projectile vomit chick wrote:

Can a microwave ever be used to make boiled eggs? I have
heard of "exploding eggs" so I thought I would ask first.

Yes, make sure you put it on HIGH and let 'er rip for about twenty
minutes.

Don't be upset, the pvc is our occasional resident retard. She tries to
make herself feel important and vaguely intelligent by insulting others.
She is best (and easily) ignored.
Peter

THANKYOUILOVEYOUALL
dropping microphone and dumb****s

très charmante et amusante, non?

Nathalie Chiva wrote in
:

In article
ps.com, "maxine
in ri" wrote:
No. If they start in cold water with salt, they don't seem to
crack as much. If there are too few or too many in the pot, they
will rattle around and crack themselves against each other. Then
again, sometimes it doesn't make a difference. Last night I had
7 in the 1 quart pot, and none cracked. Last time, I had 7 in
the pot, and 1 cracked.

Vinegar works. One tbsp of vinegar in the water.

That will limit leakage but not prevent cracking. To prevent cracking,
discolouration and what not, place the eggs in cold water, bring water
to a boil, then take off the heat and let sit for twelve minutes
exactly. Your hard boiled eggs will be perfect.

If you're wary of that, turn down to barely a simmer.

--

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why
the poor have no food, they call me a communist."

Dom Helder Camara

Eggs begin with a very tiny air pocket that grows over time. They crack because this air pocket expands when heated. The fresher the egg, the smaller the air pocket, the less tendency toward cracking. At the same time, though, the fresher the egg, the harder they are to peel.

There's no such thing as a simple foolproof hard cooked egg recipe. Boiling an egg may seem like the simplest thing in the world, but when you start looking at the number of variables involved, the list is huge. Just off the top of my head, you have:

Size of the egg
Age of the egg
Amount of water (more water will hold heat longer and will also take longer to bring to a boil)
Number of eggs (the more eggs you use, the greater the initial drop in heat)
BTU output of stove
Shape/material of cooking vessel
Dissolved minerals in the water
Fridge temp
Altitude

In other words, if a recipe doesn't list things like the number of eggs or the quantity of water, it will produce completely inconsistent results from person to person. Everyone and their brother has a simple foolproof recipe for eggs. Don't believe the hype.

Your best bet is some trial and error. Try to decrease the variables by using the same amount of water, the same saucepan and the same number of eggs. Start off with less time- an undercooked hard cooked egg with a slightly soft yolk is far preferable to a smelly overcooked gray/green tinged yolk. Once you get a time that works- stick with it for that size egg. Once you find that magic window, that will be YOUR foolproof recipe. Please don't impose it on anyone else, though

It's a hassle, but if you really want consistently excellent hard cooked eggs, trial and error/mitigating the variables is essential. A lot of foods are like this. Contrary to what many people believe there is no 'correct' time to cook rice nor 'correct' amount of water to add. Same with beans.

In article . com, "Jude" wrote:
Phred wrote:
Recalling days of chem prac decades ago, I've sometimes wondered if
the "glass bead" principle would work with boiling eggs. Haven't
actually tried (don't have any glass beads -- and I suspect the lab
size would soon all be gone down the plug hole if I did have some
but maybe I will one day -- if I ever get around to buying a pack of
those cheap marbles from Coles Variety or wherever. They might be too
big relative to the size of the eggs though; could just get the whole
caboodle bouncing around!

Explain the glass bead principle, please.

We used a few glass beads in flasks/beakers when heating solutions in
chem prac. The idea seemed to be that the bouncing beads would
prevent the container jumping around when the liquid started to boil.
(The beads themselves performed pretty well though.

The correct type of bead will also prevent superheating -- and could
be used in more modern times to prevent superheating of liquids in
microwave ovens. (Though I don't know of anyone who does this. ;-)

I was just wondering if their use would prevent eggs jumping around
and breaking during boiling. I note that someone else has assumed
eggs crack due to expansion of the air sac contained in them. I have
always assumed it was due to "bouncing". Maybe it's really a
combination of the two -- increased internal pressure combined with
physical stress on the shell. But I admit to bias towards the latter.

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

Phred wrote:

Recalling days of chem prac decades ago, I've sometimes wondered if
the "glass bead" principle would work with boiling eggs. Haven't
actually tried (don't have any glass beads -- and I suspect the lab
size would soon all be gone down the plug hole if I did have some
but maybe I will one day -- if I ever get around to buying a pack of
those cheap marbles from Coles Variety or wherever. They might be too
big relative to the size of the eggs though; could just get the whole
caboodle bouncing around!

