C, and D were made by adding sugar before beating,
adding sugar when egg white is foamy, adding sugar when soft peaks form the
foam, and adding sugar when stiff peaks form in the foam, respectively. The
addition of sugar increases the smoothness and stability of the foam, for less
drainage occurs when the egg is beaten to a definite stiffness (Lowe, 2009). This
stability is due to the hydroscopic nature of sugar which holds the water that might
escape from the foam.
Although sugar adds to the stability of foams, it also retards denaturation and
therefore coagulation. Considerably more beating is required to reach the proper
stage, and this increased beating results in a foam of finer texture. If the sugar is
added before the beating is completed (Variation A), a longer time is required to
beat the egg white. Thats because the sugar molecules get in the way of the egg
proteins. With sugar molecules in the way, it takes longer for the proteins to find
each other and form bonds (Gardiner and Wilson, 2012). Because of this, sugar
should be added to the egg white as soon as the beating is started and egg white is

a little foamy (Variation B). But it is best to add sugar at the very end when the
whites have formed soft peaks (Variation C) or stiff peaks (Variation D) (Stradley,
2012).
Other factors that affect foam stability are age of egg, type of whisk used,
temperature, presence of fat, salt, and acid. If eggs are fresh, greater volume and
yield is obtained. A whisk with finer wires produces a more stabilized foam. The fine
wires can whip or divide the egg white easier than thick wires. The air cells are
larger than when a whisk with finer wires is used, though the size of the enclosed air
bubbles decreases with longer beating with any type of beater . Egg white foam is
formed and reaches greater volume more quickly when egg whites are at room
temperature. The addition of even a small amount of fat will interfere with the
formation of foam. Fat is present in the egg yolk, so it is very important that all of
the egg yolk is separated from the egg white. Salt is added to egg white foams for
flavor. The addition of an acid will decrease the pH of the egg white foam to near
the isoelectric point of the proteins. At this point, the proteins are least stable and
more sensitive to denaturation. Adding an acid also increases the beating time.
Conclusion: Based on the observations made, it is concluded that, the addition of
sugar increases the stability of the foam. It also increases the beating time for foam
to form. The factors that affect egg foam stability are age of eggs, type of whisk
used, temperature, presence of sugar, fat, salt, and acid.
Application: Explain why slamming an oven door when bread is partially baked may
cause the bread to fall flat.
References:
BoVkoV, H. and MkoV, K. (2010). Factors Influencing Egg White Foam Quality.
Retrieved September 16, 2012 from
http://www.agriculturejournals.cz/publicFiles/44989.pdf
Gardiner, A. and Wilson, S. (2012). Pavlova. Retrieved September 16, 2012 from
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/eggs/pavlova-pop.html
Lowe, B. (2009). Whipping Eggs and Egg Whites. Continues. Retrieved September
16, 2012 from http://chestofbooks.com/food/science/ExperimentalCookery/Whipping-Eggs-And-Egg-Whites-Continued.html
Stradley, L. (2012). Egg White Meringue - How To Make Perfect Meringue. Retrieved
September 16, 2012 from
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Eggs/perfectmeringue.htm