Why century egg

The relatively simple recipe — using a century egg, pickled ginger, puff pastry dough and bean paste — has been the same for as long as Hang Hueng has been in business, with each sifu , a skilled tutor or worker, passing down the techniques from generation to generation. The result is a crispy and buttery pastry shell with a soft, flavourful egg inside. The humble snacks are ubiquitous — from dim sum restaurants to pastry shops — and chefs throughout Hong Kong are still preserving this nostalgic bite of culinary heritage.

These golden cakes have a surprising creamy centre Credit: Kate Springer. The year-old snack. Share using Email. By Kate Springer 18th December Born from a muddy pool of water, the succulent century egg has endured as a comfort food for hundreds of years. In , three factories in Jiangxi province used industrial copper sulphate to make the production time shorter.

It contained toxic chemicals and heavy metals, causing injuries in the people that ate the eggs. Century Eggs are known for having a strong sulfuric smell. This is caused by the presence of lactic acid bacteria present inside the eggshells. These bacteria produce acetic acid when they metabolize sugars from the egg whites. This acidic compound causes the formation of carbon dioxide gas bubbles inside the eggshells which makes the egg more porous and easier to absorb moisture. As a result, the egg gets softer and darker in color.

The taste can be described as an over boiled egg, a bit mushy and with a taste some liken to mushrooms. If you take too big of a bite, the egg tends to grow in the mouth of unaccustomed eaters. They are rich in vitamins and minerals though, with high concentrations of vitamin A, and calcium. Some say that consuming century eggs helps prevent cancer while others claim that it prevents heart disease.

Others claim that the consumption of the brown eggs can improve your skin and strengthen your nails due to the high levels of sulfur amino acids. Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph. What Are Century Eggs? Science Experiments and Activities for Preschoolers. Thanksgiving Chemistry Topics and Projects. Top Chemistry Projects for Bored Kids. How to Preserve a Halloween Jack-o'-Lantern. Examples of Chemical Reactions in Everyday Life. Your Privacy Rights.

To change or withdraw your consent choices for ThoughtCo. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. They are more commonly just a few months old after preservation. Century egg has an intense taste, interesting serving traditions and fascinating origins.

Century eggs are said to have originated in Hunan, China during the Ming dynasty some six centuries ago. The most popular story goes that a man discovered them during the construction of his home, when he saw duck eggs that had been lying in the slaked lime for two months.

He ate them and enjoyed the taste, so he added salt to improve the flavour. Thus, leading to the creation of the century egg.