In this short article, we will answer the question “Is it safe to eat over boiled eggs?” and discuss why over boiled eggs turn grey.
Is it safe to eat over boiled eggs?
Yes, it is safe to eat over boiled eggs. They are completely eatable as long as they were not spoilt previous to cooking, despite the texture possibly being dry and unappealing, especially that powder-like yolk just at centre.
It is a possibility to still make overdone hard-boiled eggs pleasant with a variety of extra ingredients if the consistency and flavour are not to your taste.
What consequences can an egg overcook cause?
Although consuming an overdone boiled egg won’t endanger your health, phew, it can ruin the overall flavour and texture of the dish. This indicates that eating an over boiled egg is not particularly delightful and may even be unpleasant.
Smell
Let’s start by discussing that egg-like odour. When an egg is overcooked, its sulphur becomes considerably more apparent.
If you serve guests cooked eggs, be aware that this might be rather uncomfortable throughout the eating process and even turn some people away.
Taste
The overall flavour isn’t that great either; it probably tastes a lot like the sulfur scent. Put on some seasoning or a dipping sauce to mask this. I hope this will be useful!
However, unless you leave it for sufficiently long that it destroys everything that renders a boiled egg so nice to eat, this won’t often happen. Therefore, pay attention towards how long you are boiling the egg and make sure you are aware of it.
Texture
If you overboil an egg, one of the biggest distinctions is in the texture. If allowed to boil for a while, it can start to resemble rubber. A few further minutes should not significantly alter the texture, but continuing to leave it in will result in a chewy egg.
The egg is damaged in other areas as well besides its white. The yolk can lose its fluffiness and turn into chalk. It is therefore extremely dry, therefore you might also want to have water while eating the cooked egg.
Absorption rate
Unsurprisingly, some individuals find it difficult to fully digest an overdone-boiled egg.
Everything may boil down to how the overcooked egg’s protein changes.
This may make the egg’s texture even tougher, making it more challenging for certain people to properly digest. It might be difficult for the body to break down the proteins within an egg, or at the very least, it might take longer.
Colour
As we previously mentioned, overboiling an egg can cause the surface of the white to take on additional hues. It may be grey, green, or perhaps even both at different periods. Although it doesn’t seem very nice, it won’t do you any harm. Why are there too-hard eggs?
Why do overcooked eggs get grey?
You’ve probably fried eggs and noticed that the yolk has an outer layer that has a grey or greenish tint when you open them. When an egg is boiled, a process known as denaturation occurs that causes the proteins inside to significantly alter in structure.
In the case of the egg, this process occurs at a temperature of roughly 70 °C. Sulfur atoms are a component of practically all proteins, including the proteins found in eggs. Some of the sulphur is emitted as the eggs cook.
Because sulphur has the peculiar property of having a bad odour, boiled eggs have a particularly strong and distinctive odour. Sulfur is released and travels into the yolk when the egg cooks. A purely chemical/biochemical phenomenon is what follows!
Iron is present in egg yolks, and heat also causes this iron to be liberated. Iron sulphide, which has a greyish/greenish tint, is created when iron and sulphur interact on the surface of the yolk. usual, which largely depends on how long the eggs are cooked.
The amount of iron sulphide created increases with the length of time, which also increases the intensity of the dark hue on the yolk’s surface