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Project Summary

Difficulty	6
Time required	Short (several days)
Prerequisites	Access to a stove top
Material Availability	Readily available
Cost	Very Low (under $20)
Safety	Adult supervision is required. Exercise caution when working with a stove top. There is a chance that eggs can carry the Salmonella bacteria, so eating eggs that are not completely cooked can cause gastrointestinal issues in people with compromised and immature immune systems. For this reason, do not eat the soft-boiled eggs, just make observations.

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Abstract

Objective

To scientifically determine the best method for consistently producing the best soft-boiled egg.

Introduction

The typical egg packs a lot of punch in a small package. One large egg has 75 calories and 13 essential nutrients, including high-quality protein, choline, folate, iron, riboflavin, and zinc. Eggs can help you maintain muscle strength, as well as promote a healthy pregnancy, brain function, and eye health. Eaten in moderation, eggs have shown no link to cardiovascular disease or stroke in a healthy population, according to some studies. The egg is a nutrient-dense food product that is eaten by people all over the world. In fact, humans have been eating eggs for thousands of years. Egyptian and Chinese records show humans eating eggs in 1400 BC.

There are about 200 breeds of chickens around the world. Most of the eggs eaten in the United States are from the Single-Comb Leghorn breed. The United States produces 75 billion eggs per year! What is really amazing is that most eggs reach the supermarket just a few days after being laid.

The main components of an egg are the shell, the air cell, the albumen (or egg white) and the yolk. The yolk contains all of the fat of the egg, most of the vitamins, and about 50 percent of the protein. The albumen or egg white is mostly water (87 percent) and protein (13 percent). People who are limiting their fat intake can eat egg whites, since egg whites contain no fat.

There are several methods for preparing eggs. Eggs can be scrambled, poached, fried, pickled, hard-boiled, and soft-boiled. You've probably often heard of hard-boiled eggs, but what is a soft-boiled egg? The white of a soft-boiled egg is firm, but the yolk is between runny and solid. It should be thickened and viscous. In this cooking and food science fair project, you will develop a recipe for creating the best soft-boiled egg in the least amount of time. You will experiment with three different cooking methods: (1) cooking the egg in boiling water, (2) steeping the egg in boiling water and (3) placing the egg in cool water and then boiling it for a set amount of time. Try to determine the best, shortest, and most consistent way to soft-boil an egg. Remember that some of the eggs will not be thoroughly cooked, so don't eat your results until you've perfected the recipe!

Figure 1. Delicious and nutritious eggs.

Terms, Concepts and Questions to Start Background Research

• Calorie
• Nutrient
• Protein
• Vitamin
• Viscous

Questions

• How many different grades of eggs are there? How are they sorted?
• What is the anatomy of an egg?

Bibliography

• Chu, M. (2008, August 25). Soft Boiled Eggs. Retrieved November 6, 2008, from http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/249/Soft-Boiled-Eggs
• Wikipedia Contributors. (2008, October 29). Egg. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Egg_(food)&oldid=248350977

This website has great information on a variety of egg-related topics:

• American Egg Board. (2007). Incredible! Retrieved November 4, 2008, from http://www.incredibleegg.org/index.html

Materials and Equipment

• Pot, 3-quart with lid, should be large enough to hold at least one egg submerged in water
• Eggs (3 dozen), choose one grade and size to use for the entire project.
• Water
• Stove top
• Slotted spoon
• Digital timer
• Bowl, glass
• Ice
• Disposable bowls (2 packages)
• Ruler with millimeter divisions
• Dinner plate
• Camera
• Lab notebook

Experimental Procedure

Important Notes Before You Begin

1. If your eggs are in the refrigerator, take them out and bring them to room temperature before you begin any testing.
2. When asked to make observations about your results, use your senses. Consider the following:
   1. Carefully feel how thick the egg white is. Is it firm or watery? Measure the thickness of the solid white with a ruler.
   2. Poke your finger into the yolk. Does it feel slimy or viscous?
   3. What color is it? Is it pale yellow or bright yellow?
   4. Open the boiled egg on an inclined dinner plate and see how far the egg yolk runs. Measure how far the yolk runs with a ruler.
3. Remember to always wash your hands with soap and warm water after making observations.

Cooking Method 1: Cooking the Egg in Boiling Water

1. To first get the correct amount of water in the pot, place an egg in the pot and add water. Make sure that the egg is covered with 1 inch of water. Remove the egg.
2. Experiment with the first cooking method described in the Introduction. Place the pot of water on the stove top, cover, and bring it to a boil. The water should be bubbling vigorously. In your lab notebook, record the cooking method you are using. Include the stove top setting and the time required for the water to boil. Keep an eye on the pot so you know when the water starts to boil.
3. Using the slotted spoon, carefully lower an egg into the boiling water. Carefully remove the slotted spoon. You want to make sure that the shell doesn't crack. If the shell does crack, you will have to start again.
4. Set the digital timer for 2 minutes and boil the egg for 2 minutes.
5. While the egg is boiling, place a few cubes of ice in the glass bowl and fill it with enough water that it will cover the egg. This is an ice-water bath.
6. Once 2 minutes have elapsed, carefully remove the egg with the slotted spoon and carefully transfer it to the ice-water bath, letting it soak for 1 minute. Turn off the stove.
7. After 1 minute has elapsed, take the egg out of the water bath and peel it. Place the peeled egg in a disposable bowl. Evaluate the egg based on the information in the Important Notes section at the beginning of the Experimental Procedure. Record your observations in your lab notebook, along with the amount of time that the egg was cooked. You can take pictures of your results and keep them in your lab notebook.
8. Repeat steps 1–7 two more times. Each time, making sure that you use approximately the same amount of water and the same heat setting on the stove top. Also use a new disposable bowl for each egg.
9. Repeat steps 1–8, but increase the cooking time by 2 minutes for a total of 4 minutes.
10. Repeat steps 1–8 again, but increase the cooking time by 2 more minutes for a total of 6 minutes of cooking time.

