Another way to cook eggs

SatNavSaysStraightOn

SatNavSaysStraightOn

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
11 Oct 2012
Local time
11:54 AM
Messages
18,421
Location
SE Australia
Website
www.satnavsaysstraighton.com
I was wondering if anyone knew anything (including the name) about a different ways to cook eggs that my husband came across this morning.

He was in a hotel, so did ask but only got part of the method and had forgotten the name. The egg white was cooked and set but still totally clear so he could see through it and see the egg yolk. He was told that the egg was cooked in a manner similar to poaching but kept at 63°C for 1½ hrs.

Has anyone come across this? Obviously holding the water temperature at exactly 63.x°C for 1½ hours requires a special water bath rather than a saucepan but im still curious.

Apparently, it still tasted like an egg!
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Has anyone come across this? Obviously holding the water temperature at exactly 63.x°C for 1½ hours requires a special water bath rather than a saucepan but im still curious.
Click to expand...

Sounds like it was cooked in a sous-vide in other words. I have one as do some other members. But I really don't understand at all that the white could possibly be cooked and clear. Its a contradiction in terms.
 
Why do egg whites turn white?

“The short answer is that egg whites turn white because a chemical reaction takes place when the proteins in an egg white heat up,” says Ben Chapman, a food safety researcher at NC State University.

The long answer is a little more complicated.

When egg whites are raw, the proteins are curled up into tight balls, more or less floating in water. When heat is applied, those proteins uncoil and get tangled together. These tangled proteins form a kind of mesh, which traps the surrounding water. This changes the color and the physical consistency of the egg white.

How hot do egg whites need to be to turn white?

“Egg whites will start to get cloudy at approximately 140 degrees Fahrenheit, or 60 degrees Celsius,” Chapman says. “At 149 degrees Fahrenheit (65C), the egg white becomes opaque, preventing light from passing through. This same process is what turns the egg white from a liquid into a solid.”
Click to expand...

Why do egg whites turn white when you cook them?
 
He was adamant that the whites were set and well set as in set solid not wobbly or jelly like, and were totally clear as though raw but were not. Apparently he had a chat with someone to have it explained to him.

I can't ask him more at the moment. He's asleep. I just had another asthma attack so had to get up.
 
Were they penguin eggs? The internet (always reliable!) says that penguin eggs go transparent when cooked. 🐧 🥚 (There's a third emoji there, but...it's transparent! :laugh:
 
TastyReuben said:
Were they penguin eggs? The internet (always reliable!) says that penguin eggs go transparent when cooked. 🐧 🥚 (There's a third emoji there, but...it's transparent! :laugh:
Click to expand...
Don't think there hotel was that high end!
To the best of my knowledge, no. But I'll ask when he wakes in 7 hrs or so!
 
It appears that he may have forgotten a step. Though the page is not loading correctly, it does mention that the egg needs to be 'marinated' in an alkaline solution for 8 days first, then cooked at sub 70°C . Though here it says only to cook for 10 mins so still not clear on what's going on.

The alkaline pH will be changing the structures if done if the proteins within the egg white. There are more than 1, all cooking at different temperature ranges but crucially there is one that cooks at 60°C whilst others don't start to cook until 80°C.

transparent hard boiled egg - Home Cooking - Eggs

I'll dig more in the morning if I can. I'm going back to bed now.

Can you imagine a transparent cooked egg white? Apparently it's all about the pH and temperature.

In a nutshell, The recipe is this. You would marinate the eggs in an alkaline solution made with salt and wood ash for 8 days. Then it's cooked in very low heat (160F/70C) for 10 minutes. The egg white sets solid and transparent.

Abracadabra. A testament to this age of molecular gastronomy.
Click to expand...
 
No idea if this is true - but if this is what the hotel does they are definitely 'high end':

grocerytrekker
Click to expand...
| Dec 22, 200607:29 PM 2
When we cook the clear egg white, we all know what happens. Can you imagine a transparent cooked egg white? Apparently it's all about the pH and temperature.
In a nutshell, The recipe is this. You would marinate the eggs in an alkaline solution made with salt and wood ash for 8 days. Then it's cooked in very low heat (160F/70C) for 10 minutes. The egg white sets solid and transparent.
Abracadabra. A testament to this age of molecular gastronomy.
Click to expand...

transparent hard boiled egg - Home Cooking - Eggs
 
I'm uncertain about this - I can find no other reference to this method of steeping in an alkaline solution causing egg whites to stay transparent when cooked. Its a 'Quora member's post from 2006' with no specific references. The question is, are you going to try it?

How was your husband served this egg? It seems a lot of trouble for a hotel to go to for a breakfast egg! This is molecular cuisine.
 
The question I have is... Why? Seems like a lot of time and trouble for an egg that doesn't sound very visually appealing, to me.

CD
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom