There really is no wrong way to cook an egg, but leave it to me to find one… When I was about 19 and living on my own, I decided to hard boil an egg in the microwave. Two to be exact and I thought nothing of it until I opened the oven door and BLAM! Egg on my face, in my hair, on the ceiling and even the wall behind me…Yes the literal term of egg on my face was accurate.
Suffice to say I have improved my cooking skills and think I make a pretty decent omelet to boot! When cooking with eggs certain recipes call for the egg to be a certain way, it can be frustrating when you try to duplicate a recipe and it falls flat because of the eggs. Focusing on the lightness, fluffiness and presentation, using certain techniques and items in your pantry you can have really good eggs.
First How To Avoid Mistakes When Cooking With Eggs
Separating the egg whites from the yolk is easier when the eggs are cold, but your baking is much better if the eggs are brought to room temperature, so separate the whites from the yolks while cold then bring up to room temperature which takes about 30 minutes.
If your short on time, speed up the process of getting eggs to room temperature by placing eggs in a bowl of warm water for ten minutes, warm eggs always froth to a greater volume.
The best way to separate an egg is to crack it into your hand and let the egg white slide through your fingers. The yolk will remain in your palm. Clean hands are much safer because egg shells actually can house a lot of bacteria.
Always beat your egg whites in a glass or stainless steel mixing bowl. Never beat egg whites in a plastic bowl because plastic contains an oil residue, and will completely prevent your egg whites from foaming. Never use an aluminum bowl because the eggs will turn grey.
Avoid beating an egg on a humid or damp day. Moisture in the air will disintegrate the froth, so if you can put a de-humidifier in the kitchen you may have better results.
To test whether an egg is fresh, dissolve two teaspoons of salt in one cup of water. Using a tall drinking glass and drop the egg in, if it sinks it’s good if it floats its bad.
Tips for Hard Boiling Eggs
To make perfect boiled eggs with the yolk perfectly centered, try to use eggs that are a few days old and never put them in water that is at a rolling boil, the eggs will turn out rubbery and you will have difficulty peeling them. Pierce both ends of the egg with a sewing needle and this will prevent the eggs from cracking.
Place the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover with cold water at least one inch over the shells. Cover the saucepan with a lid and set the stove to medium heat. When the water comes to a full boil, remove the saucepan from the heat.
For large soft cooked eggs let the eggs sit in the hot water for 4 minutes. For large hard-cooked eggs let the eggs sit in the pan for about 15 to 17 minutes. Drain the hot water and cover with cold water. For hard-cooked eggs, allow the eggs to stand in the cold water until they cool completely.
If an eggs cracks while boiling, scoop the egg out with a spoon and pour salt on the crack this seals the crack and prevents the egg from leaking out.
If your really concerned about eggs cracking while in the water, rub the shells with a cotton ball saturated with lemon juice, the acid in the lemon juice softens the calcium in the shell and makes it less prone to cracking. Another tip to prevent eggs from cracking while boiling, is to add one teaspoon of white vinegar to the water.
If you need to boil a ton of eggs at once one time, wrap each egg in plastic wrap before boiling.
If you want to keep fresh eggs with hard-boiled eggs and you need to tell the difference. Drop a little food coloring on the eggs so you can tell them apart, or boil the eggs with some yellow turmeric in the water, your boiled ones will have a sunny hue.
To make boiled eggs easier to peel, add a either couple pinches of salt, two teaspoons of oil, lemon juice, or a teaspoon of baking soda to the water while cooking to thin out the shells, the fresher the egg the thicker the shell will be. (baking soda works best for me)
To peel a hard-boiled egg, submerge the egg in cold water and crack the shell. Roll the egg between your palms, and the shell should peel off easily.
To make perfectly piped deviled eggs, add the yolk mixture to a Ziploc bag and cut off the tip of the end, to squeeze back into the egg whites with no mess.
Omelet Tips
To make light fluffy omelets add 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder to eggs then beat before cooking. Another tip is to add a pinch of corn starch when beating the raw eggs and your omelet with not only be fluffy but will stay together better when you try to flip it.
To fold your omelet when the eggs are firm lift the edges and place a drop water under the eggs and they will fold better without tearing.