Cooking Method 2: Steeping the Egg in Boiling Water

1. To first get the correct amount of water in the pot, place an egg in the pot and add water. Make sure that the egg is covered with 1 inch of water. Remove the egg.
2. Experiment with the second cooking method described in the Introduction. Place the pot of water on the stove top, cover, and bring it to a boil. The water should be bubbling vigorously. In your lab notebook, record the cooking method that you are using. Include the stove top setting and the time required for the water to boil. Keep an eye on the pot so you know when the water starts to boil.
3. Using the slotted spoon, carefully lower an egg into the boiling water. Carefully remove the slotted spoon. You want to make sure that the shell doesn't crack. If the shell does crack, you will have to start again. Once the egg is submerged, turn off the stove and move the pot to a cool burner.
4. Set the timer for 2 minutes and steep the egg in the just-boiled water for 2 minutes.
5. While the egg is steeping, place a few ice cubes in the glass bowl and fill it with enough water that it will cover the egg.
6. After 2 minutes have elapsed, carefully remove the egg from the pot with the slotted spoon and place it into the ice water bath. Let the egg sit in the ice-water bath for 1 minute.
7. After 1 minute has elapsed, remove the egg from the ice-water bath and peel the egg. Place the peeled egg in a disposable bowl. Evaluate the egg based on the information in the Important Notes section at the beginning of the Experimental Procedure. Record your observations in your lab notebook, along with the amount of time that the egg was cooked. You can take pictures of your results and keep them in your lab notebook.
8. Repeat steps 1–7 two more times. Each time, making sure that you use approximately the same amount of water and the same heat setting on the stove top.
9. Repeat steps 1–8, but increase the steeping time by 2 minutes for a total of 4 minutes.
10. Repeat steps 1–8 again, but increase the steeping time by 2 minutes for a total of 6 minutes of steeping time.

Cooking Method 3: Bringing the Egg and Water Up to a Boil Together

1. To first get the correct amount of water in the pot, place an egg in the pot and add water. Make sure that the egg is covered with 1 inch of water. This time, do not remove the egg.
2. Experiment with the third cooking method described in the Introduction. Place the pot of water and the egg on the stove top, cover, and bring it to a boil. The water should be bubbling vigorously. In your lab notebook, record the cooking method that you are using. Include the stove top setting and the time required for the water to boil. Keep an eye on the pot so you know when the water starts to boil.
3. Once the water is boiling, set the timer for 2 minutes and boil the egg for 2 minutes.
4. While the egg is boiling, place a few ice cubes in the glass bowl and fill it with enough water that it will cover the egg.
5. After 2 minutes have elapsed, carefully remove the egg from the pot with the slotted spoon and place it into the ice-water bath. Let the egg sit in the ice-water bath for 1 minute.
6. After 1 minute has elapsed, remove the egg from the ice-water bath and peel the egg. Place the peeled egg in a disposable bowl. Evaluate the egg based on the information in the Important Notes section at the beginning of the Experimental Procedure. Record your observations in your lab notebook, along with the amount of time that the egg was cooked. You can take pictures of your results and keep them in your lab notebook.
7. Repeat steps 1–6 two more times. Each time, making sure that you use approximately the same amount of water and the same heat setting on the stove top. Record all of your observations in your lab notebook. Take pictures of your results and keep them in your lab notebook.
8. Repeat steps 1–7, but increase the boiling time by 2 minutes, for a total of 4 minutes.
9. Repeat steps 1–7 again, but increase the boiling time by 2 minutes for a total of 6 minutes of boiling time.

Analyzing Your Data

1. Compare the observations and pictures from the three sections above. Is there a recipe that consistently produces the best soft-boiled egg results? If you have results that are similar, you can evaluate which recipe is the better one. Do either of the recipes use less energy than the others?

Figure 2. Eggs cooked using the three different methods in the Experimental Procedure.

Variations

• Use an infrared thermometer, which can be purchased online, to measure the temperature of the egg white and yolk after boiling. Record the data in your lab notebook.
• Does the time to soft-boil an egg depend on the size of the egg? Pick three different sizes of eggs and start experimenting.
• Does freshness of the egg affect the time it takes to soft-boil it?

• For more science project ideas in this area of science, see Cooking & Food Science Project Ideas.

Credits

Michelle Maranowski, PhD, Science Buddies

Last edit date: 2008-12-15 09:31:00

Career Focus

If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring careers in Cooking & Food Science.

	Food Science Technician Good taste, texture, quality, and safety are all very important in the food industry. Food science technicians test and catalog the physical and chemical properties of food to help ensure these aspects.			Food Scientist or Technologist There is a fraction of the world's population that doesn't have enough to eat or doesn't have access to food that is nutritionally rich. Food scientists or technologists work to find new sources of food that have the right nutrition levels and that are safe for human consumption. In fact, our nation's food supply depends on food scientists and technologists that test and develop foods that meet and exceed government food safety standards. If you are interested in combining biology, chemistry, and the knowledge that you are helping people, then a career as a food scientist or technologist could be a great choice for you!

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