Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The Incredible, Edible Egg

Do you ever have questions when you are cooking such as:
When I am hard boiling an egg, do I add the egg to cold water or
boiling water? Why do I sometimes get a blue ring around the egg yolk?

When you are hard-boiling an egg there are different schools of thought on the best way to hard-boil an egg.
I like to remove my eggs from the refrigerator to take off the chill, about 15 mnutes. Add eggs to cold water. Bring to a boil and turn down heat to med.-low or a smiling boil. Cook for 12 minutes. Remove from heat
and place in a bowl of ice water. Crack under cold water, removing shell. When you decrease the temperature while cooking , this also shrinks the egg inside the shell making it easier to peel.
My other favorite way to have eggs is a 4 minute egg cooked the same way but just briefly run under cold water.
I like to use an egg topper or cutter to remove the top of the egg. A favorite is the Clack precision cutter www.eurocosm.com which cracks the egg using pressure and forming a perfect circle. I love eating right out of the egg
with a medium soft yolk which is great with buttered toast. Eggs are amazing the way they
make a souffle or a Dutch baby puff up, it's like magic. Eggs are the used in everything from baking to zabaglione to fritatta's. It is the single most important and widely used ingredient.
I don't know what came first, the chicken or the egg but I am glad there are eggs.

I am currently on Vashon Island where they have great farms. I love to get fresh eggs, when the yolks are bright orange in color. I am on my way to check out some new cheese and dairy farms. Speaking of Vashon Island and eggs, if you haven't ever read the book "The Egg & I" by Betty MacDonald, you have to check it out. She lived on Vashon Island and it is a classic. Good read for a teenager too! Gotta run but I'll let you know what I find out.

Best,
Julie

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