What are the physical and chemical reactions that occur in aeration?

Question

Especially in whisking eggs.

Answer 1

When whisking eggs there is not a chemical reaction.

There is a physical reaction.

Egg whites have a a protein called albumen. Albumen has the ability to accept large quantities of air. So when you whisk eggs the air is accepted and retained in the egg whites. This is why you increase the volume when whisking eggs.

When you make a genoise cake the eggs provide the air in the cake.

The eggs are whisked with sugar until the ribbon stage ( when you can make ribbons from the eggs and sugar and they hold the ribbon shape)

The flour and butter is then folded in.

The cake does not rise in the oven. The baking process cooks the egg and the flour holds the structure in place.

I hope this helps.

A chemical reaction would be baking powder reacting to liquid or the heat from the oven.

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