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Most people think raw eggs will rot if left in a jar for a month, but by burying them in caustic mud, ancient artisans engineered a way to turn them into translucent jewels.

This is the 600-year-old science of the century egg, in which raw protein is preserved and transformed.

Through intense alkaline chemistry, it begins by harvesting fine, iron-rich clay.

To ensure the mud can create a perfect airtight seal, it is mixed with water, filtered through cloth, and hung to drain, leaving behind only the purest, silkiest earth.

But clay alone won't preserve the egg.

The artisan must build a chemical reactor.

She burns pine branches to create a highly alkaline wood ash, which is then mixed with pure quicklime.

Comes the catalyst.

A dark, boiling brew of black tea, salt, and aromatic spices is poured over the ash and clay.

This triggers a powerful base reaction, creating a thick, highly caustic mud.

Each raw duck egg is completely encased in this alkaline paste and rolled in chaff.

So, they don't stick together.

When sealed inside a ceramic jar, unseen chemistry takes over.

Over the next few weeks, the alkaline compounds slowly seep through the egg shell's microscopic pores.

Raising the internal pH to nearly 11.

This extreme alkalinity breaks down the complex proteins, causing the egg white to denature and coagulate.