Tip: Freezing Egg Yolks

In FOOD SAFETY TIP #4: Raw Egg Yolks, I wrote how to store raw egg yolks. Freezing them doesn't work well.

While raw egg yolks don't keep very well, cooked egg yolks can be kept for a bit longer (and are generally more useful to have around).

If you have several yolks and not enough time to make one of our recipes, the drop yolks, one at a time, in boiling water until they become hard cooked.

You can then keep them in the refrigerator to use for slivering over creamed dishes, salads, or vegetables.

You can also freeze them but they get very mushy and not pleasant in texture.

Tip: Storing Egg Yolks

In FOOD SAFETY TIP #4: Raw Egg Yolks, I indicated that raw egg yolks should not be frozen.

If you have several yolks and not enough time to make one of these recipes, drop yolks, one at a time, in boiling water until they become hard cooked.

You can keep them in the refrigerator to use for slivering over creamed dishes, salads, or vegetables.

They still don't freeze well. The mushy texture isn't really pleasant. However, they can be used in recipes that thoroughly mix in hard boiled eggs.

Question from The Times of India

"Is it harmful to have the yolk of egg? If I mix one yolk with the whites of five eggs in my breakfast omelets, would that be okay or am I still asking for cholesterol problems?"

- Rushad Bana

"No, consuming the yolk is not totally harmful, especially if not eaten daily. Yes, the yolk contains most of the fat (99 per cent) of the egg, but it also contains a chunk of the nutrients, including 90 per cent of the calcium, iron, Vitamin B6 + B12, zinc, and folate content. Majority of the protein (100 per cent complete in all essential amino acids) content is in the egg white, and since it has just 1 per cent of the fat; it contributes very little calories to the daily intake. Thus egg whites can be had in multiple numbers daily."

Found here..
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-23/diet/29773720_1_jaggery-refined-white-sugar-egg-yolk/2

FOOD SAFETY TIP #4: Raw Egg Yolks

Raw egg yolks, once they have been exposed to the air (and the bacteria it contains), can only be refrigerated for 2 to 4 days.

The yolks do not freeze well. I suspect that the yolks are the reason you should not freeze whole eggs either (as mentioned in FOOD SAFETY TIP #1: Freezing Eggs).

Eggs and Their Affect (or lack thereof) on your Cholesterol Levels

"Many people have heard the claims that egg yolk contains too much cholesterol, thus should not be eaten. An interesting study was done at Purdue University a number of years ago to test this. Men in one group each ate an egg a day, while men in another group were not allowed to eat eggs. Each of these groups was further subdivided such that half the men got “lots” of exercise while the other half were “couch potatoes.” The results of this experiment showed no significant difference in blood cholesterol levels between egg-eaters and non-egg-eaters while there was a very significant difference between the men who got exercise and those who didn’t."

Much more here...
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/lipids.htm

FOOD SAFETY TIP #2: Froze Your Egg Accidently?

In Food Safety Tip, #1, I warned against freezing whole raw eggs. However, life doesn't always work out as planned.

If an egg is frozen accidentally, keep it frozen until you need it.

Thaw the egg in the refrigerator and use it immediately after it thaws.

A Conversation About Egg Yolks & Health

Q: I have been eating egg whites... feeling guilty for throwing away the egg yokes. I am looking for something healthy to make with egg yokes. Any ideas?

Replies...

***Shoot... if you hadn't thrown the 'healthy' in there, I would have said creme brulee. Heck... I still say creme brulee. :-)

***this is the oddest thing ever to do with egg yolks, but if you can stand the grossness....

put the yolk on your face for 10 min every evening, then wash off.

your skin will NEVER feel so smooth, healthy, etc!!

otherwise, do what my bf does and just buy egg whites in a carton. no waste :o)

***Why not eat the whole egg? Read article below .....

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/08/earlyshow/health/main7329038.shtml

(CBS) If you like eggs, this is good news: A new government study finds they're actually 14 percent lower in cholesterol and 64 percent higher in vitamin D than previously thought.

The yolk is considered by many the bad part of the egg, but Sass explained that there is nutritional value in it: "It's not just the vitamin D. There's also a really important nutrient called choline -- about 90 percent of us are short on this. It's been linked to a reduced level of inflammation in the body."

