# Why do scrambled eggs turn green, and is it safe to eat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 24, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355 "2003-10-24T17:09:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/1 "2003-10-24T17:09:18Z")
Friday. Every friday we have the breakfast buffet here at work. I usually see a patch of green scrambled eggs. I usually try to avoid “those sections” and go for the yeller. But sometimes, I’ll come back to my desk and find that, yes, I’ve accidentally scooped up some of the green. 1. Why do eggs turn green? and 1. Can I eat these eggs? Or are they spoiled/bad? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/2 "2003-10-24T17:31:33Z")
The green is sulphur compounds caused by excessive heating of the yolk. I’ve never ever seen this in my scrambled eggs, but I have seen it in hard-boiled eggs (until I learned the secret to making them perfectly). It’s harmless. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/3 "2003-10-24T17:53:38Z")
IANA Dr… but Seuss is. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/4 "2003-10-24T18:51:59Z")
Is there no sneeze guard? ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/5 "2003-10-24T22:56:23Z")
Would you like green eggs if I cut up some ham and put it in? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/6 "2003-10-24T23:21:11Z")
So I come in here specifically to make a Dr Suess crack, and I’ve been beaten to it. Twice. I love you guys. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/7 "2003-10-24T23:22:15Z")
Even if I do spell his name wrongly… ---
**Author:** ![gcarroll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/65b543/32.png) [@gcarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gcarroll)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/8 "2003-10-24T23:28:30Z")
I was taking directions on filling my five year old’s plate at the salad bar when he asked what that glass thing overhead was for. I said it was called the “sneeze guard”… did that help him figure it out? He asked in a very puzzled voice, “How often do vegetables sneeze?” ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/9 "2003-10-24T23:51:03Z")
Perhaps the eggs were cooked in a pot or pan made of uncoated aluminum. I believe it’s a reaction between the sulfur in the eggs, and the aforesaid aluminum. Perhaps it’s something akin to the reaction in one’s mouth if you chew a bit of aluminum foil. As I try to avoid aluminum anything these days[Alzheimer’s scare], I’d take a pass on the eggs. Yucky-looking and weird-tasting, what more incentive do you need? One summer I worked in the kitchen of a Girl Scout camp. We used to make scrambled eggs in double boilers. The eggs’d turn green, the girls wouldn’t eat 'em, so we 86’d the eggs every day. The hell with Dr. Seuss. ---
**Author:** ![Mallory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mallory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallory)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/10 "2003-10-24T23:54:11Z")
Okay, **Q.E.D.** , fess up. How _do_ you make perfect hard-boiled eggs? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/11 "2003-10-25T00:12:22Z")
Boiling the eggs tends to make the whites tough and rubbery and form that green coating on the yolk. It also increases the likelihood of cracked eggs. So do this instead: Place the eggs in a pot with enough water to completely cover them. Bring the water to just boiling, then remove from heat and cover the pot immediately. Let sit for 20 minutes. Dump out the haot water and cover the eggs with cold water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Eggs which have been left to sit in the refrigerator for a week or two will peel more easily than fresh eggs. ---
**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/12 "2003-10-25T07:21:27Z")
Actually, you can also boild the eggs, then immediately cool them in a pan of ice+water (or running cold water, I suppose) For best results (especially if, like my family, you keep boiled eggs in the refrigerator for extended periods to use as needed) you should cool them at least 10 minutes, and 15-20 if possible. Remember, the outside cools much sonner than the reactions you’re trying to prevent deep in the egg. ---
**Author:** ![Kaptain\_Karnage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ebca7d/32.png) [@Kaptain\_Karnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaptain_Karnage)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/13 "2003-10-25T07:46:42Z")
QED as an avid blackadder fan I must interept this discussion to ask about your quote. I believe the animal in question is actually a fox as i often quote the line (or a similar one) myself. Please can you confirm it from the actual show (as i have no access to a copy of it) so I can know if I have been embarassing myself for years. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/14 "2003-10-25T07:59:32Z")
Hmmm…it seems that the common factor here is overheating of the yolk. **Q.E.D.** I personally use the “bathe in ice water” technique for green-free hard-boiled eggs, but your process looks to achieve the same result through different means. And since you are a prolific poster that now is handing out cooking advice, you’re not going to start skating on thin ice and mention axe handles or anything rash, are you? 😉 ([Link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=219300) ) for those who missed **Zenster** ’s passing. ---
**Author:** ![small\_but](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@small\_but](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/small_but)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/15 "2003-10-25T09:35:37Z")
[nice to see you again, jack] > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kaptain Karnage \* > \*\*QED as an avid blackadder fan I must interept this discussion to ask about your quote. I believe the animal in question is actually a fox as i often quote the line (or a similar one) myself. > > Please can you confirm it from the actual show (as i have no access to a copy of it) so I can know if I have been embarassing myself for years. > > Thanks. \*\* [sorry.](http://www.google.com/search?q=%22so+cunning+you+could+put+a+tail+on+it%22&sourceid=opera&num=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) On the other hand, if the fox in question had just been made Professor of Cunning at Oxford University, that would be a different matter. [/NTSYAJ] ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-scrambled-eggs-turn-green-and-is-it-safe-to-eat/209355/16 "2003-10-25T13:58:36Z")
Yeah, it’s a weasel. If you click the link in my quote, you can hear a Windows Media sound bite of the actual line.