Eggs, How To Cook Eggs, All About Eggs

Learn All About Eggs & How To Cook Them

Egg Cooking Techniques:

Baked (Shirred) Eggs

Boiling Eggs

Coddled Eggs

Deviled Eggs

Fried Eggs

Microwave Eggs

Poached Eggs

Scrambled Eggs/Omelets

Misc. Egg Information:

Egg Equivalents

Freezing Eggs

How Fresh Are Your Eggs?
Date Codes on Egg Cartons

How To Peel Hard-Cooked Eggs

Making Perfect Meringue - Sweating Meringue

Powdered Eggs

Questions & Answers:

Boccone Dolce

Egg FAQs

Pasturization of Eggs

Powdered Egg Whites

Scrambled Eggs Turning Green

Storing Hard-Cooked Eggs

Using Raw Eggs in Cooking

Why Do Some Eggs Float?

Recipes Using Eggs:

Brunch Recipes

Egg Recipes

Pickled Eggs & Beets

Dyeing Eggs:

Making Natural Easter Egg Dyes

Tea Infused Eggs
(Marbleized Eggs)

Nutritional Value of Eggs

Eggs make a valuable contribution to a healthy, balanced diet. Eggs provide protein, vitamin A, riboflavin, and other vitamins and minerals. The yolk contains all the fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol in an egg.

Eggs are an excellent source of high-quality protein and are far less expensive than most other animal-protein foods. Although eggs contain a significant amount of cholesterol, they need not be excluded from the diet. Most people need not be concerned about eating eggs in moderation.

Following nutritional information by the Egg Nutrition Center (ENC) - Nutrient Value of Eggs

Nutrient Content of a Large Egg

Nutrient (unit)	Whole Egg	Egg White	Egg Yolk
Calories (kcal)	75	17	59
Protein (g)	6.25	3.52	2.78
Total lipid (g)	5.01	0	5.12
Total carbohydrate (g)	0.6	0.3	0 .3
Fatty acids (g)	4.33	0	4.33
Saturated fat (g)	1.55	0	1.55
Monounsaturated fat (g)	1.91	0	1.91
Polyunsaturated fat (g)	0.68	0	0.68
Cholesterol (mg)	213	0	213
Thiamin (mg)	0.031	0.002	0.028
Riboflavin (mg)	0.254	0.151	0.103
Niacin (mg)	0.036	0.031	0.005
Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.070	0.001	0.0069
Folate (mcg)	23.5	1.0	22.5
Vitamin B12 (mcg)	0.50	0.07	0.43
Vitamin A (IU)	317.5	0	317
Vitamin E (mg)	0.70	0	0.70
Vitamin D (IU)	24.5	0	24.5
Choline (mg)	215.1	0.42	214.6
Biotin (mcg)	9.98	2.34	7.58
Calcium, Ca (mg)	25	2	23
Iron, Fe (mg)	0.72	0.01	0.59
Magnesium, Mg (mg)	5	4	1
Copper, Cu (mg)	0.007	0.002	0.004
Iodine, I (mg)	0.024	0.001	0.022
Zinc, Zn (mg)	0.55	0	0.52
Sodium, Na (mg)	63	55	7
Manganese, Mn (mg)	0.012	0.001	0.012

Serving Egg Dishes

Important: If you are taking deviled eggs, egg salad or other egg-based foods to a picnic or outdoor event, pack them with ice or a commercial coolant in an insulated bag or cooler to keep them cold.

When entertaining, serve all egg dishes within two hours. Cold egg dishes and beverages should be kept on ice. Serve eggs and egg-rich foods immediately after cooking or refrigerate and use within three to four days.

Does Egg Size Matter?

Eggs are sold in a range of standard sizes, the most common being jumbo, extra large, large, and medium. Check out Egg Equivalents.

Large eggs are used in most recipes. Chicken eggs are most commonly used; in some areas, duck, goose, and quail eggs are also available. Shell color-brown or white-is purely superficial; there is no difference in quality. Refrigerate in the carton for up to 5 weeks.

Egg Storage

Eggs are a perishable food and need to be refrigerated. Keep eggs in the original carton in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Throw away any eggs that are cracked, broken, or leaking.

It is best not to wash eggs before storing or using them. Washing is a routine part of commercial egg processing and the eggs do not need to be rewashed.

Fresh eggs in the shell - 3 to 4 weeks
Fresh egg whites - 2 to 4 days
Fresh egg yolks (unbroken and covered with water) - 2 to 4 days
Hard-cooked eggs - 1 week
Deviled eggs - 2 to 3 days
Leftover egg dishes - 3 to 4 days

How To Tell a Raw Egg from a Hard Boiled Egg

If you hold up two eggs and one is hard-boiled and the other is raw, you might wonder how to know which is which.

A simple test will reveal the answer. Spin them carefully on a countertop. The hard-boiled one spins and the raw one doesn't. This is because the hard-boiled egg is solid so everything spins in one direction, while the inside of the raw egg sloshes in different directions and, therefore, doesn't allow it to spin. Try it and see for yourself.

Did You Know?

A hen requires 24 to 26 hours to produce an egg. Thirty minutes later, she starts all over again.

White shelled eggs are laid by hens with white ear (sort of a cream color) lobes. While brown eggs are laid by hens with red ear lobes. the color of the feathers is immaterial.

Yolk color depends on the diet of the hen. Natural yellow-orange substances such as marigold petals may be added to light-colored feeds to enhance colors. Artificial color additives are not permitted.

A hen will sometimes produce double-yolk eggs at the very beginning or near the end of her reproductive life due to hormonal changes. When this happens, the shell forms around two yolks instead of one, creating a double-yolk egg. Double-yolk eggs are safe to eat and cook with. If substituting them for large classic eggs in a recipe, their additional volume may affect the outcome of the recipe.

Question:

What is that white stringy stuff is inside of an egg when you crack it? Is this not sperm?

Answer:

It is called Chalazae (kuh-LAY-zee - Chalazae are the ropey strands of egg white which anchor the yolk in place in the center of the thick white. Check out What is Chalazae? for a photo of a cross-section of the egg showing the chalazae.

Chalazaes are neither imperfections nor beginning embryos. The more prominent the chalazae, the fresher the egg. Chalazae do not interfere with the cooking or beating of the white and need not be removed, although some cooks like to strain them from stirred custard.

How to test if an egg is fresh

Firstly, fill a deep bowl with water and carefully lower the egg into the water.

A very fresh egg will immediately sink to the bottom and lie flat on its side. This is because the air cell within the egg is very small. The egg should also feel quite heavy.

As the egg starts to lose its freshness and more air enters the egg, it will begin to float and stand upright. The smaller end will lie on the bottom of the bowl, whilst the broader end will point towards the surface. The egg will still be good enough to consume, however, if the egg fully floats in the water and does not touch the bottom of the bowl at all, it should be discarded, as it will most likely be bad.

A bad egg will also feel extremely light in weight and give off a pungent smell.

The second method to test the eggs freshness is by breaking the egg onto a flat plate, not into a bowl.

The yolk of a very fresh egg will have a round and compact appearance and it will sit positioned quite high up in the middle of the egg. The white that surrounds it will be thick and stays close to the yolk.

A less fresh egg will contain a flatter yolk, that may break easily and a thinner white that spreads quite far over the plate.