Super Chilling Enhances Preservation of the Freshness of Salted Egg Yolk During Long-Term Storage

ABSTRACT:  Pasteurized egg yolk with 10% (w/w) salt was stored at 5, –5, –15, –20, and –30 °C for 1 to 6 mo, respectively. Changes in generation of volatiles of the stored samples (5 and −5 °C for 6 mo) were analyzed by SPME-GC-MS. Emulsifying properties of egg yolk stored at −5, −15, −20, and −30 °C for 1 mo, respectively, were also evaluated by measurement of emulsion particle diameters in model emulsions prepared with the yolk samples. In addition, structural changes in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in the egg yolks dependent on storage conditions for 6 mo were evaluated by ³¹P–NMR. Volatile compounds such as hexanal, 2-methylbutanal, and 3-methylbutanal increased in egg yolk during storage at 5 °C; however, volatile compounds hardly increased in any samples stored at −5 °C (super chilling). The mean emulsion particle diameter in super chilled egg yolk was significantly smaller than that in egg yolk stored at the other lower temperatures. In addition, the results of ³¹P–NMR evaluation suggested that prevention of structural changes of LDL resulted in maintenance of emulsifying properties of egg yolk. Thus, these results indicate that super chilling is an effective means of preserving salted egg yolk during long-term storage.