The Science of Frying the Perfect Egg
And how to avoid that chewy, rubbery texture
We’ve all done it.
Been rushed or too impatient to fry an egg properly. Cranked up the heat, only to be completely disappointed with the result
Because what do we end up with?
An egg that feels like plastic in our mouth. It’s rough and tough. Not the light and fluffy breakfast we were dreaming of.
Never again! Because once you understand how an egg cooks, you’ll never repeat that amateur mistake.
First, what’s really happening when you fry an egg?
When you first crack an egg into the frying pan it’s liquid-like and runny. By adding heat the egg becomes more solid and elastic. On a microscopic level, the heat from the pan is changing how the proteins in the egg whites and yolk are behaving.
Although the proteins in the egg whites are different from the egg yolk, each can be represented as a necklace. Just like a necklace is made up of many beads to create a long strand, proteins are made up of many amino acids to create long molecules.
Initially, each protein strand is all balled up and curled in upon itself. These are called globular proteins.
