Many apologies and Thank You so much for your patience and understanding as we are going through growing pains this season.
Eggs!
Have you ever realized how versatile eggs are? They can be fried, boiled, soufflés, cookies and even face and beauty hacks! Let's dive into egg-citing world of egg cooking methods, tips, tricks, and safety measures to ensure we make the most out of this amazing food!
*Refrigerate Eggs. Safe handling instructions: to prevent illness from bacteria, keep eggs refrigerated, cook eggs until yolks are firm, and cook food containing eggs thoroughly.*
Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on earth and can be part of a healthy diet. However, they are perishable, just like raw meat, poultry, and fish. Unbroken, clean, fresh shell eggs may contain Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) bacteria that can cause foodborne illness. While the number of eggs affected is quite small, there have been cases of foodborne illness in the last few years. To be safe, eggs must be safely handled, promptly refrigerated, and thoroughly cooked.
There are a lot of unknown facts about eggs and some things that people have been told are untrue lets get into the facts!
Boiling eggs to perfection can be a challenging task but when they work out right its so satisficing! Often, they may not peel easily or be undercooked or overcooked. However, understanding the science behind boiling, one can achieve perfect boiled egg. Let explore the eggs and learn how to cook them flawlessly.
Shell Eggs from Farm to Table
You need an egg, a pot, some water—how complicated can it be?Even a task as seemingly simple as hard cooking an egg involves making many choices. Here are a few—and the science behind them:
What part carries bacteria?
Researchers say that, if present, the SE can be in the yolk or "yellow" or the albumen (egg whites). So everyone is advised against eating raw or undercooked egg yolks and whites or products containing raw or undercooked eggs.
Why should eggs be refrigerated?
After eggs are refrigerated, they need to stay that way. A cold egg left out at room temperature can sweat, facilitating the movement of bacteria into the egg and increasing the growth of bacteria. Refrigerated eggs should not be left out more than 2 hours.
Should you wash eggs?
The answer really depends on where you got your eggs. If you purchase your eggs from a local farmer and they are considered "Unwashed" you MUST wash then before use and before you put them in the fridge to remove any dirt and debris and the natural bloom on the egg which is an all natural barrier to protect the egg. Now if you get your eggs from a grocery store No. It's not necessary or recommended for consumers to wash eggs as it may actually increase the risk of contamination because the wash water can be "sucked" into the egg through the pores in the shell because they have been washed before packaged for sale.
How are eggs handled safely?
Proper refrigeration, cooking, and handling should prevent most egg-safety problems. Persons can enjoy eggs and dishes containing eggs if these safe handling guidelines are followed:
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Wash utensils, equipment, and work areas with hot, soapy water before and after contact with eggs
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Don't keep eggs out of the refrigerator more than 2 hours.
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Raw eggs and other ingredients, combined according to recipe directions, should be cooked immediately or refrigerated and cooked within 24 hours.
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Always cook eggs until both the white and yolk are firm.
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Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature of 160 °F. Use a food thermometer to be sure.
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Serve cooked eggs and dishes containing eggs immediately after cooking, or place in shallow containers for quick cooling and refrigerate at once for later use. Use within 3 to 4 days.
​​How do time and refrigeration affect egg quality?
The egg, as laid at 105 °F, normally has no air cell. As the egg cools, an air cell forms usually in the large end of the egg and develops between the two shell membranes. The air cell is formed as a result of the different rates of contraction between the shell and its contents.
Over time, the white and yolk of an egg lose quality. The yolk absorbs water from the white. Moisture and carbon dioxide in the white evaporate through the pores, allowing more air to penetrate the shell, and the air cell becomes larger. If broken open, the egg's contents would cover a wider area. The white would be thinner, losing some of its thickening and leavening powers. The yolk would be flatter, larger and more easily broken. The chalazae (kah-LAY-zuh), the twisted cord-like strands of egg white that anchor the yolk in the center of the white, would be less prominent and weaker, allowing the yolk to move off center. Refrigeration slows the loss of quality over time.
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Egg Facts
Not everything you hear from your mama and her mama and her mamas mama are always facts. Lets take a look at some common misunderstandings about eggs
Does the color of the shell affect the egg's nutrients?
No. The breed of the hen determines the color of her eggs. Nutrient levels are not significantly different in white and brown shell eggs.
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What does it mean when an egg floats in water?
An egg can float in water when its air cell has enlarged sufficiently to keep it buoyant. This means the egg is older, but it may be perfectly safe to use. Crack the egg into a bowl and examine it for an off-odor or unusual appearance before deciding to use or discard it. A spoiled egg will have an unpleasant odor when you break open the shell, either when raw or cooked.
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Do you need a rooster to get eggs?
No, you do not need a rooster in order for your chickens to lay eggs. A happy, healthy hen will begin laying eggs at about six months old and continue laying until all of the eggs that they are born with have been laid. Your hens may actually prefer not to be constantly “bothered” by a rooster. A rooster is only required if you want fertilized eggs.
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Are fertilized eggs more nutritious?
No. There is no benefit in eating fertilized eggs. There is no nutritional difference in fertilized eggs and infertile eggs. Most eggs sold today are infertile; roosters are not housed with the laying hens.