To make a French omelet melt one teaspoon of butter in a saucepan, when the butter begins bubbling and turns pale brown. Pour your combined eggs in the pan. When the eggs start to coagulate around the edges towards the center, use the flat side of a table knife to go around the pan. Push the edges towards the center and let the liquid egg flow back to the outer edge of the pan. Continue this process until the egg is no longer liquid, then use a spatula to fold the omelet in half and slide the finished omelet onto a warm plate.
To prepare a cast iron pan for cooking omelets fill the pan 3/4 full with oil and warm for 20 minutes over low heat. Pour out the oil (which you can recycle by straining through a coffee filter…) wipe the pan with a paper towel. After cooking don’t use soap to clean the cast iron. Instead pour some kosher salt in the pan and wipe clean with paper towel. For stuck on egg, fill the pan with water and boil it scraping of the bits.
Poaching tips
To give poached eggs a unique flavor poach your eggs in beer, chicken broth, or tomato juice rather than water.
An interesting tip is to repurpose a tuna can by washing it in soapy water, rinse clean and remove the bottom on the can. Bring the water to a boil in a skillet, place the can in the water and crack the egg into the can for a perfect egg mold.
To prevent poached eggs from oozing add one tablespoon of white vinegar to the water before cooking.
Before using an egg poacher be sure to butter the rings to prevent the eggs from sticking to the sides.
To make a sauce for your poached eggs mix one tablespoon of melted butter and a half a tablespoon of corn starch to a half a cup of milk and add salt and pepper to taste.
To keep the whites of the poached eggs together add salt to the boiling water before adding the eggs this also works with adding lemon juice to the water, which keeps them firm and white.
Another method is to spray the pan with non stick cooking spray, add the water and a teaspoon of white vinegar. You can break your egg directly into the saucepan and your eggs will stay together, I find this method cuts the cooking time in half, or you can cook your eggs at a lower temperature.
Tips for Scrambled Eggs
To make fluffy scrambled eggs mix in one teaspoon of baking soda and one teaspoon of water for every two eggs then beat in a bowl.
To make light scrambled eggs add a pinch of corn starch when beating the eggs.
If you want your eggs more tender, butter the top half of a double boiler with real butter and cook the eggs over hot water in the lower pan, this will assure a consistent and uniform low temperature.
To make creamy eggs start with a cool pan greased with butter, and cook the eggs slowly over low heat at the very end mix in one teaspoon of milk.
If you want your eggs to have a fuller body, mix 1/8 of a teaspoon of cream of tartar for every two eggs. The acid will stabilize the egg whites, creating fluffier eggs.
Yolks
If you try to freeze egg yolks they usually coagulate, to prevent this from happening add a pinch of sugar to the eggs before storing in an airtight container.
Tips for Beating Eggs
To whip egg whites high and frothy add 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda to the egg whites before beating
To give stiffly beaten egg whites more body, when you are nearly finished beating – at the moment when the egg whites stand up in peaks, add a pinch of sugar and you will get a better consistency.
To prevent stiffly beaten eggs whites from oozing, add one half teaspoon white vinegar to every four egg whites while beating.
To stabilize beaten egg whites, add 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar to four egg whites. The acid in the tartar binds the egg whites together like a gum and slows them from releasing their water content.
To whip only one egg crack it in a mug and use one beater of your electric mixer
Use a cotton swab to remove any flecks of yolk in the eggs or they will not froth properly.
Cut two holes in wax paper and put the beater stems through the paper to prevent spatters, then attach the beaters to the mixer
If you only need the egg white and not the yolk, to save them for later cut a 1/4 inch hole in the smaller end of the egg-shell and allow the white to drip out then seal the egg with scotch tape and plastic wrap to use later.
If you run out of eggs while mixing up batter for a cake substitute 1 teaspoon of baking soda and one teaspoon of white vinegar for each egg.
If you would like to read my article on how to preserve eggs without a refrigerator please click here
If you have any additional egg tips let me know and I will update the blog and add them.
References: Kitchen Magic 2011, The Beekman 1802 Cookbook and Tips In the Kitchen By Marion Harland 1917
