Effect of salt penetration and water migration on cooked salted egg yolk gel during storage: Physicochemical properties, structural characteristics and flavor changes

There is an urgent need to explore the salt penetration and water migration in the cooked salted egg yolk (CSEY) gel. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of salt and water on the physicochemical, structural and flavor characteristics of CSEY gel stored at 25 °C. The hardness of the yolk increased significantly (608.0 g → 2730.7 g) during storage. The results of LF-NMR showed that the free water content in the yolk gel was enhanced. The microstructure of CSEY could be observed by SEM, which showed that during storage, polyhedral particles were dispersed due to the heating process. In addition, ethyl acetate (71.9 %) was completely undetectable in the CSEY-21 d. In summary, the sample at and before 14 d of storage had good processing value. Therefore, this work would provide theoretical guidance for the low-sodium pickling of SEY (salted egg yolk) and its suitable storage methods.