OK. You have a dozen eggs. One of them is hard-boiled, and you DON’T KNOW WHICH.
How do you find out? Spin them. If it wobbles, it’s raw, if it spins, it’s H.B’d. Right? That’s what I always thought.
Well, last night, I went to one of those cheezy Japanese restaurants where they cook the food at the table and give you a little show (side note: food was great, but gave me the foamy shits–like you really wanted to know. :p).
The chef took an egg, spun it rapidly, then tossed it into the air, and cracked it open on his spatula.
it was raw.
So what’s the deal? Why did this raw egg spin as if it were hard-boiled?
I suspect that only the Master can answer this one.
Yep, the rapid spinning is what did it. However, to find a raw egg, I’ve never looked for a “wobble.” Instead, I’d give it a tiny little spin and watch. If it stops spinning immediately, it’s raw. If it spins for a while, it’s boiled.
This has to do with the raw egg being liquid (or semi-liquid). A quick little spin will only get the shell and outer boundary of fluid spinning, while the majority stays stationary. This quickly stops the rest of the egg. However, if you get the whole egg spinning rapidly, then the liquid moves with the shell, and it will keep spinning.
Actually I’ve never heard of looking for a wobble. I’ll go check it out when I’m done here.
Sorry if this is a bit simplistic, but I hope it helped a bit…
Main Entry: cha·la·za
Pronunciation: k&-'lA-z&, -'la-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural cha·la·zae /-"zE/; or -zas
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek, hailstone
Date: circa 1704
1 : either of two spiral bands in the white of a bird’s egg that extend from the yolk and attach to opposite ends of the lining membrane – see EGG illustration
2 : the basal part of a plant ovule where the nucellus is fused to the surrounding integument and to which the funiculus is usually attached
The spinning test works this way: you spin the egg, then quickly stop it from the top, releasing you hand quickly.
If it wobbles and/or starts rotating slowly, it’s raw. The inside is still rotating, and its momentum is transferred back to the shell and make it move further.
If it’s hard-boiled, no internal rotation, and it should stay still.
Damn! You mean I’ve been testing wrong all these years? I guess that would explain the “egg on my face” when I try to peel a hard-boiled egg and it turns out raw.
Double damn! I was hoping Uncle Cecil would…aww, I’m dreamin’ again.
Hmmmm. In my experience, for the “hard boiled egg” test, all you really have to do is spin the egg on the pointy end with a quick flip of the wrist. Raw eggs fall over immediately and roll around or spin on their sides. Hard boiled spin quite nicely on their points. In fact, when I first learned the trick, I remember trying to get a raw egg to spin on its point. I just couldn’t do it.
Now, how many minutes are required for the egg to have enough internal cohesion to produce HBS (“hard boiled spin”)? What will a 3 minute soft boiled egg do? I’m out of eggs right now, so I can’t perform the experiment.
