Egg Sandwich
Posted by Anonymous on February 27, 2004
Q: Our class would like to know where the water goes when the egg is boiled. We massed three eggs and then boiled them. The average mass increase was 4%. How does the "white" watery part of the egg become solid and what happened to the water?
Earhart Environmental School
4th-5th grade class
Wichita, KS
A: I'm unsure what you mean by "massed 3 eggs" and "mass increase" but I think I can tell you what happens to the water. The white part of the egg, the albumin, is mostly water with a little bit of protein. When you cooked the egg, the heat caused the albumin to change into a white, soft yet firm mass. This happens whenever you fry an egg on the stove and you can see it happening as the egg cooks. The water is still there but the protein has caused a different structural arrangement than before so instead of a clear substance, it is a white opaque material.
Thanks for your question. Hope this helps.
John Wiessinger ( March 1, 2004)