Dissolving Egg Shell

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I know that an egg shell is made up of approximately 92% Calcium Carbonate. The remaining percentage of the mass is a protein matrix. I know that vinegar (5% acetic acid) dissolves the Calcium Carbonate. Does any other food (such as lemon juice or some other acid) dissolve the shell of an egg. If so, how long does the process take?

I want to dissolve the shell of the egg before I soft-cook it.



Best Answer

Someone once had me on in a pub that you could pickle eggs by simply placing a raw egg in a jar of vinegar and the energy released by the shell dissolving would hard boil the egg.

When I got back home I put a raw egg in a vinegar filled jar. Immediately air bubbles appeared around the shell as some chemical reaction kicked off.

The shell was completely dissolved in about 3 days. The egg was raw and no doubt gone off since it had been denyed its naturally given vacuum pack, i.e. the shell.




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What will dissolve egg shells?

Pour enough vinegar (or cola) over the egg until it is completely submerged in the liquid. The chemical reaction between the acetic acid in the cola and the calcium carbonate in the eggshell causes the shell to dissolve.

How do you quickly dissolve an eggshell?

If you soak this egg shell in vinegar (which is about 4% acetic acid), you start a chemical reaction that dissolves the calcium carbonate shell. The acetic acid reacts with the calcium carbonate in the egg shell and releases carbon dioxide gas that you see as bubbles on the shell.

Which liquid dissolves an eggshell the fastest?

Q: which type of vinegar dissolves an eggshell fastest? A: The active ingredient in vinegar that does the dissolving is acetic acid.

How long does an egg shell take to dissolve in vinegar?

If you leave the egg in the vinegar for about 36 hours, eventually all the calcium carbonate will be dissolved by the acetic acid, leaving just the soft membrane and yolk behind.



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More answers regarding dissolving Egg Shell

Answer 2

My memory of how acids work from high school chemistry is that pretty much any acid will dissolve the shell, eventually, given enough acid. Depending on the concentration, the type, and the volume of the acid, the amount of acid you require will vary though. There will also be variability between eggs; some will have a much thicker shell than others.

If you want to eat the end product, that will of course rule out any acids that aren't food safe.

I disagree with @RossHolloway's answer that the egg will automatically go off because its shell has gone. This site indicates that the shell itself is porous and though they say the shell can block bacteria they also say the inner membranes "provide efficient defense against bacterial invasion".

The next question is whether the acid will also affect the inner membrane (you may want it intact). My link states that the membrane is made of keratin, which is a protein. I suspect it will not dissolve quickly in some weaker types of acid, so it probably is possible to completely dissolve the shell but not the membrane. Maybe someone else can expand on this?

Answer 3

The reason vinegar ruins the naked egg is that the vinegar moves into the egg by osmosis. That's a function of time and of concentration. The longer the egg soaks, the more acid it absorbs. I haven't tried this variation of the experiment yet, but I've made a naked egg for non-cooking purposes. I've been thinking how to do this, and here's what I've got:

1) Use a more concentrated vinegar to weaken the shell faster, so it doesn't soak as long. Be prepared to remove most of the shell by hand when it's weak enough. The egg's membranes should hold up fine if you're careful.

2) Once the shell is sufficiently compromised to allow expansion, try soaking it in distilled (or highly purified) water. The egg will expand, and that should counter some of the osmotic pressure, keeping the vinegar out. It will also make removing shell pieces by hand easier.

Expect it to take a few days. Also, I don't know if you're using supermarket eggs or something sturdier, but the shells on most supermarket eggs are thinner to begin with. I wouldn't try this on a free-range egg from your henhouse.

Answer 4

I have put uncracked boilled eggs(with shell) in a jar of pickled eggs (without shell) i bought at the store. And in less than 1 week there was nothing left of the shell. save for a little muck at the bottom of the jar I have also boilled eggs in about aquart of water with about 2 tbl spoons of citric acid (sour salt) The eggs come out marbled looking black and white and quite beautifull with no sour taste to the egg.

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