The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

Salt affects eggs by weakening the magnetic
attraction that yolk proteins have for one another
(yes, egg proteins do find each other attractive). Egg
yolks are comprised of millions of tiny balloons filled
with water, protein, and fat. These balloons are too
small to see with the naked eye, but they are large
enough to prevent light from passing through them.
Salt breaks these spheres up into even tinier pieces,
allowing light to pass through, so the salted eggs
turned translucent. What does this mean for the way
they cook? To find out, I cooked three batches of
eggs side by side, noting their finished texture.

SALTING

TIMING

RESULTS

15

minutes

The least   watery  and

the most    tender, with