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Is the appearance of eggs related to food safety?
Sometimes, but not usually. Variation in egg color is due to many factors.
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Blood spots are caused by a rupture of one or more small blood vessels in the yolk at the time of ovulation. It does not indicate the egg is unsafe.
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A cloudy white (albumen) is a sign the egg is very fresh. A clear egg white is an indication the egg is aging.
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Pink or iridescent egg white (albumen) indicates spoilage due to Pseudomonas bacteria. Some of these microorganisms—which produce a greenish, fluorescent, water-soluble pigment—are harmful to humans.
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The color of yolk varies in shades of yellow depending upon the diet of the hen. If she eats plenty of yellow-orange plant pigments, such as from marigold petals and yellow corn, the yolk will be a darker yellow than if she eats a colorless diet such as white cornmeal. Artificial color additives are not permitted in eggs.
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A green ring on a hard-cooked yolk can be a result of overcooking, and is caused by sulfur and iron compounds in the egg reacting on the yolk's surface. The green color can also be caused by a high amount of iron in the cooking water. Scrambled eggs cooked at too high a temperature or held on a steam table too long can also develop a greenish cast. The green color is safe to consume.
Do You Know How to Hard Cook an Egg?
You need an egg, a pot, some water—how complicated can it be?Even a task as seemingly simple as hard cooking an egg involves making many choices. Here are a few—and the science behind them:
Add salt to the water?
Egg white solidifies more quickly in hot, salty water than it does in fresh. So a little salt in your water can minimize the mess if your egg springs a leak while cooking. The egg white solidifies when it hits the salt water, sealing up the crack so that the egg doesn’t shoot out a streamer of white.
To prick or not to prick?
Some people use a pin to make a small hole in the shell at the large end of the egg before they put the egg in the water. At the large end of each egg is a small air space. When you hard cook an egg, this air heats up, expands, and escapes through pores in the shell—but not before the egg white sets. This leaves the egg with a flattened end. Pricking the egg provides a quick escape route for the air, which gives you an egg with a smoothly rounded end. If you prick an egg, watch for a jet of air shooting from the hole as the egg cooks.
Scientists disagree on the other possible benefits of pricking an egg. Some say that piercing the eggshell with a pin lets water leak between the shell and the egg’s internal membrane, making for an egg that's easier to peel. Others claim that providing a quick way out for expanding gases makes the egg less likely to crack as it cooks, which may be particularly important for older eggs with larger air sacs. Still others say that poking a hole in the shell weakens it, making cracks more likely.
Hot water? Cold water or Steam?
Some people put their eggs in cold water; others heat the water to boiling, then drop in the egg; others steam them in a steam, basket or pressure cooker. All methods have advantages and disadvantages.
When you drop an egg in boiling water, you heat it up quickly. When you start with cold water, you heat it slowly. And the difference in heating makes a difference in the cooked egg white.
An egg white is about 10% protein and 90% water. It’s the proteins that cause the egg white to solidify when you cook it. Egg white proteins are long chains of amino acids. In a raw egg, these proteins are curled and folded to form a compact ball. Weak bonds between amino acids hold the proteins in this shape—until you turn up the heat. When heated, the weak bonds break and the protein unfolds. Then its amino acids form weak bonds with the amino acids of other proteins, a process called coagulation. The resulting network of proteins captures water, making a soft, digestible gel.
If you keep the heat turned up too high or too long when you cook an egg, the proteins in the egg white form more and more bonds, squeezing some of the water out of the protein network and making the egg white rubbery.
Starting with cold water lets you heat the egg more slowly, which keeps the whites from getting rubbery. But this method takes longer and gives you less control over the cooking time. (How long it takes the water to reach boiling depends on the size and shape of your pot, among other things.) Starting with boiling water offers more control over timing but this may cook the whites into a rubbery state. And it has another disadvantage: The egg is more likely to crack because the air in the egg has less time to escape as the egg heats up.
When you steam an egg you're putting raw eggs into hot steam rapidly changes the outermost structure of the egg's protein reducing it's ability to bond with the membrane. The hot steam also causes the proteins to shrink as they start to bond together and the white begins to pull away from the membrane. making it easier to peel. this is the best method for farm fresh eggs
New egg or old?
The age of your egg affects your end result. Very fresh eggs tend to be more difficult to peel. The more acidic the egg’s contents are, the harder the egg is to peel. As an egg ages, carbon dioxide (which is a weak acid) leaks out through pores in the egg’s shell, making the egg white less acidic.
Cold-water plunge?
If you don’t plunge your egg into cold water when you take it off the heat, it goes on cooking . . . and cooking . . . and cooking. The longer you cook the egg, the more likely you are to end up with a rubbery white and a green yolk.
Why does the yolk turn green? The green-gray color (and the whiff of sulfur smell that often accompanies it) comes from the reaction of iron in the egg yolk and sulfur in the egg white. When heated, the two can combine to make green-gray ferrous sulfide and hydrogen sulfide gas. To avoid getting a green yolk, cook your eggs just long enough to reach the desired doneness—no more. And quickly plunge the cooked eggs into cold water to stop the cooking process and minimize the iron-sulfur reaction.
Some people also say that the cold-water plunge makes eggs easier to peel.
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