Can an egg cook on the sidewalk?

According to the Library of Congress, it’s possible, but not probable, that you could fry an egg on a sidewalk during a hot day. Eggs need to reach a temperature of 158*F to cook through. Sidewalks can usually get up to 145*F. A concrete sidewalk isn’t the best conductor of heat.

Can you fry an egg on a hot sidewalk?

Once you crack the egg onto the sidewalk, the egg cools the sidewalk slightly. Pavement of any kind is a poor conductor of heat, so lacking an additional heat source from below or from the side, the egg will not cook evenly. Something closer to the conditions of a frying pan would be the hood of a car.

Can you cook an egg on concrete?

The only problem is that using concrete as a cooking surface, even in the highest of summer temperatures, is likely an impossible task. With the help of a frying pan or other metal surface, however, culinary enthusiasts have long been attempting to make sun-cooked eggs.

How hot does it have to be to crack an egg on the sidewalk?

In order to an egg to start to firm up, it must be cooked on a surface that has been heated to at least 158 °F (70 °C). Even on the hottest summer days, sidewalks themselves don’t get that hot. However, you might have success if you try frying an egg on a piece of tin foil or a metal pan placed on the sidewalk.

What’s the best way to cook an egg on the sidewalk?

On cloudy days, even very hot ones, the metal won’t get hot enough to cook an egg. Eggs will be more likely to firm up in dry weather than humid weather. 2. Place tin foil or metal pan in direct sunlight to heat up. You’ll want to let it heat up for at least 20 minutes, to make sure it’s as hot as it can get.

What should the temperature be for cooking eggs on a sidewalk?

Eggs need to reach a temperature of 158*F to cook through. Sidewalks can usually get up to 145*F. The hotter the day, the more likely your egg will fry. Using a good heat conductor (i.e. a frying pan) is also important. A concrete sidewalk isn’t the best conductor of heat.

Is it possible to fry an egg on the street?

Wolke found that a hot sidewalk might only get up to 145°F. Once you crack the egg onto the sidewalk, the egg cools the sidewalk slightly. Pavement of any kind is a poor conductor of heat, so lacking an additional heat source from below or from the side, the egg will not cook evenly. Bathers on sidewalk–Anna Maria Beach, Florida, about 1920.

Where did the saying sidewalk eggs come from?

The sidewalk-egg adage has become an enduring saying in the South and beyond. Oatman, Arizona, even holds a Solar Egg Frying Contest every year in a nod to the platitude and the heat. Egg-frying contestants don’t have to rely on the sidewalk alone, though. They can use mirrors and magnifying glasses to increase the odds of frying their eggs.