Simple White Wine and Cheese Sauce

Introduction:
     Egg yolks are composed of approximately 51% water, 16% protein, 32% fat, and 1% carbohydrates. In their natural states egg yolks are an emulsion composed of fats and waters that are held in a suspension by the proteins.  Similar to egg whites, egg yolks foams trap air with denatured proteins that form a mesh around air bubbles. Although with egg yolks, heat needs to be added to a minimum of 162 degrees Fahrenheit. If the yolks reach a temperature too hot, the proteins will coagulate which will lead to a loss of air and ultimately affect the texture. In order to properly whisk egg yolks, it is essential to remember that the goal is to whisk air into the food to create a foam.  It is preferred to whisk the cream by hand in an up-and-down circular motion, catching and trapping air.
     The white wine added to this recipe is acidic ranging from 3.4 (Chardonnay) to bout 2.9 (Riesling).  In this recipe the addition of the acid will help prevent the egg yolks from coagulating under heat.  It is important to monitor the addition of heat to this recipe in order to prevent scrambled eggs.
     The purpose of this recipe is to create egg yolks into a foam and to use white wine as a buffer to prevent the proteins from coagulating.

Materials:
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup white wine
3 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Methods:
1. Whisk the egg yolks and white wine over a flame until a frothy foam forms.
2. Add the Parmesan cheese and whisk until throughly combined.

Results:

1. Whisk the egg yolks and white wine over a flame until a frothy foam forms.

2. Add the Parmesan cheese and whisk until throughly combined. 

Discussion:
     The purpose of this recipe is to show the transformation of  egg yolks into foam.  Also it is able to show how acids prevent protein coagulation. This recipe was successful because the egg yolks did not coagulate and create scrambled eggs. The whisking of egg yolks was very similar to the whisking of egg whites but required heat.  It was crucial to monitor the heat while cooking the sauce in order to prevent the proteins from coagulating. Overall the recipe was very simple to use and did not require many ingredients. In the future I would experiment with different types of acidic wine to determine the effects they have on the egg yolks.

Citation:
Potter, Jeff. Cooking for Geeks. Sebastopol: O'Reilly, 2010. Print.