Abstract: This study determined the effect of adding different amounts of propanediol (0%, 0.01%, 0.1%, and 1%) to liquid whole egg (LWE) followed by pasteurization (66 ℃/3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 min) on its physicochemical, foaming, emulsifying and gelation properties, and it also illustrated the underlying mechanism. Results showed that addition of propanediol reduced the aggregation degree of proteins in pasteurized LWE while improving its color. The maximum brightness, redness and yellowness values of 72.28, 17.63 and 75.22 were observed in pasteurized LWE with propanediol compared to 70.26, 13.17 and 57.04 for the control without addition of propanediol or pasteurization, respectively. Moreover, the emulsifying capacity of LWE with 1% propanediol pasteurized for 4.0 min was increased most significantly compared to the control (57.93% versus 44.2%). The best gel properties, namely water-holding capacity (WHC) of 95.95% and hardness of 2 641.02 g, were obtained by pasteurization for 3.0 min plus 0.1% propanediol addition, accompanied by a 1.09-fold and 1.25-fold increase in the elasticity and chewiness, respectively. The emulsion stability of LWE with 1% propanediol addition and pasteurization for 3.5 min was 28.47%, which was 1.71 times higher than that (28.47%) of the control. Therefore, addition of propanediol can effectively protect and even improve the processing characteristics of LWE during pasteurization, which will provide a scientific basis for stabilizing the functional characteristics of LWE.

Key words: propanediol; liquid whole egg; pasteurization; processing?characteristics?