Egg Experiment

I came across a video of an egg experiment recently. I thought it would be a fun thing to do with the kids so we gave it a try. It was fun. Sarah ended up being the one was most interested. We disolved the shell off the egg. Then did a few things with the 'naked' egg.

First we took 2 glasses and filled them about 2/3 with white vinegar. We added a little more after we put in the egg because they weren't quite completely covered.

Sarah is watching to see what happens. We started this right before bedtime and that's why she is looking freshly showered and in her pj's.

 After just a few seconds the magic began to happen. You could see tons of little bubbles all over the outside of the egg. 

 The next day or about 18 hours later. We took the eggs out of the vinegar and rubbed the rest of the shell off. It came off quite easily.  The vinegar dissolves the shell and makes the egg membrane a bit rubbery. So these naked eggs bounce. :) We did not try to bounce from more than like 2 or inches from the counter. We only made 2 naked eggs and we didn't want them to break. 

 Then we took our 'naked' eggs and put them in 2 different liquids. The one of the left is in water. The one of the right is in corn syrup.  

 After about 18-24 hours this is what they looked like. The egg in the water got a lot bigger and the one is the syrup shrunk. You can't really tell by the below picture but the shrunken one is a bit wrinkly. Ok so I will try to give the scientific explanation as to why this happens. The egg membrane pulls water into the egg or puts water out the egg to try to equalize the water content on both sides the membrane. So the egg in the water would pull water in because there would be more water outside the egg than inside. Where as the egg in the corn sryup (corn sryup doesn't have much water in it) would put water out because there is more water in side the egg out. This is called osmosis.

 So to prove that the egg is pulling water in and putting water out we added blue food color to the water and put both eggs in. We let them sit for a few hours then I took the bigger egg out and put it in the corn syrup. Sarah's question was 'will it turn the corn syrup blue?' Good question...... and the answer is.......Yes. Well technically it doesn't turn the corn syrup blue it just puts out blue water from the egg. Sorry no picture for the blue corn syrup I forgot to take one.

So the result was this.......

 The above picture is after about 24 hours. So the shrunken egg from before is now big again and blue. The big egg from before is now shrunken and wrinkly. The small egg actually feels pretty cool.

After playing with the eggs and discussing what happened Sarah asked 'what would happen if we cook them?' Yet another good question that I didn't have the answer to so we tried it. 

 The result is in the below picture. The naked eggs stayed together and the membrane did not break while cooking. The eggs are a good bit lighter. But what does the inside look like? Is it blue?

 Sarah peeling the smaller blue egg that was in corn syrup.

 The egg that was in the corn syrup was harder than a normal egg.  Below is a picture of that egg.

 Then came the egg that was in the water. I just poked it with a knife and it split open and was spurting water.

 The white part (now blue) of the egg was very soft and broke apart really easy.

 

This was an experiment I would suggest for doing with kids that are a bit older.All in all I think our experiment was a success. We learned a few things about osmosis and what acid does. Anything that gets my kids' minds working and they don't even realize they are learning is a success in my opinion.

English Muffins

I was searching and searching for things to make at home that we normally buy and love when I came across a recipe for english muffins. I happened to find it on pinterest (I must admit I am a bit addicted to that site). I don't have the original site I got the recipe from. I have also made a few changes from the original recipe. So with out further ado I will get to the recipe.

English Muffins

1 cup warm water

1 pkg yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)

1 c milk

2 TBSP sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 TBSP butter

 about 5 cups of flour (I use 2 cups of wheat and the rest all purpose)

corn meal

* dissolve yeast in water. Your water should be pretty warm but not hot.

*Combine milk, sugar, salt and butter and heat until the butter is melted (this should also be pretty warm but not hot)

*Combine yeast water and milk mixture Stir just to mix the 2 together.

*Add 3 cups flours (if using wheat then add 2 wheat and 1 all purpose) and beat that for about 2 minutes

*Turn mixer down to low while continuing to mix Add enough flour to make a soft dough. 

*Then dump your dough onto a generously floured surface dust the top of your dough with flour so it doesn't stick to your hands.

*Knead the dough for about 4 minutes adding flour when needed. Knead until your dough is smooth and elastic.

*Place your dough in a bowl (I use the one I mixed it up in) Cover with a damp towel and let rise for 1 hour

*Punch down dough, Turn out onto a surface generously sprinkled with corn meal

*let your rest for 10 minutes before continuing

*roll (I just use my hands and pat it down) your dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness

*using a biscuit cutter (or a glass which is what I use since I don't have a biscuit cutter) cut out your muffins.

Try not to leave to much trimmings because you can not go back and reroll your dough 

*place your cut out muffins onto a baking sheet (sometimes I just let them lay on the counter depends on if I need the space or not) Cover with a DRY towel and let rise for about 35 minutes

*Place on a hot griddle and cook for about 10-15 minutes per side

I use my electric griddle but I am sure you could do this on the stove. Do NOT grease or oil the griddle the corn meal should prevent any sticking.

*Split with a fork, toast in your toaster and ENJOY!

These keep in an air tight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days. Let them cool completely before putting in a container.

Below is a picture of the very first batch I made. I used all all-purpose flour in these ones. So if you use some wheat flour they will be a bit darker.

Welcome to my 'table'!

Hello and Welcome to my virtual table!

Have a seat sip your coffee (or drink of your choice) while I share with you some of things that are happening on and around our table. 

Our table is so many times the 'happening place' at our house. We do so many things there. We color Easter eggs, decorate Christmas cookies, blow out birthday candles, do crafts, work on homework, share stories of our day at dinner, and so much more. We have laughed, cried and everything in between at the table. So for that reason I chose the theme for my new blog page. 

Here I will share with you recipe successes and flops, arts and crafts, experiments, and anything else I find interesting or fun. 

I hope you enjoy our coffee meetings as much as I will!