Optimized Enzymatic Hydrolysis Process for Egg-Based Ready-to-Drink Beverages
A controlled, food-grade enzymatic hydrolysis process that improves egg protein solubility and reduces viscosity while minimizing bitterness, enabling egg-based ready-to-drink beverages. The process uses response surface methodology to precisely optimize hydrolysis time, temperature, and enzyme concentration, delivering a reproducible method with high solubility, low viscosity, and low bitterness.
Overview
Egg protein has largely been excluded from the ready-to-drink beverage market due to poor solubility and high viscosity. This technology overcomes those barriers through a controlled, food-grade enzymatic hydrolysis process that breaks down egg proteins into smaller peptides with substantially improved functional properties, while carefully managing bitterness.
The process uses response surface methodology (RSM), a systematic statistical approach, to determine the precise combination of hydrolysis time, temperature, and enzyme concentration that achieves the optimal degree of hydrolysis. The result is a controllable, reproducible processing method for producing egg-based beverages with the highest solubility, lowest viscosity, and minimal bitterness.
Technical specifications
The process combines three food-grade enzymes, including two microbial enzymes (Alcalase and Flavourzyme) and one plant-based enzyme (Papain), to hydrolyze egg protein into peptides with improved solubility and viscosity profiles.
Key features:
- Response surface methodology optimizes three process inputs (time, temperature, enzyme concentration), each evaluated at five levels
- Degree of hydrolysis (DH) serves as the underlying control parameter, balancing solubility and viscosity gains against the formation of bitter hydrophobic peptides
- Hydrophobic amino acid content is quantified as an indicator of bitterness to guide optimization
- One-factor-at-a-time screening is used first to select the most effective enzyme before full optimization
The approach directly addresses the central challenge that excessive hydrolysis improves solubility but generates bitterness. By precisely controlling the degree of hydrolysis, the process achieves the best balance of all three quality attributes simultaneously.
Technology readiness level
The technology is at an early stage of development, with a 12-month, three-phase validation roadmap planned. Phase 1 involves enzyme screening to evaluate the impact of hydrolysis time on degree of hydrolysis, solubility, and viscosity. Phase 2 applies response surface methodology to identify optimal processing conditions. Phase 3 focuses on developing and formulating a beverage prototype. The research team has prior experience in egg-based beverage development and has received an IFT First Place Award for egg-based beverage innovation.
About Texas A&M University, College Station
Texas A&M University in College Station is a comprehensive public research university and the flagship of The Texas A&M University System, combining broad academic strengths with a strong applied‑research culture. Industry collaborates on the Texas A&M‑RELLIS campus—an integrated education, research and testing environment that supports large‑scale experimentation and proving grounds—and through the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s facilities in Bryan‑College Station. A statewide extension network connects university expertise to companies and communities across all Texas counties, enabling rapid piloting and deployment. Research is supported by competitive federal funding from agencies such as NSF, NIH, DOE, USDA and DoD, alongside state and industry sponsorship. Texas A&M Innovation provides IP management, licensing and commercialization pathways across the system.
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