Changes in physicochemical properties, gel structure and in vitro digestion of marinated egg white gel during braising

In this paper, changes in physicochemical properties, gel structure and in vitro digestion of marinated egg with spice or tea during braising were investigated. Results indicated that the moisture content and surface hydrophobicity of marinated egg white showed an overall decreased trend. The springiness of marinated egg white showed an increased trend, and the hardness in the late stage showed an increased trend. Microstructure showed that compact gel structures formed many holes during the braising. Intermolecular forces showed that ionic bonds and disulfide bonds played a dominant role in the marinated egg white. Secondary structure showed that the β-turn showed a decreased trend, contrary to that of random coils and α-helices. Appropriate braising increased the digestibility of marinated egg white, but excessively long-time braising could reduce it. Both spice and tea braising could improve the gel strength of protein, and the tea braising was also slightly better than spice braising.