Heating up the sidewalk-cooked egg debate

Go grab that egg, a spatula, a little salt and pepper and some Tabasco sauce if preferred.

Head outside. Find a sidewalk.

And fry that egg.

Burn baby, burn.

Yep. As we all know, it’s been really hot outside – really, really hot – and we’re still in spring.

Summer doesn’t officially begin until next Tuesday, but it sure feels like it’s already arrived, and then some.

Boerne has experienced five 100-degree or higher days so far this month and another three that topped out at 99 degrees. We’ve set six record-high temperatures so far this month through Wednesday. Every day in June, the mercury has reached at least 90 degrees.

The “normal” high for this time of the year is the upper 80s.

So, just how hot is it?

The cows are giving evaporated milk.

The trees are whistling for the dogs.

I saw a dog chasing a cat – and they were both walking.

Hot water now comes out of both taps.

I’ve realized that asphalt has a liquid state.

The potatoes are cooking underground.

I’m eating hot chilies to cool my mouth off.

My new dream house is any house in Alaska.

I can make instant sun tea.

My truck overheats before I even drive it.

When the temperature drops below 95 degrees, I feel a bit chilly.

And, the chickens are laying hard-boiled eggs.

Speaking of eggs, let’s go back to the sidewalk and our spatula.

Did you decide yet whether to add a little Tabasco sauce?

Unless something drastically changes during the second half of the month, this June is going to be one of the hottest if not the hottest on record. So far, it’s been the hottest June this century. Right now, we’re averaging about 9 degrees above normal as far as the high temperature and more than 6 degrees above normal with the average temperature for the month.

And as the expression says, it’s hot enough to fry an egg.

But is it really? Before tackling that question, I did a little research to see where that expression originated. I found out no one really knows for sure, but the phrase appeared in the Atlanta Constitution in 1899 and has been used ever since.

And, I think it’s fair to say that with summer – or late spring – heat a constant force in these parts these days, it’s one expression that will … ahem … never cool off.

As far as whether it is really hot enough to fry an egg, I consulted one of my favorite resources – The Farmer’s Almanac – to see if I can grab a fork and a napkin and head to the sidewalk for breakfast.

The answer? I’ll be waiting for a long, long time for that fried egg.

Here’s the eggs-planation.

The Farmer’s Almanac says an egg needs to reach a temperature of about 160 degrees Fahrenheit before it’ll cook. So, 100-degree days aren’t anywhere near hot enough, even though it feels like it.

Even the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth is nowhere near hot enough. The record is 134 degrees reached in Death Valley, California, on July 10, 1913.

However …

Because concrete and pavement surfaces absorb and hold the sun’s heat, those surfaces actually can heat to dozens of degrees hotter than the air temperature. So, in theory, outdoor temperatures can get hot enough to cook a raw egg on the ground.

So, we may wonder why don’t most cook-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk experiments work?

The Almanac states in order to cook the egg, the ground must remain at or above the 160-degree mark for a lengthy period of time. But this is hard to achieve.

First, the sidewalk doesn’t hold the sun’s heat for more than a few hours, which the Almanac states isn’t hot enough for a long enough period of time to fully cook the egg.

Also, hot and dry air doesn’t transfer heat as efficiently to food as humid air does. So, even if the pavement is a scorching 160 degrees or more, all that heat won’t transfer to the egg. In fact, hot and dry air speeds up evaporation, which actually cools the egg somewhat.

So there you have it.

It’s too hot to eat outside anyway.

But, here’s something to remember. If you could cook an egg on the sidewalk during these hot spring or summer days, and maybe throw on a couple of pieces of bacon, you could go to the local grocery store while they’re cooking and buy a loaf of bread.

By the time you’d get back home, the bread would have baked into toast and you’d have a scrumptious breakfast.

Stay cool out there, my friends. And, as always, thanks for reading.