Eggformation

Although chicken eggs are available in brown and white, there is no nutritional difference between them. White chickens lay white eggs, brown hens lay brown.

When a recipe calls for eggs, assume it means large, unless stated otherwise. Eggs are measured by weight, not size.

Eggs are graded into six sizes: jumbo, extra large, large, medium, small, and peewee. As a hen ages, her eggs increase in size.

The green color surrounding the yolk of a hardboiled egg is an indication of overcooking, not of quality or freshness.

A hardboiled egg will spin; when raw, they wobble.

A fresh egg will sink when placed in a bowl of water, an old egg will float.

Fresh eggs should be refrigerated in their boxes, and will keep for about three weeks. An egg can age more in one day at room temperature, than in one week in the refrigerator.

Try frying eggs in olive oil rather than butter if you are cutting down on fat, or want a different flavor.

The freshest hardboiled eggs are the most difficult to peel. Some cooks suggest adding a tablespoon or two of vinegar to the water when boiling eggs to facilitate peeling.

Before boiling, prick a tiny hole in the broad end of the shell with a needle, to keep it from cracking.

Can't boil an egg? Well, you shouldn't. Eggs should be really be simmered, rather than boiled. This keeps them from bouncing about in the pan and cracking.

Hummingbirds lay the smallest eggs in the world, ostriches lay the largest. One ostrich egg is the equivalent of about two-dozen chicken eggs.

Eggs may be poached a day ahead and kept refrigerated in a bowl of water. They can then be reheated, in a shallow pan of boiling water, for 45 seconds to one minute.

Free-range hens' eggs are more flavorful, and have a brighter, deeper-yellow yolk.

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society