Cheers, Phred.

Those "glass beads" weren't just glass, they were Pyrex, and they work
by increasing the surface area on which air bubbles can form and
escape. There would be no advantage to using them for boiling eggs,
sicne you should bring your eggs up to temp in the water anyway.

The key to not cracking eggs while boiling is to start with uncracked
eggs to begin with, and to not boil them vigorously. Cracked eggs
crack - you may not see the cracks but you can be assured they were
there. If you purchased your eggs from a store that sells mass-market
eggs grown in factory farms, the egg shells will be thin and most
likely cracked. If you are able to buy them from a farm outlet or
local farmer, the shells will be nice and thick and not cracked. Egg
quality is undoubtedly your problem.

-L.


-L.

scott123 wrote:

Eggs begin with a very tiny air pocket that grows over time. They crack
because this air pocket expands when heated. The fresher the egg, the
smaller the air pocket, the less tendency toward cracking. At the same
time, though, the fresher the egg, the harder they are to peel.


This is not completely accurate. Egg shells are permeable to air, so as
the air exmands it passes thru the shell - this is why you see bubbles
rising from eggs in the hot water. The main reason eggs crack while
being boiled is that they are already cracked - small hairline cracks
that are not visible initially. Knocking around in too-rapidly boiling
water is another reason. Temperature shock is not involved. I remember
seeing Julia Child take eggs from an ice water bath directly to boiling
water with no cracking.

Peter

Phred wrote:

In article . com, "Jude" wrote:

Phred wrote:

Recalling days of chem prac decades ago, I've sometimes wondered if
the "glass bead" principle would work with boiling eggs. Haven't
actually tried (don't have any glass beads -- and I suspect the lab
size would soon all be gone down the plug hole if I did have some
but maybe I will one day -- if I ever get around to buying a pack of
those cheap marbles from Coles Variety or wherever. They might be too
big relative to the size of the eggs though; could just get the whole
caboodle bouncing around!

Explain the glass bead principle, please.


We used a few glass beads in flasks/beakers when heating solutions in
chem prac. The idea seemed to be that the bouncing beads would
prevent the container jumping around when the liquid started to boil.
(The beads themselves performed pretty well though.


This is not why the beads are used. Your next para explains the actual
reason.

The correct type of bead will also prevent superheating -- and could
be used in more modern times to prevent superheating of liquids in
microwave ovens. (Though I don't know of anyone who does this. ;-)


Peter

On Thu 19 Jan 2006 06:36:07a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it P.Aitken?



scott123 wrote:

Eggs begin with a very tiny air pocket that grows over time. They crack
because this air pocket expands when heated. The fresher the egg, the
smaller the air pocket, the less tendency toward cracking. At the same
time, though, the fresher the egg, the harder they are to peel.


This is not completely accurate. Egg shells are permeable to air, so as
the air exmands it passes thru the shell - this is why you see bubbles
rising from eggs in the hot water. The main reason eggs crack while
being boiled is that they are already cracked - small hairline cracks
that are not visible initially. Knocking around in too-rapidly boiling
water is another reason. Temperature shock is not involved. I remember
seeing Julia Child take eggs from an ice water bath directly to boiling
water with no cracking.

Curious... What would be the point of taking eggs from an ice water bath
and putting them in boiling water, besides the obvious, cooking them? I
mean, why ice beforehand?

--
Wayne Boatwright Õ¿Õ¬
________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!

Wayne Boatwright wrote:

On Thu 19 Jan 2006 06:36:07a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it P.Aitken?



scott123 wrote:


Eggs begin with a very tiny air pocket that grows over time. They crack
because this air pocket expands when heated. The fresher the egg, the
smaller the air pocket, the less tendency toward cracking. At the same
time, though, the fresher the egg, the harder they are to peel.


This is not completely accurate. Egg shells are permeable to air, so as
the air exmands it passes thru the shell - this is why you see bubbles
rising from eggs in the hot water. The main reason eggs crack while
being boiled is that they are already cracked - small hairline cracks
that are not visible initially. Knocking around in too-rapidly boiling
water is another reason. Temperature shock is not involved. I remember
seeing Julia Child take eggs from an ice water bath directly to boiling
water with no cracking.


Curious... What would be the point of taking eggs from an ice water bath
and putting them in boiling water, besides the obvious, cooking them? I
mean, why ice beforehand?


To demonstrate that the temperature shock does not cause cracking,
that's all.

Peter

On Thu 19 Jan 2006 08:36:18a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it P.Aitken?



