Egg Yolk Powder

Egg yolk powder is a food ingredient with a range of uses that have surged in popularity among consumers and industry in recent years. The awareness of its versatility and convenience as a food ingredient has made egg yolk powder a go-to baking and cooking ingredient for many chefs and bakeries alike. What exactly is egg yolk powder and how is it created and sent to someone’s dinner plate? In this blog post, we will walk through the fruit-to-fork production and transport processes to provide insight into the exciting and often behind-the-scenes journey an egg yolk powder takes from the farm to the table.

Egg yolk powder starts at the farm. To understand egg yolk powder production, we must first take a look at where it all begins: on the ranch. Depending on the region, the hens producing the eggs used for egg yolk powder may live in an enclosed battery cage, colony housing system, enriched colony, or the increasingly common free-range environment. In these controlled environments, hens are fed balanced diets and professionals in the industry work to ensure safety, health, comfort, and welfare of the birds.

Once the eggs have been laid, they are gathered and either stored in the egg production facility or off-site in a special egg storage building. Here, the eggs are monitored with temperature and humidity control systems, as well as daily inspection practices, designed to keep the eggs fresh.

The egg collection process moves to the egg breaking location, where the eggs are brought for breaking and subsequent processing. Here, a high-tech egg-breaking machine is used to open the shells and separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Once separated, the egg whites and yolks move through several pasteurization treatments before they are ready to be dried.

The egg yolks are moved to the dehydration room, specifically designed to optimize the drying process of egg yolks into the powder form. This process is generally achieved via three main methods: spray drying, freeze drying, and drum drying.

If spray drying is used, the egg yolks are atomized through gravity, a pump feed, or a centrifugal wheel. This method provides the shortest time of conversion from liquid form to dry egg yolk powder.

If freeze drying is used, the egg yolks are placed in trays and frozen below the freezing point of water (?18°C). Then the egg yolks are placed in an enclosure from which the moisture is absorbed into the atmosphere at temperatures below their freezing point. This method takes longer to produce but yields more concentrated egg yolk powder.

Finally, if drum drying is used, the egg yolks are heated and spread onto the surface of a large rotating drum where the moisture evaporates from the egg yolks due to a combination of heat, air flow, and duration of contact with the surface of the drum.

Whichever method is used, after extensive drying, the egg yolk powder must meet quality requirements related to color, odor, and taste before it can be accepted and packaged.

The egg yolk powder is then placed in a specially designed package or container and labeled with information related to the product, such as weight, ingredients and production date. For eggs, precision is essential to avoid microbiological issues, therefore it is vital that the packaging and transport of the powder no do not cause any contamination of the raw material.

Once packaged, the egg yolk powder is ready to be transported. Depending on the size, weight, and distance of transportation, different transportation methods may be used. For example, if the egg yolk powder passes through international borders, air transportation is more often than not preferred for speed and efficiency. Other transportation methods include road, sea, and rail.

The last step of the process brings the egg yolk powder to its final destination—the dinner plate. In most cases, the egg yolk powder may be added raw to a recipe, such as a cake mix, or used for pastry cream recipes. There are a variety of applications for egg yolk powder in the kitchen, from breads, cakes, and cookies to other desserts. Although egg yolks do not possess the same binding and leavening capabilities that egg whites have, they are key flavor and texture enhancers, including in gravies, sauces, and salad dressings. As such, egg yolk powder has become a convenient choice for kitchens around the world.

When looking at the journey of an egg yolk powder from farm to plate, one can see both the delicate processes and longer-term concerns of food production and distribution. It is a journey built on safety, innovation, and efficiency - driven by the work of the farmers, producers, and distributors, who have developed the best ways of providing safe, flavorful egg powder products to our kitchens.