[shel]

So here it is, after 1:00am, and sleep is elusive. I just boiled up a few eggs, and made a nice, hot cuppa joe. While messing around in the kitchen, a few ideas came to mind, and maybe you have some ideas about them.

First is steamed eggs. Instead of making eggs hard (or otherwise) boiled, how might steaming them work?

Also, instead of making coffee using water, would it work to make coffee using hot - boiled, steamed, scalded, whatever - milk?

shel

[kuan]

Steamed eggs is a peasant staple in China. Beaten eggs, thinned out with a bit of water, cooked directly on top of an almost done pot of fresh rice.

[shel]

Originally Posted by kuan

Steamed eggs is a peasant staple in China. Beaten eggs, thinned out with a bit of water, cooked directly on top of an almost done pot of fresh rice.

Steamed eggs of the type you describe are found not only in Chinese cuisine, but in Korean and Japanese cuisine as well. However, I was thinking about steaming the eggs in their shell, instead of making a boiled egg.

scb

[boar_d_laze]

Originally Posted by shel

Steamed eggs of the type you describe are found not only in Chinese cuisine, but in Korean and Japanese cuisine as well. However, I was thinking about steaming the eggs in their shell, instead of making a boiled egg.

scb

Sure you can steam them ... sort of. "Sort of" in the sense that the edible portions are hermetically sealed inside an inedible shell. So, they don't steam. What you're talking about is the "physics" of using vapor to transfer energy to the shell.

Look at this way, you can boil eggs, or just hold them in hot water (immersion contact conduction), and you can roast eggs (convection conduction). Allowing for differences in the relative efficiency of energy transference, the results are the same -- cooking eggs to any given internal temperature will consistently result in certain corresponding textures for yolk and white.

If you know the temperature which produces the texture you desire, you can hold eggs for hours without overcooking them. The next time you're musing about eggs -- put a few in a small baking pan and bake them 195, and take half out after an hour, let them cool, and see what you think. If your oven can hold that low a temperature steadily, you'll get "hard boiled" eggs right at medium yellow with no band -- what's called "American." Take the rest out after two hours -- same thing.

So yes -- you can steam an egg no problem. From a culinary standpoint the variable is temperature, and the important technique is controlling it.

BDL

[Just Jim]

We use an industrial steamer.
Eggs in a 2" perf pan, steam 12 minutes, immediately into an ice bath.

[kuan]

For sure you can steam them. We used to put eggs in the steamer all the time... never as scientific as Jim though.

[shel]

Originally Posted by boar_d_laze

If you know the temperature which produces the texture you desire, you can hold eggs for hours without overcooking them. The next time you're musing about eggs -- put a few in a small baking pan and bake them 195, and take half out after an hour, let them cool, and see what you think. If your oven can hold that low a temperature steadily, you'll get "hard boiled" eggs right at medium yellow with no band -- what's called "American." Take the rest out after two hours -- same thing.

An hour is a long time to cook an egg. I'm sure that you justused that amount of time for illustrative purposes. However, it would be nice to know about how long it would take an egg, or a few eggs, to initially reach that stage of doneness. Half hour? Fifteen minutes? Assuming room temp eggs, of course.

scb

[Free Rider]

Hmm... can't sleep? I suggest taking said eggs to the nearest hot tub, balance them carefully on the edge, slide yourself into the steamy water and, by the time the eggs are done steaming, you'll be ready for a nap at least.

Hope your sleep gets better. It's a drag not to be able to sleep properly.

[shel]

Originally Posted by Free Rider

Hmm... can't sleep? I suggest taking said eggs to the nearest hot tub, balance them carefully on the edge, slide yourself into the steamy water and, by the time the eggs are done steaming, you'll be ready for a nap at least.

Hope your sleep gets better. It's a drag not to be able to sleep properly.

Hmmm ... Hot Tub Eggs - I love the idea.

I got some sleep later in the day, and a good snooze last night. Thanks!

scb

[boar_d_laze]

Originally Posted by shel

An hour is a long time to cook an egg. I'm sure that you justused that amount of time for illustrative purposes. However, it would be nice to know about how long it would take an egg, or a few eggs, to initially reach that stage of doneness. Half hour? Fifteen minutes? Assuming room temp eggs, of course.

scb

It's longer than "necessary," yes. The point is though, if you hold the oven at the ideal temperature it doesn't matter how long you cook the egg, you're not going to overcook it. I don't know what the max is on holding hot, hard eggs but it's more than eight hours. Warm eggs are popular around the eastern Med in Greece and Turkey, for instance.

Minimum oven time for eggs is, inexact, and depends on the temperature of the eggs when they went in, not to mention the size of the eggs. The point with low temps is that you don't need an exact time, you need an exact temperature.

More generally, speed of cooking depends on the efficiency of the energy transference. Liquid transfers heat faster than vapor, vapor faster than dry air, laminar flowing air faster than billowing air, billowing air faster than still.

BDL

[shroomgirl]

At a recent dinner party the host had made 150* egg and chanterelle terrene.....shelled raw eggs "cooked" for 30 minutes over 150* waterbath.
Robouchon's recipe....switched porcini or cepes to chanterelles/tarragon....worked very well.

[Mapiva]

I'd be interested to know if anyone tried brewing coffee with milk instead of water! I may have to do a 2 cup experiment myself.

[OregonYeti]

I tried brewing coffee in hot milk just for fun once. It seemed the coffee flavor didn't transfer into the milk as much as it does with water.

[tessa]

Originally Posted by Just Jim

We use an industrial steamer.
Eggs in a 2" perf pan, steam 12 minutes, immediately into an ice bath.

i have done it this way too and the eggs come up great

[kuan]

I guess the way you make chai is to boil the tea and spices in milk, then strain the tea leaves out right? Might work with coffee.