Task 4: Function Properties of Protein- Coagulation

In your own words, summarise what you have learnt about the chemical and physical properties of proteins in relation to coagulation. As part of your summary comment on something that you did not know or understand before now or something that you still don’t understand and want to know more about.

 You may use the following as discussion points if you are stuck.

•  What is coagulation
•  Chemical/physical changes that occur.
•  The experiments and how they helped your understanding.
•  Usefulness of coagulation in food processing.

Use diagrams, pictures or videos if these help your understanding. However, make sure you explain them!


I'm just going to start out this blogpost with this recipe for baked custard tart with toffeed mango(shown above). Now after we made our custard tarts in class- I was the only person game enough to actually try the ones left over. They tasted like actual bollucks, just like egg, not enough sugar, hey Ash! But I've tried out this recipe with my Nan, and these ones worked a treat(: http://ten.com.au/the-circle-recipes-sweet-things-baked-custard-tart-with-toffeed-mango.htm

Alrighty, so for task 4, I'm supposed to talk about coagulation. Straight up, coagulation means egg to me after this experiment haha. But its the protein in eggs is what makes it coagulate. So coagulation pretty much means curdling, so when liquids solidify or semi solidify and sometimes become lumpy.

It is a bit confusing learning about the two different forms of proteins I often get confused but the little diagram on the class notes help alot!

So theres two forms of proteins as far as I'm concerned: and this is a bit technical in the wording and confusing but I'll write it anyway!

1. Fibrous Proteins= the coiled helix structure is elongated to form a strand(prettymuch saying its formed like a twisty shape like when you twist your hair around-same sort of shape) Fibrous proteins are found in muscle fibres of meat, poultry and fish, and also in flour products that contain gluten.
2. Globular Proteins= protein strands are twisted into a rounded, compact shape(what I get from this diagram is like Mr. Messy-the shape of him). Globular proteins are found in eggs, dairy products and enzymes.

 

See, the mish-mashed lines on Mr Messy looks like the diagram of globular proteins! 

That's just how I remember it anyway..

This experiment of making Baked custard tart help my understanding of coagulation quite alot. Although I already knew that when you bake custard it solidifies after becoming cool, I didn't know the term for it. And I had no idea so many things could make coagulation occur in food processing!

Theres a lot of usefulness in coagulation in relation of food processing, for example if your making a quiche, when you bake it the egg coagulates. Anything with egg in it prettymuch, even when poaching an egg-if you add an acid like vinegar or lemon juice to the water you are helping the coagulation process speed up and your also helping the poor little egg stay together in the boiling water by become a solid.
Eggs Eggs Eggs!