Marinated Egg

Today we will play a game in the kitchen, a really fun experiment conceived by the chef Carlo Cracco. The main ingredient of this test is the egg, the yolk to be precise. We will see how to solidify it without resorting to the use of heat. In one of my previous molecular experiments we saw how to scramble the egg with pure alcohol and how to cook it in the dishwasher, today we will be amazed to see how to cook - or rather, how marinate - the yolk with salt and sugar.

Also try an alternative recipe: the baked cloud egg.

Video of the Recipe

Problems with playing the video? Reload the video from youtube.

Identity Card of the Recipe

• Ingrediants

  • 20 g (1 medium) of egg yolks
  • 50 g of salt
  • 50 g of sugar

  Materials Needed

  • Bowls
  • Waterfall
  • Table spoon

  Preparation

  1. Shell an egg and divide the yolk from the egg white: only the yolk should be used to prepare the marinated egg.
  2. Prepare a mixture of salt and sugar in equal quantities (e.g. 50 g of salt and 50 g of sugar).
  3. Spread half of the sugar and salt mixture into a bowl. Place the yolk in the center and cover it entirely.

  Did you know that
  you could only use salt: the effect of the "pseudo cooking" of the yolk would be the same. Sugar is used simply to reduce the aggressiveness of the taste of salt in the food.

  4. Leave the yolk to rest for 3 hours or more, depending on the consistency you want to achieve.

  What happens to the yolk?
  Salt and sugar are hygroscopic substances, that is, they are able to absorb water (and possibly humidity). In the yolk we find proteins and water (in addition to a certain amount of fatty substances): if the water is "captured" by salt and sugar, the proteins undergo denaturation (unwind) and consequent coagulation (intertwine). The coagulated proteins cause a variation in the structure of the yolk, which will appear firmer and more compact on the outside and softer on the inside. If you want an even firmer (“cooked”) yolk, you will need to extend the marinating time.

  5. After 3-4 hours, you can remove the marinade from the yolk, shifting the mix of salt and sugar with a spoon.
  6. Quickly wash the yolk in water to remove as much salt and sugar as possible.
  7. The marinated egg is ready to be served, perhaps cut into thin slices. It can be eaten in salads or on top of pasta.

  Alice's comment - PersonalCooker

  From the "thousand ways to cook eggs" series, here I have proposed one of the countless alternative cooking methods of this versatile food: a curious and very special preparation method for cooking eggs without using heat! Try it yourself and get involved from these almost unique marinade!

  Nutritional values ​​and Health Comment on the recipe

  It is not possible to accurately establish what the nutritional profile of the marinated egg may be; it is likely that it is similar to that of raw yolk, but more concentrated because it is deprived of water.