Storage of Eggs

Eggs begin to deteriorate as soon as they are laid and lose quality very rapidly at room temperature. To ensure the freshness of whole or liquid eggs, they may be refrigerated, frozen, or dried. Read more »

Eggs cook extremely rapidly in a microwave oven, so special caution should be taken to avoid over-cooking. Manufacturer’s instructions should be followed for microwave egg cooking. Whole eggs with intact shells should never be microwaved, because steam expanding within the shell can cause them to burst. Read more »

Types of Custards

Custards are mixtures of milk and/or cream, sweeteners (sugar, honey), flavorings (vanilla, nutmeg, etc), and eggs or egg yolks. Custards are thickened by the coagulation of egg proteins during cooking. These egg proteins denature when heated and recombine to form a network that sets or coagulates, at the right temperature, to form the solid gel of a custard. Read more »

Coddling. Coddled eggs are prepared by breaking an egg into a small cup, called a coddler, made of porcelain or heat-proof glass with a screw-on top, and submerging the whole coddler in simmering water until the egg is cooked. The cups, or coddlers, should be buttered or greased before adding the raw eggs. Read more »

Simmering and Boiling of Eggs

Simmering. Simmering temperatures are used to prepare eggs that are hard or soft “boiled”, coddled, poached, incorporated into soft custards, or microwaved.

“Boiling”. Although the term “hard-boiled eggs” is commonly used, eggs should actually be simmered and never boiled, because they will become tough and rubbery if so treated. The high heat of boiling also transforms the iron in the egg yolk into ferrous sulfide, causing the greenish-black color and unpleasant flavor found in the yolk of overly hard-cooked eggs. Read more »

Baking with Eggs

Baking eggs and their ingredients lead to a number of different egg dishes: shirred eggs, meringues, and souffles.

Shirred Eggs. Whole eggs that are baked and served in individual dishes are called shirred eggs. The egg is cracked, gently placed into a cup from which it can be rolled into a container coated with butter or margarine, and then baked in an oven at 350^oF (177^oC) until cooked to order. Read more »

Dry Heat Preparation on Frying Eggs

A frying pan, a saute pan (omelet pan), or even a griddle can be used to fry eggs. Cast iron pans work best for eggs if they are primed or seasoned. To accomplish this, a clean frying pan is rubbed with a thin layer of vegetable oil, set on moderate heat, which is then briefly increased to high. Then it is removed from the heat and allowed to cool. Washing the frying pan with soap, or cooking anything but eggs in it, removes the primed surface. Nonstick pans do not need to be primed or seasoned. Frying is used to prepare fried and scrambled eggs and omelets. Read more »

Effects of Temperature and Time. The key to cooking eggs is to keep the temperature low and/or the cooking time short. Heating eggs at high temperatures and/or for long periods of time diminishes the eggs’ texture, flavor, and color. Overheated proteins become tough and rubbery and shrink from dehydration, which is why overcooked scrambled eggs look curdled and feel dry and rubbery. Read more »