which   resemble    coiled  balls   of  yarn,   slowly  start   to  uncoil.

• At 140°F: One of these uncoiled proteins, ovotransferrin,
  begins to bond with itself, creating a semisolid matrix that
  turns the egg white milky and jelly-like.


• At 155°F: The ovotransferrin has formed an opaque solid,
  though it is still quite soft and moist.


• At 180°F: The main protein in the egg white, ovalbumin,
  will cross-link and solidify, giving you a totally firm but
  still tender white.


• Beyond 180°F: The hotter you get the egg, the more
  tightly the egg proteins bond, and the firmer, drier, and
  more rubbery the egg white becomes. Eventually,
  hydrogen sulfide, or that “rotten-egg” aroma, begins to
  develop. Congratulations: your egg is overcooked.

ALTITUDE AND BOILING

Because of gravity, the higher you go, the fewer

air molecules   there   are in  a   given   space—so    the air

is   less    dense.  Lower   density     means   lower

atmospheric  pressure,   and     lower   atmospheric

pressure    means   that    water   molecules   in  a   pot need

less     energy  to  escape  into    the     air.    In  Bogotá,

Colombia,    where   my  wife    is  from,   for     example,

you’re  a   good    8,000   feet    above   sea level   and water

boils   at  a   temperature about   14  to  15  degrees lower

than    it  does    at  sea level.