Why microwaving a boiled egg is one of the most dangerous things you can do in a kitchen
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Eggs sometimes explode in the microwave, so it's probably wise to cook them conventionally on the hob or in a frying pan from now on.
You might have encountered 'popping' eggs when cooking them by convection. This is common, but messy and best avoided.
It turns out that microwaving hard-boiled eggs can result in an even worse scenario.
People are talking about all this at the moment because a man recently filed a lawsuit claiming that he'd suffered severe burns and hearing damage from a hard-boiled egg. In restaurants, it's fairly common for the dish to be prepared in advance and reheated afterwards for effienciency during service.
(Image: Getty Images)
Apparently, the egg had exploded in the complainant's mouth after he bit into it. The lawsuit was settled out of court, according to IFL, but research into the phenomenon has since continued.
According to Anthony Nash and Lauren von Blohn from Charles M. Salter Associates in San Francisco, who had previously watched numerous videos of exploding microwave eggs on the internet, many of those tested by the team did the same.
Around 30 per cent only exploded after being taken out at poked with a sharp object.
The eggs in the experiment were hard-boiled, placed in a water bath, and then heated for three minutes.
The research showed that it is unlikely that the man suing for damages lost his hearing as a result of the egg explosion, which took place in his mouth.
"On a statistical basis, the likelihood of an egg exploding and damaging someone's hearing is quite remote," Nash said in a statement.
"It's a little bit like playing egg roulette."
However, most people are in agreement that reheating eggs in the microwave is a treacherous endevour.
IFL says that the bizarre happening "may be due to the protein in the egg trapping pockets of water in the yolk, which are then superheated well above the boiling temperature of tap water.
"When these pockets are disturbed, either by poking the egg or biting into it, they all boil in a chain reaction and explode."