Comparison of different thawing methods effect on the calorimetric and rheological properties of frozen liquid egg yolk

Eggs are commonly used in the food industry because of their excellent nutrient value and also for their coagulating, foaming, emulsifying, colouring and flavouring properties. Manufacturers substitute shell eggs with processed egg products, such as liquid whole egg, liquid egg yolk or albumin. They have a shelf life of a few weeks, but freezing can increase it to 1 year. However, freezing causes gelation in case of egg yolk. This process is highly dependent on the conditions of freezing and thawing.In our study, raw liquid egg yolk was frozen and stored for 14 days at −18 °C. On days 1, 7 and 14 samples were thawed by two different methods. Denaturation temperature and enthalpy were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. Besides, rheological properties were examined at 20 °C, Herschel–Bulkley model was fitted to flow curves of the examined samples. The dry matter content was also recorded during the experiment. Two-way ANOVA was used to analyse data.The results of the study showed that method of thawing had no significant effect on calorimetric and rheological properties and dry matter content. In contrast, freezing and frozen storage had a significant effect on denaturation enthalpy and rheological properties.