It's Sizzling Out There

W

hen the summertime temperatures climb into the high 90s and even low 100s, people start making jokes about frying bacon on their dashboards or cooking an egg on the hood of their car. But is this really possible? Let's find out.

An egg needs a temperature of 158°F to become firm. And though sidewalks can reach 145°F, it's not quite hot enough. So no, it's not "so hot you can fry an egg on the sidewalk." Ever. Well, unless you're in, say, the Middle East. But here in the States? Not very likely. In fact, the city of Oatman, Arizona, hosts an annual Solar Egg Frying Contest every year on the Fourth of July. Solar power is the only thing allowed in terms of heating elements, but judges do allow some aids like mirrors, aluminum foil, and magnifying glasses. In Arizona, though, where the heat is high and dry, the eggs have a chance to evaporate more quickly, otherwise this would be one boring annual contest.

If your cookies don't bake on the dash, all you have to worry about is shame eating -- not salmonella.

What about cookies? Raw eggs are kind of gross, but with a slightly-raw cookie, all you have to worry about is shame-eating. Last summer, a New Jersey woman set to the task, placing a tray of raw cookie dough on her car's dashboard. She set the cookies on her dash at 10 a.m., and by 3 p.m., they were done! Just think! You could call them aged cookies, like how the fancy steakhouses sell aged steaks. Wait...no, this is not quite the same.

One other person, from RepublicOfBacon.com, tried to fry bacon on an aluminum foil sheet on a sidewalk, but found out the same ugly truth that the egg-fryers did—the sidewalk only gets up to about 150 degrees, and bacon needs a much higher temperature to become even a little bit crispy.

In the summer, it's best to leave the cooking up to your oven, if at all—if it's really hot enough to "fry an egg" out there, check out our ideas for no-heat meals and keep cool!