Calories in Egg, white

What makes egg so powerful?

Egg whites are a marvel of natural biochemistry, consisting of roughly 90% water and 10% protein. The primary protein, ovalbumin, accounts for more than half of this protein content, but it is the presence of lysozyme that makes the egg white biologically fascinating. Lysozyme is a naturally occurring antibacterial enzyme that actively breaks down the cell walls of certain Gram-positive bacteria, serving as a chemical defense system to protect the developing yolk and embryo from infection. When you whip egg whites, you are exploiting another unique property of these proteins: denaturation. The mechanical force of whipping causes the tightly folded protein chains to unfold, exposing hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions. These unfolded proteins then rearrange themselves around tiny air bubbles, coagulating into a stable, structural foam. This is why raw egg whites can be whipped into towering meringues. Adding a mild acid, such as cream of tartar, lowers the pH of the mixture, which prevents the proteins from bonding too tightly and squeezing out water, resulting in a much more stable and glossy foam.