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Can Hard-Boiled Eggs Really Explode?

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The Incredible, Inedible Exploding Egg

My eighty-three year-old mom can be a bit forgetful, which is why she doesn't cook much anymore. She's unable to stand at the stove for more than a few minutes and, unfortunately, sometimes forgets she's got something on the burner or in the oven if she walks away and gets distracted. But I did give her a small, handheld timer for the rare occasions she does want to prepare something she can't or doesn't want to cook in the microwave. And one of those things is hard-boiled eggs.

Unfortunately, mom fell asleep on the couch and didn't hear the timer ... which she'd forgotten about and left on the kitchen counter next to the stove.

So the water all boiled out of the pan, leaving six very hard-boiled eggs behind. And do you know what happened?

Well, I told my Facebook friends how, when I stopped over my mom's house, I ended up having to clean egg off the ceiling. But can you believe, my friends doubted my integrity, implying that I'd EMBELLISHED about the exploding eggs? Hmpf! Sure, they said, eggs can explode in the microwave, but not out in the open in a pan when the water boils away.

What do you think? Did I exaggerate to make my Facebook post more interesting? :)

What Do You Think Of My Exploding Egg Story?

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If You Let All The Water Boil Out Of A Pot Full Of Eggs.....

What do you predict will happen?

Ramkitten predicts:

There will be a lot of cleaning to do, and the house will stink. :)

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asin_^ predicts:

it will explode. happened to me last night. i fell asleep while waiting for the water to boil. when i woke up the following morning... there goes my breakfast.

dara predicts:

the house will be screwed

yourgoldenfuture predicts:

explode somehow

daria369 predicts:

I know, been there, done that... lol

Loweijian predicts:

Its true..i have a friend hav the same incident..im still puzzled..boiled water egg exploded?? i wonder wat is happening inside..

 
 

And The Answer To The Exploding Egg Question IS.....

Exploding hard-boiled eggsYes, eggs can and DO explode on the stove. And I'm not the only one who says so.

Posted by Mythman99 on the Discovery Channel forum:

"I exploded 2 eggs today. Put them on to boil, walked away, and forgot about them. About an hour later I hear BAM, like a pan fell on the floor (thought is was my son doing something downstairs). A few minutes later BAM. No I go to see what happened and smelled the burning odor. The kitchen was covered with egg shrapnel. On the ceiling, the floor, the walls, the cabinets. It was egg mush everywhere. I found one piece over 20 feet away. After all the water boiled away the eggs continued to cook, didn't crack, and I'm guessing gained a lot of pressure up by the way the stuff was everywhere. Sounds like a myth test to me...or at least a chance to blow eggs up and make a mess!"

But WHY Do The Eggs Explode?

An explanation:

At high temperatures, water inside an egg, mostly in the white albumen, vaporizes even as the albumen solidifies. If the pressure inside the egg exceeds the breaking strength of the shell, the egg will explode. (Which is why you should poke several holes in an egg if you're going to microwave it.)

The reason some pierced eggs still explode might be that the membrane inside the shell was not actually broken. Or perhaps the cooked contents of the egg block the small holes before any pressure is released.

The Exploding Egg Experiment

Why things happen the way they happen

I know this isn't exactly the same as what happened with my mom's exploding hard-boiled eggs, but it's directly related anyway....
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How To Hard-Boil an Egg the CORRECT Way

There IS some science to it.

  1. Place eggs in saucepan large enough to hold them in single layer. Add cold water to cover the eggs 1 inch. Heat on high just to boiling. Remove from burner, and cover the pan.

  2. Let the eggs stand in hot water for about 15 minutes for large eggs (12 minutes for medium eggs; 18 minutes for extra large).

  3. Drain the eggs immediately and serve the warm. OR, cool completely under cold running water or in bowl of ice water, then refrigerate.

Get Your Boiled Eggs Right Every Time

I'm Thinking Mom Needs This For Christmas

One really cool feature about this gizmo is that eggs in the same batch can be combined to cook soft, medium or hard boiled ... and none of which will explode!
Chef's Choice 810 Gourmet Egg Cooker

Chef's Choice 810 Gourmet Egg Cooker

Amazon Price: $38.10 (as of 05/30/2012)Buy Now

Other features of this great gadget....

  • Prepare up to 7 eggs, exactly the way you like them
  • Convenient egg tray can be lifted with one hand for rinsing under cold water
  • Electronic timer with audible ready signal; on /off switch with indicator light
  • Brushed stainless steel design, comes with egg poaching dish

Usually ships in 2-3 business days

And if You're Hard-Boiled Eggs Come Out Just Right

Here's what you can make....

eggs
Tasha Tudor's Stuffed Eggs

Tasha Tudor is an American icon -- a great storyteller as well as an excellent keeper of the home. She enjoys cooking and, when I found her book at the library,...


These are fairly basic stuffed eggs--with one SPECIAL INGREDIENT (curious now?)--but there are other, more creative and yummy stuffed egg recipes listed on this page as well.

Have YOU Ever Blown Up Food Stuff?

"A friend" of mine once blew up a pressure cooker full of beef stew.

And you?

  • TravelingRae Feb 10, 2012 @ 5:14 pm | delete
    I've done the pressure cooker full of beef stew, too. :) (one of my neighbours recently forgot about his boiled eggs; what a stink!)
  • OhMe Jan 15, 2012 @ 9:33 am | delete
    Love your Exploding Egg story and especially love your subtitle
  • SaintFrantic Oct 7, 2011 @ 9:39 am | delete
    I haven't blown anything off but I used to burn quite a lot of thing when I was young
  • Jodi_k Sep 3, 2011 @ 8:25 am | delete
    I never have, but my dad exploded a milkshake, and my grandpa blew up a pressure cooker full of split pea soup.
  • blanckj Jun 13, 2011 @ 2:19 pm | delete
    I've never exploded an egg before but I did blow up a peep in the microwave. Does that count?
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A Bit About Me

I THINK I'm a Good Egg

the hiking writer
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Ramkitten

I learned the answer to the exploding egg question the hard way. Or my mother did, actually. I just had to clean it up.
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No More Exploding Eggs 

Chef's Choice 810 Gourmet Egg Cooker

Chef's Choice 810 Gourmet Egg Cooker

Amazon Price: $38.10 (as of 05/30/2012)Buy Now

* Prepare up to 7 eggs, exactly the way you like them
* Eggs in the same batch can be combined to cook soft, medium or hard boiled
* Convenient egg tray can be lifted with one hand for rinsing under cold water
* Electronic timer with audible ready signal; on /off switch with indicator light
* Brushed stainless steel design, comes with egg poaching dish

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