Investigating the causes of yolk mudding during storage of salted eggs: Water migration accelerates protein and lipid oxidation
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Updated: May 16, 2025

Mechanical Separation and Protein Solubilization of the Outer and Inner Perivitelline Sublayers from Hen's Eggs
Published on: January 27, 2021
Jiyu Zhang1, Songyi Lin1, Sichen Lu1
1National Engineering Research Center of Seafood, School of Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034, Liaoning Province, China; Engineering Research Center of Special Dietary Food, The Education Department of Liaoning Province, Dalian 116034, PR China.
Abstract:
In this study, salted egg yolks (SEYs) were subjected to two distinct storage methods: one group was stored as intact whole eggs, and the other was stored as isolated yolks. It was verified that water migration was the root cause of the mudding of SEYs. LF-NMR and MRI analyses revealed a significant decrease in water content in the egg white and a dramatic increase in the salted egg yolk (SEY) during storage. Additionally, the soluble protein content of the salted egg group significantly decreased, while the sulfhydryl content and peroxide value (PV) increased notably. Finally, CLSM and Cryo-SEM analyses identified three stages in the muddying of SEY: yolk particle dispersion, aggregation, and reorganization. This process accelerates protein-lipid oxidation and re-emulsification, ultimately leading to SEY mudding.
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