Due to the change in the boiling point of water with altitude, both the egg white and yolk will not fully cook if boiled at the summit of Mount Everest, which stands at 8,849 meters.
Eggs can be soft-boiled or hard-boiled in nearly any location on the planet, but this is not possible at the highest point on Earth above sea level, which is Mount Everest. While this may not seem like an urgent issue, the thermodynamic principles behind this fact affect food and water preparation in many places around the world, according to IFL Science.
The boiling point of water on Everest is insufficient to cook eggs. (Image: Inspire Taste).
At the summit of Everest, the issue lies with air pressure. At sea level, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. That is the boiling point. As the pressure changes, the boiling point also varies. The higher you go above sea level, the lower the temperature required for water to boil.
You can use a calculator to accurately determine the boiling point at your location, but roughly, for every 300 meters of elevation gain, the boiling point decreases by one degree Celsius. The town of La Rinconada in the Andes Mountain range of Peru is the highest permanently inhabited place in the world (5,520 meters). There, water boils at 82.8 degrees Celsius.
Mount Everest is significantly higher than La Rinconada, at 8,849 meters above sea level, with a pressure of about one-third of atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the boiling point of water there drops to 68 degrees Celsius. This temperature is still hot enough to cause severe burns, but not hot enough to fully boil an egg.
Both the egg white and yolk are made up of different compounds, and proteins coagulate at different temperatures. The egg white consists of 54% ovalbumin, which does not coagulate until it reaches 80 degrees Celsius, while the yolk requires at least 70 degrees Celsius to solidify. The boiling temperature of water will not be sufficient to cook the egg.
If you find yourself at the summit of Mount Everest and are truly craving boiled eggs, the only solution is to use a pressure cooker. This cooking method increases the boiling point by raising the pressure inside the pot.
