Abstract
Foams of chicken egg albumen have been an important element in Western cuisine for at least 300 yr1; they lower the density of such otherwise ponderous preparations as soufflés and sponge cakes, and in the heat-annealed form known as meringues they support or crown various sucrose-rich mixtures2. The raw protein foam is delicate and easily ruined by overheating. Over the past 200 yr, protocols for the production of albumen foams have frequently specified the use of copper reaction vessels3–5. In keeping with the line of thought that holds culinary practice to be worthy of philosophical and scientific analysis6–8, we have investigated the nature and consequences of the copper protocol. We report here that copper utensils reduce the danger of overheating albumen foams, and propose that the mechanism involves the metal-binding protein, conalbumin (ovotransferrin).
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Phillips, E. The New World of English Words 6th edn (ed. Kersey, J.), S. V. Meringues (J. Phillips, London, 1706).
McGee, H. On Food and Cooking, Ch. 2 (Scribner, New York, in the press).
Diderot, D. & d'Alembert, J. (eds) Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers 1751–1777, Pâtissier, Plate 1 (Briasson, Paris, 1771).
Escoffier, A. Guide Culinaire, 1075 (E. Colin, Paris, 1907).
Child, J., Bertholle, L. & Beck, S. Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol 1, 158–159 (Knopf, New York, 1961).
Plato Gorgias, 500e–501b (Athens, ∼350 BC).
Boswell, J. Life of Samuel Johnson Vol. 2, 205 (Dent, London, 1906).
Brillat-Savarin, J. A. Physiologie du Goût, Meditation 7 (Santelet, Paris, 1826).
Alexander, A. E. & Johnson, P. Colloid Science Vol. 2, 635–639 (Clarendon, Oxford, 1949).
Graham, D. E. & Phillips, M. C. in Foams (ed. Akers, R. J.) 237–253 (Academic, London, 1976).
Cunningham, F. E. Poultry Sci. 55, 738–743 (1975).
Fraenkel-Conrat, H. & Feeney, R. E. Archs Biochem. Biophys. 29, 101–113 (1950).
Feeney, R. E. & Allison, R. G. Evolutionary Biochemistry of Proteins, 144–171 (Wiley, New York, 1969).
Azari, P. R. & Feeney, R. E. J. biol. Chem. 232, 293–302 (1958).
Komatsu, S. K. & Feeney, R. E. Biochemistry 6, 1136–1141 (1967).
Rhodes, M. B., Bennett, N. & Feeney, R. E. J. biol. Chem. 234, 2054–2060 (1959).
Warner, R. C. & Weber, I. J. Am. chem. Soc. 75, 5094–5101 (1953).
Tan, A. T. & Woodworth, R. C. Biochemistry 8, 3711–3716 (1969).
Williams, J., Evans, R. W. & Moreton, K. Biochem. J. 173, 535–542 (1978).
Johnson, T. M. & Zabik, M. E. J. Food Sci. 46, 1231–1236 (1981).
Feeney, R. E., MacDonnell, L. R. & Ducay, E. D. Archs Biochem. Biophys. 61, 72–83 (1956).
Parkinson, T. L. J. Sci. Fd Agric. 17, 101–11 (1966).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McGee, H., Long, S. & Briggs, W. Why whip egg whites in copper bowls?. Nature 308, 667–668 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/308667a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/308667a0
This article is cited by
-
Cooking Literacy: Meringues as Culinary Scaffoldings
Food Biophysics (2012)
-
Q&A: The molecular master chef
Nature (2009)
-
The Role of Copper in Protein Foams
Food Biophysics (2008)
-
Tumour necrosis factor α restores granulomas and induces parasite egg-laying in schistosome-infected SCID mice
Nature (1992)
-
Receptor-directed focusing of lymphokine release by helper T cells
Nature (1988)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.