Can You Autoclave Your Eggs? - Personal Blog Post 4

A few weeks ago, I was coloring some hard boiled eggs for Easter, and a question popped in my mind. Theoretically, an autoclave is just a giant pressure cooker, right? Therefore, if you were to pop some eggs in the autoclave, they would cook like they might in some sort of steamer. Just like a good scientist should, I came up with some questions surrounding this hypothesis.

• Would the temperature matter? An autoclave goes up to temperatures above that of boiling water, so would that overcook the egg? Would that effect the taste? Can you burn a hard boiled egg? I assume you can but I don't like them so I don't eat them myself.

• Would the pressure affect anything? Would it result in the egg to be hard or really dense? Or could this cause an air bubble to form and the egg to explode or something? I feel like the pressure would be more likely to make it collapse in on itself as opposed to blowing up. I would probably have to put it inside a covered beaker just in case.

• How would the shell hold up? Would it shatter before the egg solidifies, resulting in a goopy mess, or would the pressure hold it together?

  

Now, I'm not saying I'm going to try this, as there are definitely some questions I need answered before I were to try this. Additionally, the last thing we need is for the lab to smell like both bacteria and eggs, but its an interesting thing to think about!