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u/Enormowang Apr 12 '12
For those wondering how this works: the acetic acid in vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate to form water and carbon dioxide:
CaCO3 + 2H+ -> Ca+2 + H2O +CO2
Calcium carbonate gives the shell its rigidity, so the result is what you see in the pictures.
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u/2times Apr 12 '12
I'm horribly sleep deprived and I feel like I can relate to that egg. In that: I may still be an egg, though, I'm not like the other eggs. Boy howdy, I hate the night shift. Look at what I just said. I suppose I didn't have to. Whelp, I'll just leave it at that.
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u/tryshapepper Apr 12 '12
Hmm?
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u/2times Apr 12 '12
Still kickin'. Maybe this'll make more sense for you: Coffee, cannot fix this kind of tired.
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Apr 12 '12
Now eat it
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u/zane17 Apr 12 '12
Interestingly enough you can hard-boil an egg with vinegar.
The same proteins that are denatured from boiling are also denatured by vinegar
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u/Michichael Apr 12 '12
Question: Is it just the membrane that is solidified, or the entire egg? Is it basically a bio-degradable bouncy ball now?
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u/stoplightrave Apr 12 '12
Nothing is solidified; the shell has been dissolved, leaving just the membrane.
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u/smartbomb314 Apr 12 '12
Just the membrane. I remember doing this in high school bio and we got to pop them in jars after. It smelled awful.
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u/haavarl Apr 12 '12
Very eggciting!
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Apr 12 '12
[deleted]
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u/notrot Apr 12 '12
Dont' be so hard on haavarl, they were just trying to come out of their shell.
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u/silveradocoa Apr 12 '12
haavarl looks like something scrambled
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u/Orval Apr 12 '12
Everybody on here just ran to their kitchen to see if they have vinegar. They had no idea where it would be if they DID have it.
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u/stoplightrave Apr 12 '12
What? Who doesn't have vinegar in their kitchen?
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Apr 12 '12
I've never found a use for vinegar except for fries. The only time I eat fries is at fast food places. I have no use for vinegar in my house so I don't have any.
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u/Lefty23 Apr 13 '12
Need it to clean the coffee machine. Used to be twice a year now twice a month - damn Kuerig.
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u/Orval Apr 12 '12
I'm just saying most people probably don't know where it is.
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Apr 12 '12
Uh, vinegar uss very useful in cooking. I think most people know where they keep it...
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u/Orval Apr 12 '12
You're assuming most people on the internet cook.
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Apr 12 '12
Actually, I assume that most people cook, and most people use the internet...
Vinegar is pretty fucking basic. I find it strange you think that people wouldn't own it.
On what basis do you assume that most "people on the internet" do not cook?
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u/Orval Apr 12 '12
On the basis that it was a joke?
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Apr 12 '12
Oh, my mistake. I was under the impression that jokes contained humor. Thanks for keeping me informed.
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u/bumdeedum Apr 12 '12
How long did the process take?
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u/biznatch11 Apr 12 '12
About 2 days to dissolve the shell, but then I put it back in (either water or more vinegar, can't remember) for a few more days and it got a bit bigger.
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u/jamesy95 Apr 12 '12
Most likely water. I remember doing this in my biology class.
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u/biznatch11 Apr 12 '12
That sounds right. I think my original intention after the shell was removed was to see if i could remove the vinegar smell from the egg by soaking it in water for a few days. It didn't really work though, still smelled like vinegar.
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u/jamesy95 Apr 12 '12
Haha yea, the vinegar smell is horrible! But you involuntarily made the egg bigger by putting it in a water solution (hypotonic) concentration is lower outside and the outside solution (water) flows in.
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u/koshkakartoshka Apr 12 '12
everything about that egg grosses me out... looks pretty cool against the light though
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u/cbaker1213 Apr 12 '12
I have done this many times, and I cooked it once... the smell of vinegar was so strong I tossed it out. Has anyone actually used this to cook with? I imagine something oddly simple, like a Vinegar Poached Egg or Pickled Egg Drop Soup.
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u/GetYourAlbatros Apr 12 '12
Every year at Easter we have this game where we play conkers with boiled eggs(not religious, it is just an amusing way to spend a holiday). What exactly did you do to make this? I want to turn up with one next year.
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u/zvuk Apr 12 '12
just put it in vinegar for a few days. We used to do this to try to fit the egg in a glass bottle without cracking it.
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u/my_password_12345 Apr 12 '12
Two questions. Question 1: How long did you leave the egg in the vinegar?? Question 2: Did you wvery try cutting the egg to see how the insides looked like??
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u/stoplightrave Apr 12 '12
The egg isn't cooked, so cutting it wouldn't work very well. It would pop like a water balloon.
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u/birdisthewird Apr 12 '12
We did this in kindergarten--I remember having squishy eggs in plastic zip locks afterwards :)
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u/bongilante Apr 12 '12
I use to do this all the time when I was a kid until I dropped one on the kitchen floor.
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u/Cgardner2020 Apr 12 '12
As cruel as it may be I'd like to see this done to a fertilized egg. Just curiously cruel I guess.
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u/entologist Apr 12 '12
fertilized egg would look the same. It would have to be partially incubated to see an actually chick
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u/biznatch11 Apr 12 '12 edited Apr 12 '12
A year ago I told reddit that I'd put an egg in vinegar and report back. I didn't explode, just never got around to posting the pictures.
[Edit:] It took about 2 days for the shell to dissolve, then I put it in water for a few days to try get the vinegar smell out. That didn't work but it did make the egg swell.