Egg Piracy in China
During a recent raid on a wholesale centre in Guangzhou city, the capital of China’s Guangdong province, a large quantity of fake eggs was seized.
Their wholesale price is 0.15 yuan (S$0.03) each - half the price of a real egg.
Consumers have a hard time telling a genuine egg from a fake one. This is good news for unscrupulous entrepreneurs, who are even conducting three-day courses in the production of artificial eggs for less than S$150.
A reporter with Hong Kong-based Chinese magazine East Week enrolled in one such course.To create egg white, the instructor - a woman in her 20s - used assorted ingredients such as gelatin, an unknown powder, benzoic acid, coagulating material and even alum, which is normally used for industrial processes.
For egg yolk, some lemon-yellow colouring powder is mixed to a liquid and the concoction stirred. The liquid is then poured into a round-shaped plastic mould and mixed with so-called ‘magic water’, which contains calcium chloride.
This gives the ‘yolk’ a thin outer membrane, firming it up. The egg is then shaped with a mould. The shell is not forgotten. Paraffin wax and an unidentified white liquid are poured onto the fake egg, which is then left to dry.
The artificial egg can be fried sunny-side up or steamed. Although bubbles appear on the white of the egg, those who have tasted it say the fake stuff tastes very much like the real thing.
But experts warn of the danger of eating fake eggs. Not only do they not contain any nutrients, a Hong Kong Chinese University professor warned that long-term consumption of alum could cause dementia.
To make the egg white, various ingredients, including a powder and alum, are mixed together.
The ‘yolk’ is shaped in the round mould. ‘Magic water’ containing calcium chloride is used.
Hardy shells are formed by pouring paraffin wax and a liquid onto the egg, which are then left to dry.
February 28, 2006 @ 10:30 pm
OmG…. I can’t believe such a thing exists! Egg piracy? what is the world coming to? :p
March 1, 2006 @ 4:26 pm
still wonder how they make it…dun get it..
they amke the egg white liquid. the egg yolk.. d egg shell. how they put all in one piece like real egg???
d last pic. pour the wax to make the shell. how it sustain the egg white with egg yolk inside??
March 16, 2006 @ 3:56 pm
something 4 vegans 2 look 4ward 2??
April 7, 2006 @ 1:45 am
Haha… I think Marriott was one of their customers. I was staying in Residence Inn in San Diego, and eggs they were giving for breakfast were terrible, a kind of artificial…. They didn’t taste like eggs. I think this article explains a lot :-))
August 13, 2006 @ 3:23 pm
Only wankers would want to eat artificial eggs…
March 29, 2008 @ 5:38 am
Amazing! I thought it was an impossibility! Imagine, small chinamen that lay little eggs. There’s a job here for all of them. How sweet!