Preparing a poached egg, scrambled eggs and even ordinary fried eggs at first glance is very simple. But is it really so? Is it possible, as an ordinary housewife, and not an eminent chef, to please our relatives with an exquisite Nicoise salad, the star of which is a perfectly cooked poached egg?
Structure
To understand at what temperature the protein coagulates, you need to at least a little imagine what this egg consists of.
Whole chicken, and almost any other egg, consists of three components: shell, protein and yolk. The shell is rarely used in cooking, so it will not be described in detail.
Protein is almost entirely composed of water. More specifically, it is 90%, but the remaining 10% is allocated to useful trace elements - such as iodine, iron and others.
The yolk is much more diverse in its structure. It is he who is considered the most nutritious part of the whole product, because it contains almost 60 kcal, despite its modest size. Also, the yolk strengthens the immune system and is a supplier of vitamins A, B and D. Knowing all this, you can return to the question of at what temperature egg white coagulates.
Temperature
Now you can imagine how different parts of the egg are in texture. Because of its water content, a protein needs slightly less high temperatures in order to begin to curl than a yolk.
So, when the temperature of the water in which the chicken eggs are boiled reaches 63 ° C, it is the protein that first begins to become denser. After reaching a mark of 70 ° C, he begins to acquire the texture of a dense gel. And if the temperature reached 80 ° C, it means that literally in a minute the protein acquired the most dense form for us.
The yolk, in turn, begins to thicken only at 70 ° C. Because of this insignificant difference, the preparation of various types of boiled eggs requires practice, attention and, of course, knowledge of the temperature at which the protein curls. Indeed, literally after 1-2 minutes, soft-boiled eggs already cease to be such.
Poached
This article has already mentioned several times the world-famous poached egg. If until today you were not familiar with this recipe, then it is time to correct this omission. After all, it is necessary to put into practice the knowledge about the temperature at which the protein coagulates.
So, you will need the following ingredients:
- 1 chicken egg;
- 1.5 liters of water;
- 100 ml of vinegar;
- 1.5-2 tsp salt.
First you need to bring the water to a boil and reduce the heat, so that the boiling is very weak. Then add vinegar and salt. Break the egg carefully into a bowl or mug so as not to break the yolk. In a bowl with barely boiling water, make a few circular movements with a spoon, thereby creating a small funnel. Pour the egg into this funnel with all possible care and then mix the water a couple more times so that the egg does not stick to the dishes. Cook for exactly 4 minutes and get the finished egg in a pre-prepared bowl of cold water. This is necessary so that poached ceased to cook due to internal temperature. And finally, you can get it wet with a paper towel.
That is why it is so important to know at what temperature egg protein coagulates. After all, gentle and light poached will become a real decoration of your breakfast or holiday salad.