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COOKING OF EGGS
Any single food containing all the elements necessary to supply the requirements
of the body is called a complete or typical food. Milk and eggs are frequently
so called, because they sustain the young animals of their kind during a period
of rapid growth. Nevertheless,
neither of these foods forms a perfect diet for the human adult. Both are highly
nutritious, but incomplete.
Served with bread or rice, they form an admirable meal and one that is
nutritious and easily digested. The white of eggs, almost pure albumin, is
nutritious, and, when cooked in water at 170 degrees Fahrenheit, requires less
time for perfect digestion than a raw egg. The white of a hard-boiled egg is
tough and quite insoluble. The yolk, however, if the boiling has been done
carefully for twenty minutes, is mealy and easily digested. Fried eggs, no
matter what fat is used, are hard, tough and insoluble. The yolk of an egg cooks
at a lower temperature than the white, and for this reason an egg should not be
boiled unless the yolk alone is to be used.
Ten eggs are supposed to weigh a pound, and, unless they are unusually large or
small, this is quite correct.
Eggs contain from 72 to 84 per cent. of water, about 12 to 14 per cent. of
albuminoids. The yolk is quite rich in fat; the white deficient. They also
contain mineral matter and extractives. To ascertain the freshness of an egg
without breaking it, hold your hand around the egg toward a bright light or the
sun and look through it. If the yolk appears quite round and the white clear, it
is fresh. Or, if you put it in a bucket of water and it falls on its side, it is
fresh. If it sort of topples in the water, standing on its end, it is fairly
fresh, but, if it floats, beware of it. The shell of a fresh egg looks dull and
porous. As it begins to age, the shell takes on a shiny appearance. If an egg is
kept any length of time, a portion of its water evaporates, which leaves a space
in the shell, and the egg will "rattle." An egg that rattles may be perfectly
good, and still not absolutely fresh.
TO PRESERVE EGGS
To preserve eggs it is only necessary to close the pores of the shells. This may
be done by dipping them in melted paraffine, or packing them in salt, small ends
down; or pack them in a keg and cover them with brine; or pack them in a keg,
small ends down and cover them with lime water; this not only protects them from
the air, but acts as a germicide. Eggs should not be packed for winter use later
than the middle of May or earlier than the first of April. Where large
quantities of the yolks are used, the whites may be evaporated and kept in glass
bottles
or jars. Spread them out on a stoneware or granite plate and allow them to
evaporate at the mouth of a cool oven. When the mixture is perfectly dry, put it
away. This powder is capable of taking up the same amount of water that has been
evaporated from it, and may then be
used the same as fresh whites.
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