On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 229

isbactericidal.Thesetreatmentswere
renderedobsoletebytheadventof
refrigerationandyear-roundeggproduction.
Stillvital500yearsaftertheirfirstknown
descriptionareChinesepreservationmethods
thatmaintainthenutritionalvalueoftheegg
butdrasticallychangeitsflavor,consistency,
andappearance.TheclosestWestern
counterparttothisovo-alchemyis
cheesemaking,whichtransformsmilkintoan
entirelydifferentfood.Ordinaryvinegarpickledeggsofferonlyahintofthe
possibilities;theyaretoChinesepreserved
eggsasyogurtistoStilton.
PickledEggs

Commonpickledeggsaremadebyfirst
boilingtheeggsandthenimmersingthemina
solutionofvinegar,salt,spices,andoftena
coloringlikebeetjuice,for1to3weeks.Over
thattimethevinegar’saceticaciddissolves


muchoftheshell’scalciumcarbonate,
penetratestheeggs,andlowerstheirpH
sufficientlytopreventthegrowthofspoilage
microbes.(ThevinegarinEaster-eggdyes
etchestheshellsurfaceandhelpsthedye
penetrate.)Pickledeggswillkeepforayear
ormorewithoutrefrigeration.
Pickledeggscanbeeatenshell—orits
remains—andall.Inadditiontobeingtart,

theyarefirmerthanfreshlyboiledeggs;the
whiteissometimesdescribedasrubbery.A
moretenderconsistencycanbeobtainedby
includingamplesaltinthepicklingliquidand
havingtheliquidattheboilwhentheeggsare
immersed.Thoughtheeggswon’tspoilat
roomtemperature,theywillsufferlessfrom
swollenyolksandsplitwhites(whichresult
whentheeggabsorbsthepicklingliquidtoo
rapidly)ifstoredinthecold.
ChinesePreservedEggs