Naked Eggs (Shell Less Eggs)

Intro: Naked Eggs (Shell Less Eggs)

Sometimes while an egg is being created by a bird, the step for making the hard outer shell is skipped, thus creating a shell less egg.  A Shell less or naked egg is soft, squishy and feels almost rubbery. I will show you how to make your own shell less egg using vinegar and a chicken egg.

STEP 1: Equipment

Tools:
Clear jar
White vinegar
egg

STEP 2: Place Egg in Jar

Place your egg carefully in your jar.

I slid the egg in and then tilted the jar upright.

STEP 3: Add Vinegar to Jar

Add vinegar to the jar with the egg.
Pour enough vinegar so that the egg is completely coverd.

STEP 4: Shell Starts to Dissolves

As soon as you add the vinegar you will see bubbles starting to form on the surface of the shell.  Your shell may even float to the surface.

The vinegar contains acetic acid.  The acetic acid in the vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate crystals, which is what the egg shell is made of.  The acetic acid causes the calcium carbonate cyrstals (the egg shell) to break into their calcium and carbonate parts. The calicum floats free and the carbonate combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, which are the bubbles you see forming on the shell.

STEP 5: Replace Vinegar

The next day you will see a layer of foam on the surface of the vinegar.
After about 24 hours has passed you should replace the vinegar.
Carefully pour out the vinegar.
Once all of the old vinegar is removed pour in new vinegar so that again, the egg is completely cover.

As you can see in my picture I did not bother removing all of the foam, you can if you want too.


You will be able to observe that the shell is thining and patches of yellow (the yolk) will be seen through the thinning egg shell.

STEP 6: Shell Is Dissolved

After about 48 hour the shell should be dissolved, it make take longer depending on the thinkness of the orginal shell.
Once the shell is completely dissolved pour out the vinegar and remove the egg from the jar.

STEP 7: Enjoy Your Naked Egg

Your egg is now shell less and squishy.  Be careful as the only thing hold the egg together in a thin membrane. 

Comments

[LaffyDuck187]

Is the egg edible after it becomes shell-less?

[adenh04]

well, it's been in vinegar, so not too tasty but go ahead

[Sparkyrob]

I think the best answer to your question is itself a question - How many times have you eaten an egg shell?

I think what you might be asking is - Is it edible after being soaked in Vinegar for so long? That is a good question. Pickles are edible after soaking in vinegar. I would guess these would be too. That would be something to test.

[LaffyDuck187]

It would probably be a good idea to boil the egg before eating.

[ensatiny]

If you're worried about the egg sitting at room temperature, I wouldn't, as that's the way eggs are stored. Refrigeration isn't necessary.

[lperkins]

Refrigeration helps them last longer. They're good for about a week unrefrigerated usually. Of course, with commercially produced eggs it can be a little difficult to know precisely how old they are when you get your hands on them. Soaking in vinegar, however, should do a reasonable job of pickling them. Just be sure to cook them thoroughly before you eat them.

[mdshann]

I love pickled eggs! Of course those are usually boiled then pickled...

[ensatiny]

You're right about them lasting longer. I don't worry, since my eggs are fresh from chickens, but from a supermarket, a fridge might be a good idea. Once they're boiled, I always refrigerate them, though.

[wold630]

This is fascinating, but what is the purpose?

[shizumadrive]

maybe they make egging people less dangerous?

[voodoopunchie]

When I taking biology in elementary school, we used this project to learn osmosis; after removing the shell, we placed the "naked egg" alternately in corn syrup and fresh water for a few days each and observed the results. It was a really neat way to learn something that may otherwise have been boring for young children.

[TallTrav]

We used to call them Rubber Eggs. We used to do this and toss them to unsuspecting folks or leave them about for someone to discover. We left them in a bottle of ink once too, but that was not only smelly, but really messy. The stains were visible for ages....lol

[hinaqin]

wow, it looks so magic. I saw it once.

[triumphman]

Do you know why there is an air pocket at the top of most eggs ? I do! Take a guess!

[DehiXeM]

I don't know, perhaps is it a bit of free oxygen for when it spawns?

[triumphman]

You got it! It is an air pocket so when the chic starts to hatch it has a bit of air . Then it pecks a hole in the shell and breathes the first outside air of its new life. Awesome! I know who created these wonderful things! Thank you!

[DehiXeM]

Thanks for the fact :D

[flyingfox567]

why?

[spylock]

I had chickens that would every so often lay an egg like that,they got tossed into the compost.

[rrkrose]

1 of my chickens also laid an egg like this once too.