Some Practical Advice About the Comfortable Egg

Especially since September 11, food articles in the media and restaurants have been focusing on  comfort food. Eggs and mashed potatoes are my two ultimate comfort foods. In honor of the egg, this article contains some recent and practical facts about eggs, as well as almost foolproof ways to hard cook (never "hard boil"), fry, and scramble eggs.

First, a few facts about two perceived drawbacks to eggs, i.e. high cholesterol and danger of salmonella poisoning. Eggs are no longer total villains in the fight against cholesterol. An egg yolk (egg whites have no cholesterol) is now believed to have 214 mg of cholesterol, down from the 274 published previously. The American Heart Association has revised its guidelines to allow 1 egg a day in a normal diet.

Salmonella Enteritidis can be transmitted by an infected chicken to eggs, but only in rare circumstances. It is believed that, at most, one out of every 20,000 eggs is contaminated. Salmonella is destroyed by heat in excess of 145 degrees - the temperature at which eggs start coagulating.

Therefore, if salmonella is a concern, (as it should be especially if you are cooking for the elderly, children, or those with weakened immune systems), an egg is safe if it is cooked until both the white and yolk are firm. Casseroles with eggs in them should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Alternatively, you can buy pasteurized eggs, which are safe even when raw. For complete information, see http://www.foodsafety.gov/~fsg/eggs.html.

A few interesting tips about eggs:

1)       There is no nutritional difference between brown and white eggs. In the Northeast, brown eggs are more common, but ironically often carry a price premium. Look for white eggs at the supermarket; they can be cheaper.

2)       When buying eggs, do not go by the expiry date on the carton. Egg cartons have a code on them, which specifies the date they were packed. On the side of the carton are four numbers starting with P. Usually quite close to these numbers are three other numbers that state the actual day of the year on which the eggs were packed. I have a carton of eggs in my refrigerator that reads P1183 022; the last three numbers tell me the eggs were packed on January 22 (the 22nd day of the year). Use the eggs within three weeks of this date.

3)       Almost all baking recipes assume you will use large, not extra large eggs. Save money and improve your baking success by buying large eggs.

4)       Egg whites freeze beautifully, whole eggs somewhat, and I have never had success freezing egg yolks.

5)       Use your fingers to separate eggs: let the egg white drip through your impeccably clean fingers. It feels a little gooey at first, but is rather fun. Any other method increases the odds of breaking the yolk or getting broken shell in your other ingredients.

6)       Store eggs in their carton and in the back of the refrigerator. Do not put them in the little egg containers in the door of the refrigerator. The temperature of the door is too variable. Eggs also can pick up odors through their shells, which can be prevented by keeping them in their carton.

The Hard/Soft Cooked Egg:

You can cook a great hard cooked egg even if you can't boil water, because eggs should never be boiled. Too much heat, either at too high a temperature or for too long, results in a green ring around the yolk as well as that awful rubbery taste of an overcooked egg white.

To properly cook eggs in the shell, first take a small pin and pierce the rounded end of the egg. Usually there is a small air sack there (the smaller the air sack, the fresher the egg). By piercing the egg, you are less likely to have the shell crack while cooking.

In a saucepan, cover the egg or eggs with cold water. Bring the water to a boil, cover the pan, and remove it from the heat. Let the eggs sit for 15-17 minutes for hard cooked eggs, 4-6 minutes for soft. Run under cold water to stop the cooking. Hard cooked eggs can be stored in the refrigerator for one week.

The Fried Egg:

First, preheat the skillet on low heat for about five minutes. Add a little bit of butter. When melted, crack the egg in gently. The egg should set up and not run (the fresher the egg, the less the white will run), but the pan should not be so hot as to overcook the egg and burn the butter. As soon as the egg is added, cover the pan and continue to cook on low heat between 2-3 minutes. If you like your eggs over-easy, flip and do not cover.

The Scrambled Egg:

I like my scrambled eggs with tiny curds and creamy throughout.  Beat the eggs in a bowl, often with nothing but salt and pepper, though a little cream can be great. Warm the skillet on low heat with a little butter and gently add the eggs. Keeping the pan on low heat, continuously and softly stir the eggs, folding them over each other.

You can use a double boiler to move the egg from the heat even further. Remove the eggs just before they are cooked to your satisfaction, as they will continue to cook on the plate for a few minutes afterwards.