A Process Development, Nutritional Facts, Sensory Properties and Storage Stability of Shelf Stable Egg Cube.

Abstract

A shelf stable, convenience product whole Egg Cube (EC) was developed by incorporation of optimized quantities of wheat flour, corn starch, maltodextrin, soya protein in liquid egg. Dehydrated EC was packed in metalised polyester pouches, stored at ambient condition (27±2°C) for 6 months and sampled periodically for quality evaluation. The protein and fat content of dehydrated EC was 33.43±2.10% and 25.90±1.95, respectively. A good amount (mg/100 g) of calcium 125.21±10.54, iron 6.59±0.88 and zinc 2.71±0.17 was available in the product whereas vitamin A and cholesterol was 17.2±0.23 μg/100 g and 289±17 mg/100 g, respectively. The shelf stability of the product was achieved by keeping a moisture content (3.88±0.43%) and water activity (0.36±0.01) low. An excellent rehydration capacity (78.16±5.74%) was observed in the EC. Changes in free fatty acids, thiobarbituric acid, textural profile analysis and Hunter colour units (L, a and b) during storage did not affect the quality characteristics of the product. About 67% loss in carotenoid content was recorded during storage of the product. Standard plate count was <1 cfu g-1. Staphylococci aureus, E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, yeast and molds, however were not detected in any sample throughout the storage period. Sensory evaluation revealed that rehydrated whole egg cube had excellent egg flavour and texture. The EC had very high in vitro digestibility (88.32%) with highest PDCAAS score 1.00 for all the group of population.