Understanding Egg Composition

Understanding Eggs

• Proper storage at 36ºF (2ºC) maintains egg quality for weeks, but room temperature storage quickly degrades quality.
• Eggs can lose a full grade in one day at warm kitchen temperatures.
• Egg size classifications include jumbo, extra-large, large, medium, small, and peewee, with corresponding weights in U.S. and metric measurements.
• Cases of salmonella food poisoning from raw or undercooked eggs have led to increased awareness of egg-related sanitation concerns.
• Commercial egg substitutes have been developed to reduce cholesterol, including pasteurized egg white-based substitutes and eggless options.
• The most important rule of egg cookery is to avoid high temperatures and long cooking times to prevent tough eggs, discoloration, and flavor changes.
• Eggs coagulate at specific temperatures depending on the type, with overcooking resulting in tough and rubbery eggs.
• Whipped egg whites are used for lightness and rising power, with factors such as fat, acids, and sugar affecting foaming.
• The green ring in hard-cooked eggs results from sulfur in the whites reacting with yolk iron, and can be prevented by using low temperatures and short cooking times.
• Standards of quality for fried eggs include a bright, shiny appearance, compact shape, firm but tender whites, and warm, liquid yolks.
• Butter is recommended for frying eggs for the best flavor, but margarine, oil, or bacon fat can also be used based on taste and budget.
• Different stages of frying eggs, such as sunny side up, basted, over easy, medium, and hard, have specific characteristics regarding the setness of the yolk and white, and quality standards.