Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

[Phys-l] egg science



Hi Folks --

A seasonal remark: If you're going to be cooking eggs in their
shells, may I suggest you *steam* them rather than boiling them.
Advantages include:
-- less water needed
-- less energy needed
-- less time needed
-- less risk of breakage
-- better result

Specifically: Put a small amount of water in the bottom of the
pot, then put in a rack or other spacer to hold the eggs above
the water. Add eggs, then put the pot on the stove. Start timing
from the moment the water starts to boil.

When cooking eggs by any method, you don't want to overcook them
or undercook them, and the process window is rather small. For
steaming, times range from 12 minutes to 15 minutes, depending
on altitude, depending on the size of the eggs, and depending on
whether they have been in the refrigerator or sitting out.

If sampling indicates they are undercooked, you can put them back
on the stove and steam them for another couple of minutes.

The physics here is obvious: You get a "heat pipe" effect. That
is, due to the latent heat of condensation, the steam gives you
much better distribution of heat than hot water ever could.

Also due to the lack of buoyancy, the eggs don't jiggle around
so it is very unlikely that they will break.

Note that you can cook humongous numbers of eggs all at once
using this method.

You can google for more information if you want. Or just do
the experiment. I bet you'll never boil another egg ever.
_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l