# Cured egg yolks gone wrong

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cured-egg-yolks-gone-wrong/958898>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 4, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cured-egg-yolks-gone-wrong/958898 "2022-02-04T15:13:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cured-egg-yolks-gone-wrong/958898/1 "2022-02-04T15:13:37Z")

</div>

I cured some egg yolks in a 2:1 mixture of salt and sugar. After a week, they have a gooey gumdrop consistency, but they don’t taste like much of anything except salt. The texture looks very appealing but it’s too gooey even to slice.

What might be going wrong here? How long should it take for them to pick up a distinct flavor? I repacked in fresh salt since the old stuff was looking somewhat waterlogged.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cured-egg-yolks-gone-wrong/958898/2 "2022-02-04T17:36:30Z")

</div>

I generally use 1:1 salt+sugar, but that shouldn’t make much difference.  
Did you do them in the fridge?

I usually dehydrate them after the curing. A lot of recipes call for oven drying.

They should taste eggy/cheesy/umami right from the get-go (I’ve tried a 3-day one in ramen and it was quite flavourful). If they _just_ taste like salt, I don’t know what went wrong.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cured-egg-yolks-gone-wrong/958898/3 "2022-02-04T18:05:18Z")

</div>

I use a 1:1 ratio as well. And they are a bit sticky at first. I’ve never oven dried them. I just put them in the fridge in an open container – I use a small ziplock bag that I leave open. After a few days, they are firm and dry enough to grate. They are very salty, but also have other flavor.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cured-egg-yolks-gone-wrong/958898/4 "2022-02-04T21:28:44Z")

</div>

Never done this before, but now I’m inspired to try.