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| RER 10.3.12 |
So there are so many different kinds of eggs, from so many
different kinds of animals, but let’s just focus on the kind we are most
familiar with, chicken eggs. Even in that category, there are so many different
kinds of eggs; different colors, shapes, sizes, speckled, brown… There are also
a wide array of factors that contribute to eggs, how they are produced and even
how they taste! Eggciting!
Eggs are an eggcellent source of nutritional value. They
just happen to be one of nature’s most economical and nutritious food
sources,[1]
perhaps the world’s most affordable sources of protein.[2]
These small and mighty orbs of goodness are jammed packed with protein. Also,
it’s cool that “egg protein is the standard by which other protein sources are
measured.”[3]
They also have an amazing array of amino acids, vitamins and minerals, such as
calcium, iron, potassium, A, D, and E.[4]
There are about 70 calories per
egg.[5] According to the American Egg Board, a
large egg contains 6 grams of protein and 4.5 grams of fat, which is only
about 7% of the recommended daily value of fat. [6]
This has created a market for the mass production of eggs.
As I learned on both a cooking show with Bobby Dean (the Great Paula’s own son)
and on History Channels, “Modern Marvels: Egg” episode, hens produce an egg as
frequently as once a day, to every other day, but some times as infrequently as
every three days.[7] Hens lay 80 billion eggs a year, just
in the United States alone. There are about as many hens as there are people in the United States, and each hen lays about as many eggs as the average person eats a year,
250 eggs. [8]
This just shows the vastness of the industry, and the importance of the egg as
a resource to the human population.
According to whatscookingaemrica.net the color of the shell of
the egg gives no insight into the nutritional value, but rather the kind of hen
that produced the egg.[9]
What does change the egg, not necessarily in its nutritional value (all the
great vitamins, minerals and proteins), but the taste of the egg, is the diet
that the laying hen is on. This has become a very interesting point in the
history of the egg. The likes of Bobby Dean and his culinary friends, or even
those who can afford about $8 a dozen, tend to look for hens that are fed very
specific, organic and varied diets.[10]
This increases and changes the flavor of the egg.
Despite their nutritional eggcellence, eggs and their
consumption are always in debate. Some debates are about disease and sickness,
whereas others are more in the vein of health and nutritional facts.
According to foodsaftey.org, you really want to cook the egg
until both the yolk and the whites are firm, but that is not really fun, nor
how many people prefer their eggs.[11]
It seems like there are as many people that like a runny yolk, as those who
prefer a firm yolk. That firm yolk, means that all the little germies that can
be running around in eggs, causing salmonella and other food contamination
issues, are dead and gone.
Then there is the debacle of if eggs are actually
good for you or not. There is a ton of protein hiding inside each little egg,
but it has also been found that there is a large amount of fat and maybe too
much cholesterol in each egg. Most of this cholesterol and fat is found in the
yolk of the egg, so the answer for a while was to avoid the yellow yolks and
just stick to the egg whites. Doing that the diner gains much of the protein
present in the egg, but also looses so many of the other healthy attributes and
benefits of the egg in its entirety.[12]
The yolk is where all the egg’s vitamin A,D and E are located[13]
as well as most of the antioxidants, minerals and other vitamins.[14]
It was even found in a study that the human body may not even be able to absorb
much of that cholesterol, which makes up approximately two thirds of the
suggested daily amount.[15]
Because eggs are one of the most nutritious and delicious
gifts, there are so many eggciting ways to prepare and serve it. Different
cuisines and preferences, lend to a large variety of styles of preparations.
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| RER 8.15.12 |
Fried
The fried egg, apparently, is from the mastery of the French
kitchen, and involves butter to cook, lots of butter. The way the French master
executed, zee fried egg, was like a mixture of frying and poaching (in butter)
at the same time. Check out the link whatscookingamerica.net's eggspertise on poached eggs.
[16]
Nowadays, the art of the fried egg is much more minimal; egg, non stick pan,
butter or other fat agent, and spatula… don’t forget the egg. Some people cover
the egg (which does make it cook better and more evenly and fully).
Fried eggs come in the form of sunny side up, over easy, and
over hard. Now, the sunny side up fried egg, may not always
follow the guidelines of temperatures and firm yolks that foodsafety.org
warns us about, though covering does help the egg to cook more fully. Sunny side up requires no flipping or
tossing, this is when the yolk is up and visible (yolk=sun). These fried eggs
are great for the kinds of people who like a less firm yolk. I have also heard,
by word of mouth, that if the yolk feels warm to the touch, it is cooked enough
to eat. Over easy is just that, a
gentle flip, so the yolk side gets some heat attention. Over easy leads to over hard,
when the yolk gets cooked to the firmer standard.
