Panicking about mysterious plasticky substance after cooking eggs

October 14, 2017 10:35 AM

I made some scrambled eggs with milk and skim milk "Swiss" cheese. They tasted fine, but as I went back into the kitchen to clean the frying pan, I noticed it was coated in a mysterious thin solid "plasticky" substance that crumbles to the touch. People are telling me not to worry, and I'm not worried it's going to kill me, but WHAT is it and WHERE is it from? (*I don't have much cooking experience, but I've made scrambled eggs many times before and have never seen this.)
posted by Seeking Direction to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

Best answer: Looks like egg white residue to me.
posted by Kriesa at 10:38 AM on October 14, 2017 [10 favorites]

Best answer: We get this quite often. It's egg whites that stuck to the pan and then dried up.
posted by KleenexMakesaVeryGoodHat at 10:45 AM on October 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: In my experience, low- fat cheese (especially Swiss) does get "plasticky" when melted. Where while milk cheese would get crunchy and crisp if left in a hot pan, low fat cheese can get brittle and look like plastic.
posted by Champagne Supernova at 10:47 AM on October 14, 2017 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Egg white residue. You're fine.
posted by Slinga at 10:47 AM on October 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks! Silly question, I know, but then I realized I don't usually buy low-fat cheese.
posted by Seeking Direction at 10:50 AM on October 14, 2017

Best answer: It is definitely 100% egg white residue.
posted by rhiannonstone at 3:28 PM on October 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If it makes you feel better, pretty much any kind of protein can be thought of as nutritious edible plastic.
posted by flabdablet at 7:05 PM on October 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Also, in my house those are "paper eggs".
posted by flabdablet at 7:09 PM on October 14, 2017 [5 favorites]