A Wonderleaf question
Why do eggs change when cooked?
a real page from the book
Eggs change when cooked because heat reshapes their proteins. In a raw egg, proteins are folded and drifting in liquid. As the egg warms, they loosen, stretch, and cling to one another, forming a firm web that holds water in place.
That is why clear egg white turns cloudy and set, and why a yolk thickens. The change does not simply reverse when the egg cools, because the proteins have made new bonds. Breakfast is chemistry you can see in a pan.
Wonder words
- protein
- molecules
- bond
- mesh
Try it out
Cook one spoonful of beaten egg slowly and watch together for the first moment it stops flowing.
Read the whole picture book
Watercolour scenes, straight answers, about three minutes cover to cover.
Open the picture bookKeep wondering
- Who invented pizza?
- How is chocolate made?
- How did people keep food fresh before refrigerators?
- Why do fruits taste sweeter when they are ripe?
- Why do we cook food?
- How does food turn into energy?
One more wonder: Why is space so dark?
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