I have had it pretty easy the last couple of tastings so I wanted to be sure I put my neck out this time. A century egg goes by many names, preserved duck egg, hundred year egg, or thousand year egg. Regardless of the name they are all created by preserving an egg in an alkaline material until its ph is raised to a safe level. I have been looking for them for a while, they were actually easy to find but I wanted to buy one, not six. I had to finally break down and get a 6 pack.
Please note the “Lead Free” on the label, that made me feel so much better about this tasting. If there is one thing I look for in my food it is a clear lead free label. Thankfully my 6 mottled green beauties were individually wrapped so I get to save the other 5 to share with others.
On their reputation alone I decided I was going to set myself up with some chasers for this one. I slit one of the packages open and was greeted with a strong ammonia scent, which was not a good sign.Green eggs and ham are one thing, green eggs that smell like cat urine are a whole different animal. Hopefully some pickled ginger and kimchi would do the trick if needed.
One positive note, the egg peeled very easily. If you are going to eat a stinky green egg at the very least it should be easy to get to. Very little is more frustrating than a hard boiled egg that wont peel. From my research I knew that the yolk of this egg would be creamy and soft, even still I figured my handy dandy egg slicer would be the right tool for the job. I had to cut slowly to be sure I didn’t mangle the egg but it worked pretty well.
The yolk was very soft and dripped in a way I wasn’t very happy about. Don’t get me wrong, I like my egg yolks runny, a good poached, over easy, soft boiled,or sunny side up egg, all of those are good in my book. I think the contrast of expectations you might have for a hard boiled egg and the color and texture of this egg are so jarring it really adds to the challenege. I was struggling to get over it even before I put a piece in my mouth. I figured this one would need some action shots. I went for the strangely translucent white first. The smell was really strong and made it tough to throw it down.
Yeah that looks sums it up. Honestly it was the scent more than the taste, it tasted like a hard boiled egg, until you breathe that is. I choked that piece down and tried to convince myself that it wasn’t so bad. On to another piece with some yolk, this was the test I really needed to take.
It was that bad. I was trying to move my head away from the taste and smell that were in my assaulting me. Again if I focused for a moment and really tried to taste it, there was a pretty good rich yolk texture and egg flavor but the wafting scent of ammonia in my nostrils was more than I was willing to put up with in order to enjoy an egg. I really wanted to like century eggs so I could wear my enjoyment of them as some kind of culinary badge of honor. Sadly I won’t be pinning that badge to my sash. While there is some interesting egg texture and flavor to be found in a century egg I can’t see the need to eat them. Century eggs are a “you don’t have too” item for sure.
26 responses so far ↓
1 Eick // Jul 24, 2012 at 7:18 pm
I always think and say I’ll try ANYTHING. But after reading this I think you’re a braver man then I….
2 Rodzilla // Jul 25, 2012 at 8:35 am
I’m surprised. I love century eggs, I thought it was mostly the color that people couldn’t deal with. I actually limit how often I purchase them because I go through them so quickly.
3 Mark // Jul 25, 2012 at 8:47 am
I wanted to like them Rod but the strong ammonia smell was more than I could handle. I didn’t really taste enough of anything to make them worthwhile
4 Ken Patterson-Kane // Aug 13, 2012 at 10:56 pm
Century eggs are a real delicacy and I enjoy them frequently with some pickled ginger. Maybe there was something wrong with the one’s you had becasue I have never seen them sold individually wrapped and have never exparienced an ammonia or cat urine smell. I think the individual wrapping may have casued a problem.
5 So Good: Unfortunate Taste Test: Century Eggs | Food News Gator // Aug 14, 2012 at 2:28 am
[...] the full review of this unfortunate taste test and check out the entire series of “I [...]
6 Mark // Aug 14, 2012 at 6:09 am
That is good know, I will put them back on the list for a retest. Thanks
7 Jessica // Sep 6, 2012 at 2:38 am
Try having it in rice porridge in a restaurant. It’s a very common food item in dim sum or noodle places. The dish has pork and century egg in rice porridge. When it’s in the porrige, you shouldn’t be smelling it. Either I’m immune to it or I honestly don’t think the ammonia smell is that strong.
Having the egg just like that out of the package is like eating bread instead of toast. It can be done but cooking it will enhance the taste for some.
8 420geezer // Sep 9, 2012 at 5:42 pm
They should only be eaten in congee, which eliminates the ammonia smell & become quite good.
9 food lover // Oct 2, 2012 at 1:31 am
most westerners cannot stomach the likes of century eggs, stinky tofu and durians
10 Vincent // Oct 26, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Dumbass, you eat it with black vinegar!
11 Nido // Nov 4, 2012 at 12:42 am
That century egg isnt of a good quality, even century egg eater like me dont eat the type of century, best century eggs for eating on it own are actually those that has solid yolk, not those watery ones shown (most likely not fully cooked), and best eat it with preserved ginger or just dip in it light soya sauce.