Scrambled
Scrambled has to be one of the easiest ways to prepare an
egg. It also is like a blank canvas, because anything can be added to scrambled
eggs to customize the meal. Ingredients like cheeses, vegetables, proteins,
herbs and spices, can be just the right addition to scrambled eggs to take them
to the next level of delicious.
There are countless cooking show episodes and youtube videos
and recipes detailing the science and art of scrambled eggs (Alton Brown
or even allrecipes or even more). To me the key is not to overcook the eggs when looking for the
perfect taste and texture. Whisking the eggs along with a little milk and
seasoning doesn’t hurt either. But the constant movement of the eggs in the hot
pan with butter, deffo is where the trick is. Once the eggs turn brown, they
are burned and dry and most definitely not delicious.
Omelet
I would dare say that omelets are the cousin to scrambled
eggs, because most times, they both start off in the same way; eggs, milk,
seasoning, stuff, whisk and pan. With omelets there is less movement in the
pan, but a similar fluffy texture because of whisking. Like with scrambled eggs
there are endless possibilities in terms of flavors, add-ons, ingredients and styles.
Omelets are a great way to play with your food and get some serious protein.
Hard or soft boiled
Boiled eggs, are when the full egg, shell and all, are
submerged in hot water. Calling them “boiled” eggs is actually incorrect,
because if you were to really boil them the egg would become tough and rubbery.[17] So
technically, it should be called “cooking” them. In order for the texture to be
delicious and more edible, the water should be still, but hot. The yolks of
hard boiled eggs are solid, whereas the yolks of the soft variety are looser
and more liquidy. Whatscookingamerica.net gives a really great run down.
Poached
Poached eggs are definitely an art form that accompany a
wide array of benedicts, that engage different flavors and ingredients. But
poaching eggs, is not quite the easiest, and it takes practice to perfect (just
look at restaurants, they do not always produce perfect poached eggs every
time, unfortunately). Even with poaching eggs there are different methods. Some
methods just require water, an egg and a spoon, others include vinegar or egg
rings, poaching cups and microwaves. This site
enumerates the options very well, as well gives a detailed play by play of
poaching eggs the old fashioned way and gives info on all the doodads that can
be used in the process. The best poached egg fact, revealed on
whatscookingamerica.net, is that the fresher the egg the better for poaching
(well, I would assume this is in general). With eggs that are more than a week
old, the whites of the egg begin to thin out, this then makes the end result of
a poached egg messier. The whites of a fresher egg will surround the yolk much
more compactly and result in a neater rounder shape. Isn’t this the point? I
always thought that poached eggs were one of the more refined methods of making
them…
Not only are there a zillion different ways to prepare eggs
on their own, eggs feature a giant part in cooking in general. There are eggs
in many baking recipes; cakes, cookies… There are puddings and custards, that
definitely demand the presence of eggs. There are egg washes for ravioli or
pastries, or dipping for frying. And on top of that, there are eggs in savory
dishes too; meatloafs and hamburgers. Eggs are EVERYWHERE (unfortunately
eggvrywhere does not work too well).
There are also different kinds of eggs that we typically
consume, other than the most common chicken egg. We humans like to eat quail
eggs and ostrich eggs when we are being fancy. Quail eggs are much smaller than
the typical chicken egg, and have a different taste than the common egg. These
tiny eggs are used in gourmet arenas, and make frequent appearances on Iron
Chef America. Ostrich eggs are at the other extreme; they are enormous, with an
extremely thick and sturdy shell that takes power tools to crack open. These
giant eggs also have about as many calories as our daily recommended dose.[18]
In England, as well as some Scandinavian countries, the gull eggs are known as
delicacies.[19]
Now that you have the FoodFacts and are an eggspert… go and
eggsperience!
Don't forget to check out the sources page for more light reading on the incredible edible egg!
RER
10.4.12
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| RER 10.3.12 |
[1] Foodsafety.gov “Eggs”
[2] History Channel Modern Marvels “Eggs”
[3] American Egg Board “Egg
Nutrition Facts”
[4] Wikipedia.org “Egg”
[5] American Egg Board “Egg
Nutrition Facts”
[6] American Egg Board “Egg
Nutrition Facts”
[7] History Channel Modern Marvels “Eggs”
[8] History Channel Modern Marvels “Eggs”
[9] whatscookingamerica.net
“Egg FAQs”
[10] History Channel Modern Marvels “Eggs”
[11] Foodsafety.gov “Eggs”
[12]whatscookingamerica.net “Egg
Whites vs. Whole Eggs”
[13] Wikipedia.org “Egg”
[14] whatscookingamerica.net “Egg
Whites vs. Whole Eggs”
[15] Wikipedia.org “Egg”
[16] whatscookingamerica.net
“Fried Eggs”
[17] whatscookingamerica.net
“Eggs”
[18] History Channel Modern Marvels “Eggs”
[19] Wikipedia.org “Egg”