Wayne Boatwright wrote:

On Thu 19 Jan 2006 06:36:07a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it
P.Aitken?



scott123 wrote:


Eggs begin with a very tiny air pocket that grows over time. They
crack because this air pocket expands when heated. The fresher the
egg, the smaller the air pocket, the less tendency toward cracking. At
the same time, though, the fresher the egg, the harder they are to
peel.


This is not completely accurate. Egg shells are permeable to air, so as
the air exmands it passes thru the shell - this is why you see bubbles
rising from eggs in the hot water. The main reason eggs crack while
being boiled is that they are already cracked - small hairline cracks
that are not visible initially. Knocking around in too-rapidly boiling
water is another reason. Temperature shock is not involved. I remember
seeing Julia Child take eggs from an ice water bath directly to boiling
water with no cracking.


Curious... What would be the point of taking eggs from an ice water
bath and putting them in boiling water, besides the obvious, cooking
them? I mean, why ice beforehand?


To demonstrate that the temperature shock does not cause cracking,
that's all.

Oh, well yes, that would do it. I thought maybe Julia had a trick up her
sleeve. g

--
Wayne Boatwright Õ¿Õ¬
________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!

i usually just boil my eggs for 11minutes... take them off and run them
under cold water until they are luke warm

never had any "skin" problems

-CB
http://www.iamfood.com

In article , "P.Aitken"
wrote:
Phred wrote:
In article . com, "Jude"
wrote:
Phred wrote:

Recalling days of chem prac decades ago, I've sometimes wondered if
the "glass bead" principle would work with boiling eggs. Haven't
actually tried (don't have any glass beads -- and I suspect the lab
size would soon all be gone down the plug hole if I did have some
but maybe I will one day -- if I ever get around to buying a pack of
those cheap marbles from Coles Variety or wherever. They might be too
big relative to the size of the eggs though; could just get the whole
caboodle bouncing around!

Explain the glass bead principle, please.

We used a few glass beads in flasks/beakers when heating solutions in
chem prac. The idea seemed to be that the bouncing beads would
prevent the container jumping around when the liquid started to boil.
(The beads themselves performed pretty well though.

This is not why the beads are used. Your next para explains the actual
reason.

Yeah. I realised that when thinking more about it while dozing off
last night. The "jumping" is a consequence, not a solution. (Pun
noted, but not intended.

The correct type of bead will also prevent superheating -- and could
be used in more modern times to prevent superheating of liquids in
microwave ovens. (Though I don't know of anyone who does this. ;-)

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

The bubbles you see rising from boiling eggs are NOT from the air inside the shell. It's from the air trapped in the tiny crevices on the outside of the shell. Egg shells are permeable to air, but the permeability isn't instantaneous. We aren't talking about an air conditioner filter here. The air exchanged from the outside to the inside of the shell occurs over days, not seconds.

It's basic physics. The torque required to break a shell from the inside is very small. Air expands when heated. Hairline cracks/structural integrity/rough handling certainly play a role, but the age of the egg and the size of the air pocket are critical in the egg breaking equation.

As far as Julia Child's incontrovertable proof... most refrigerators are in the 35-40 degree realm. Ice water can't be colder than 32 (unless it's salted ice water). Those few degrees difference isn't going to increase the thermal shock that dramatically. Besides, she was probably just using fresh eggs.

Age isn't the best measurement for determining the size of the air pocket. Depending on the storage conditions and the composition of the shell, evaporation can vary greatly. The most foolproof method is to shine a light through them (called candling). Leave some eggs in the fridge for a few months and candle them to make sure the air pocket is substantial. If the pocket is sizable, I promise you, they will all crack when they hit boiling water, regardless of the presence of hairline cracks or whether they knock around or not.

Every one of them.

scott123 wrote:

snipped

I read your post several times, my jaw dropping lower each time.
Everything - EVERYTHING - you say is factually wrong. Where on earth do
you get this bullshit? Even the most backward high school in the
backwoods of Mississippi cannot teach this tripe.

Time for the ibuprofen - the idea that human bengs can be so abysmally
stupid and ignorant gives me a headache. I pity you but I will not put
up with uour BS.

Peter

P.Aitken wrote:

scott123 wrote:

snipped

I read your post several times, my jaw dropping lower each time.
Everything - EVERYTHING - you say is factually wrong. Where on earth do
you get this bullshit? Even the most backward high school in the
backwoods of Mississippi cannot teach this tripe.

Time for the ibuprofen - the idea that human bengs can be so abysmally
stupid and ignorant gives me a headache. I pity you but I will not put
up with uour BS.



You mean you won't give the man a dollar, Peter...???


--
Best
Greg