12 I Try It So You Don't Have To: Salted Duck Eggs | So Good // Dec 4, 2012 at 1:16 pm
[...] Mark · December 4th, 2012 · No Comments My last egg tasting was a pretty serious miss. While I have vowed to try to them again in case I got a bad batch, I have not been able to bring [...]
13 Cw Tham // Dec 26, 2012 at 11:36 pm
Came across your post as I was searching for fishy taste in soft boiled eggs.
I must say, you are really brave. Century egg is a delicacy of acquired taste. You won’t like it on first try, let alone you went with the stronger tasting one made with duck egg.
Start with those made with chicken eggs, their yolks are more solid and less foul smelling. Go with plenty of pickled ginger (skip the kimchi please). As you progress, you might find yourself craving for some from time to time. Then you might wanna consider leveling up to duck egg’s.
Another tip, we Asians slice century eggs with good old needle thread. It gives a clean slice and you can discard the thread later.
Hope you’ll grow to like it like I do. But I can only wallop 1 egg at most, per serving. Aside from the less appetizing cause and also the health concern, which was unfounded yet.
14 Nicole // Jan 9, 2013 at 1:03 am
I think you have a weird batch. I grow up with the chicken ones then in my 20s discovered the duck ones.. none of them has any filling oozing out from yolk.. it’s always in a more solid form.. the yolk should have consistency of a mozzarella cheese..
this is how it really looked like : http://www.tastehongkong.com/recipes/tofu-with-century-egg-and-spring-onions/
15 Mark // Jan 9, 2013 at 7:07 am
Thanks, they are definitely up for a retest. I found a new source so as soon as I can bring myself to do it I’m going to try again.
16 Alison // Jan 21, 2013 at 3:19 am
You need to remember, too, that some people are genetically “super-tasters” with more taste receptors in the tongue. Typically these people have an aversion to bitter tastes and smells. Those people who have less taste receptors are okay with bitter or ammoniacal tastes. Try this: do you dislike the taste of brocolli or dark chocolate? You are probably a supertaster, rather than having a faulty egg.
17 Mark // Jan 21, 2013 at 11:03 am
Bitter flavors and I get along quite nicely. I have found a new supplier for century eggs and should be trying again soon
18 asdf // Jan 23, 2013 at 6:56 pm
The yolk shoudn’t be like that. It should be more solid and of a thicker, creamier consistency, much like that of a soft goat cheese.
19 asdf // Jan 23, 2013 at 6:56 pm
The yolk shouldn’t be like that. It should be more solid and of a thicker, creamier consistency, much like that of a soft goat cheese.
20 I Try It So You Don't Have To: Century Eggs, Again | So Good // Feb 12, 2013 at 2:16 pm
[...] my first disastrous tasting of century eggs I received a lot of feedback. Outside of the people who were revolted, there was a large group of [...]
21 kim // Mar 3, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Think you chose a bad label or got an off 6. One test product does not make for good testing or research! I recommend trying again.
22 Mark // Mar 3, 2013 at 8:20 pm
Agreed.
23 Chris // Mar 5, 2013 at 9:06 am
Make sure yolk is solid. Don’t take it alone. Must be eaten with lots of pickled ginger TOGETHER. I like century eggs but do not eat them by itself.
24 eMBee // Mar 28, 2013 at 10:52 pm
i like the soft yolk, but yes, some smell stronger than others. i haven’t noticed any difference to whether eggs were individually wrapped or now.
my favourite way to eat them is in combination with soft tofu, soy sauce and salt as it is common in northern china where i live: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg#Uses
greetings, eMBee.
25 Jean // Apr 3, 2013 at 3:39 pm
I love these things…
BUT they should be eaten in conjunction with something blander.
All the people moaning that century eggs shouldn’t have an ammonia taste/smell are full of it. That’s one of the most well-known characteristics of them. It also occurs in some other preserved foods, like preserved shark.
The individual plastic wrapping is just a modern way of keeping the air from contacting the egg as it ages; traditionally they would be encased in a claylike substance to do the same thing.
26 Gerald Fnord // May 6, 2013 at 1:00 pm
0.) I’m glad to know that I’m not alone in disliking the runny-yoke version; now all I have to do is to find a brand that consistently delivers a firm.
1.) On that note, I might try to find a traditionally-made one, that is a brand that coats the egg with mud/lime/salt, rather than the modern sort.
2.) People have mentioned congee. I just wanted to add that it works for me because congee is basically insanely bland, and something that would have been obnoxious in quantity can be wonderful as a spice—I never eat whole scallions or ginger-root, but love both in my food, especially congee.
3.) If you like this congee, it is very easy to make (and fairly quick with a pressure cooker), cheap, and (for a non-diabetic) moderately healthy.
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