Q. Illustrate Egg White Foams?
Egg white foams when whipped or beaten, the air gets entrapped in the liquid present, and an interfacial tension is established between the air-liquid interface. The three proteins which are responsible for foam formation in eggs are globulin, ovalbumin and ovomucin. On beating, ovomucin gets sheared to form hollow tubes about 300-400µ in length. The foam is further helped by some protein coagulation at the air-water interface. With agitation, the egg albumin can be spread over a large surface area, and air can be incorporated into bubbles created by beating the proteins.