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A photo of my husband's
perfectly cooked soft-cooked (or soft-boiled) eggs.
Of course, I did
a terrible job of cracking open my egg!
Guidelines for choosing eggs: White vs. brown eggs: There is no difference between white and brown eggs. The color of the shell is determined by the breed of the hen. White shelled eggs typically are from hens with white feathers, while brown shelled eggs are typically from hens with brown feathers. The only difference between white and brown eggs is the color - there is no difference in flavor or nutritional value. Organic Eggs: Organic eggs are produced from hens that have been fed a special feed in which all of the ingredients were grown without the aid of commercial fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. Organic eggs come from hens that have outdoor access during the day and are able to run around outside in an area covered with natural vegetation. Fertile Eggs: Fertile eggs are simply eggs that can be incubated and developed into chicks. Fertile eggs have higher production costs so they are more expensive for the consumer and they also spoil more quickly than non-fertile eggs. Free range vs. Cage free: Free-range chickens usually have a covered shelter and access to an outside scratch yard. They are pasture-fed and can get worms and bugs, which is the ideal feed for health and strong immunity. Cage free chickens do not live in cages but typically live inside a hen house without access to the outdoors. Vegetarian eggs: Hens are fed a special feed containing ingredients of plant origin only. The nutrient content of these eggs is the same as that of conventional eggs. The hens are kept in cages and therefore are not classed as "free-range".
Barn-laid eggs: The hens are kept indoors, in large barns covered with straw and are separated into pens rather than into small cages.Conventional or Standard eggs: These eggs come from chickens fed conventional food, which includes GM (genetically modified) grains, GM soy and pesticides. The chickens are kept in small cages, anything between 3 to 7 hens per cage, so there is not enough room for the hens to exercise. Learn All About Eggs & How To Cook Them Making Natural Easter Egg Dyes
Check out Linda's other interesting web links on eggs:
How To Peel Eggs
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The simple and classic boiled egg, is one of the finest and easiest edible delights known on earth, with just 70 calories, and full of nature’s most perfect form of protein. It used to be that people were scared of eating eggs because of the cholesterol in the egg yolks. Now research has found that eggs also raise the good cholesterol that bodies need. According to the American Egg Board, the terms “hard-” and “soft-boiled” eggs are really misnomers, because boiling eggs makes them tough and rubbery. Instead, these eggs should be “hard-” or “soft-cooked” in hot (still) water. Check out my article on Poaching vs. Simmering vs. Boiling.
Boiling an egg is really very simple! After reading many different opinions about the best method for making perfect hard-cooked (boiled) eggs, I have discovered, through my own personal testing, the following easy method which gives great results. This way of cooking is also known as "coddling." It does not toughen the whites as boiling does. This will also assist with the peeling process, as the cold water creates steam between the egg white and the shell which makes the shell easier to remove. For perfect cooking, start with eggs that don't have any visible cracks. There are two problems you'll want to avoid: cracked shells and the ugly green layer that can form around the yolk. NOTE: In case small cracks do develop, add salt to the cooking water. The salt will help to speed up the denaturing of the egg white, causing less of it to feather into the water. Use at least a tablespoon of table salt per two quarts of water. To get perfectly peeled hard-cooked eggs, use eggs that are at least 3 to 5 days. Eggs that are too fresh are difficult to peel. Hard boiling farm fresh eggs will invariably lead to eggs that are difficult to peel. First, figure out if your eggs are fresh, because looking at the date on the carton is not always the best indicator of freshness, as eggs within the same carton with the same sell-by-date could have been laid on different days.
As
soon as the water reaches a rapid boil, remove pan from heat and cover egg
pan tightly with a lid. NOTE: Watch the time when cooking the eggs carefully. Overcook causes a green layer to form around the yolk. This layer is caused by a reaction between the iron in the yolk and the sulfur in the white. Heat speeds up this reaction, so the longer your eggs cook, the greater the chance of discoloration.
Use the following cooking times as a guide for the desired firmness for the yolk of each egg size (the whites will be firm):
A soft-cooked egg has a firm white and runny yolk. To serve in egg cup, place egg in cup small end down, slice off large end of egg with knife or egg scissors and eat from shell with spoon. You can also buy a good egg topper from a kitchen store. They're very quick and practical. I finally bought myself one, and now my eggs look beautiful when I top them!
A medium-cooked egg has a firm white and a slightly firm yolk.
Hard-cooked eggs should never be boiled - simmer them in water. If boiled or cooked too long, the protein toughens or becomes rubbery and a greenish or purplish ring forms around the yolk. Extremely fresh eggs are not recommended when making hard-boiled eggs. They are very difficult to peel. This is the best use for eggs nearing their expiration date. Refrigeration is necessary for hard boiled eggs if they eggs are not to be consumed within a few hours. Hard-cooked eggs in the shell can be refrigerated up to one week.
Photo of the different eggs courtesy
of
Hormel Foods.
Hints and Tips: When buying eggs, open the carton to be sure none of the eggs are cracked; discard any that are, they may have bacteria that might contaminate the egg. Be sure to store you eggs in the original egg carton in the refrigerator. Don’t take them out and put them in the door. Every time the refrigerator door is opened it exposes the egg to the room temperature. To tell if an egg is hard-cooked or raw, place the egg on its side and spin it evenly on a level surface; if it wobbles, it is raw. If an egg is accidentally dropped on the floor, sprinkle it heavily with salt for easy clean up.
You cannot hard-cook eggs in a
microwave (they'll explode), but if you find after peeling an egg
that it is not quite done at the center, pierce it once or twice
with a fork, set microwave to medium power and cook the egg for 10
to 20 seconds before checking for doneness. Did You Know? A hen requires 24 to 26 hours to produce an egg. Thirty minutes later, she starts all over again. 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.
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Gently
place
the eggs in a single layer in a pan with enough cold water to cover eggs completely
(approximately by 1 inche). If you have two or three layers of eggs stacked
up in a small pot, they may cook unevenly. Too much water
will take too long for things to get boiling, which can
throw off the timing and give your overcooked eggs. Too
little water and parts of the eggs will be exposed and end
up undercooked. NOTE: Use a tall pan, and limit cooking to 2
dozen eggs at a time.
