fermentation: that is, it denatures the egg proteins, and breaks down some of the complex, flavorless proteins and fats into simpler, highly flavorful components The disruptively high pH forces the egg proteins to unfold, and at the same time confers on them a strongly repelling negative charge The dissolved salt, with its positive and negative ions, moderates the repulsion enough that the fine strands of widely dispersed albumen proteins are able to bond into a solid yet transparent gel In the yolk, the same extreme conditions destroy the organized structure of the yolk spheres, and with it the usual graininess; the yolk proteins coagulate into a creamy mass The extreme alkalinity also browns the albumen by accelerating the reaction between the proteins and the trace of glucose (see p 89), and it greens the yolk by encouraging the formation of ferrous sulfide throughout the yolk, not just at its surface (as in hard-cooked eggs; see p 89) Finally, the alkalinity intensifies the egg’s flavor by breaking down both proteins and phospholipids into hydrogen sulfide, distinctly animal fatty acids, and pungent ammonia (the fumes from a freshly opened egg will turn litmus paper blue) Nouveaux Pidan Recently, two Taiwanese food scientists devised a method for making a striking, toned-down version of pidan They minimized the chemical stress, and thus the alteration of color and flavor, by limiting the alkaline treatment to eight days in a solution of 5% salt and 4.2% lye Such eggs don’t solidify on their own But when the unfolding and bonding are supplemented by gentle heating at 160ºF/70ºC for 10 minutes, these eggs set to a golden yolk and a colorless, clear white! Pine-Blossom Eggs An especially prized variant of pidan is one in which the aspiccolored white is marked throughout with tiny, ... Taiwanese food scientists devised a method for making a striking, toned-down version of pidan They minimized the chemical stress, and thus the alteration of color and flavor, by limiting the alkaline... days in a solution of 5% salt and 4.2% lye Such eggs don’t solidify on their own But when the unfolding and bonding are supplemented by gentle heating at 160ºF/70ºC for 10 minutes, these eggs set to a golden yolk and a colorless, clear...alkalinity intensifies the egg’s flavor by breaking down both proteins and phospholipids into hydrogen sulfide, distinctly animal fatty acids, and pungent ammonia (the fumes from a freshly