"One egg has about 25 percent of the choline we need for the whole day," she said.

Catch the REST of this thread here...
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/312036-egg-yoke?page=1

FOOD SAFETY TIP #1: Freezing Eggs

Never freeze whole raw eggs.

You can store them in the refrigerator safely for 3 to 5 weeks. So there should be no need to freeze them.

If you do need to freeze them for long term storage, beat yolks and whites together; then freeze.

Frozen Custard

Apparatus:

2 Medium mixing bowls
Whisk
Small saucepan
Strainer
Ice cream freezer
Glass or plastic freezable containers
Plastic wrap

Components:

8 egg yolks
1/2 cup of cane sugar (half white, half crystallized cane juice)
2 cups organic whipping cream
1 vanilla bean (scraped, discard husk)
Ice (to half fill mixing bowl)
1/2 tsp. bourbon vanilla
1/2 tsp. Mexican vanilla

Procedure:

1. Place ice and water in a mixing bowl.
2. Combine egg yolks with sugar in a second mixing bowl.
3. Whisk thoroughly.
4. Heat whipping cream in a small saucepan until it begins to boil (175 F).
5. Remove cream from heat.
5. Add vanilla bean seeds.
6. Whisk a small amount of the hot cream to the eggs (trying to not scramble the eggs). This will temper the eggs and help pasteurize the eggs.
7. Whisk eggs into saucepan
8. Place saucepan in the ice water bowl, whisking until cold (40 F).
9. Strain to remove any cooked egg, large bits of vanilla, or undissolved sugar.
10. Mix in the bourbon vanilla and the Mexican vanilla
11. Put custard in ice cream freezer (follow directions for your brand).
12. Quickly remove custard to containers (smaller ones freeze faster).
13. Cover with plastic wrap (pressing the plastic to the surface of the custard to eliminate air contact with the surface of the custard).
14. Store in freezer.

Adapted from:
http://www.alcoholian.com/?p=757

The Science of Eggs, #1

I saw an interesting article on science of eggs here.

In plain English terms, they discuss what happens when you heat egg white, beat egg whites, and use egg yolks as an emulsifier to mix oil and water.

The article manages to show the readers what is happening chemically without getting too technical. If you need to write scientific subjects for non-science readers, you should read this article. It will show you a great way to discuss science without causing your listener's eyes to glaze over and without insulting the audience by making it sound like you are talking to kindergarten kids.

What is Frozen Custard?

I saw an article on Frozen Custard on Florissant Patch.

It seems that before we had ice cream, there was frozen custard. It is similar to ice cream but it uses egg yolk in the recipe (that caught my eye).

Frozen custard has the same minimum 10 percent milk fat requirement as ice cream with the addition of at least 1.4 percent egg yolks.

Frozen custard is, apparently, creamier and softer than ice cream. That's something I'll have to check out. Chocolate frozen custard sounds really good.

Tip for Separating Eggs, #1 video

I have posted several Tips for Beating Egg White and it occurred to me that I haven't covered the first step, separating eggs. So, here is a video that I found that has some good tips for separating eggs.



It includes a way to crack eggs that you tend to see chefs use on cooking shows.

DEFINITION: Eggs Over Easy

Over Easy - Eggs cooked "over easy" means that it gets fried on both sides, but the yolk stays runny. To make one, you cook the raw egg just until the whites are set on the bottom, then you quickly flip it over to cook the other side. "Over" refers to flipping the egg, and "easy" refers to the doneness of the yolk. You can also cook eggs "over medium" and "over hard," depending on how cooked you prefer the yolk!

More here...

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/word-of-mouth/whats-the-difference-eggs-over-easy-vs-sunny-side-up-096069

DEFINITION: Poached Egg

A poached egg is an egg that has been cooked by poaching, that is, in water. No oil or fat is used in its preparation.

More here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poached_egg

DEFINITION: Soft Boiled Egg

soft-boiled (sôftboild, sft-)
adj.
1. Boiled in the shell to a soft consistency. Used of an egg.
2. Informal
a. Softhearted; lenient.
b. Sentimental.

More here...
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/soft-boiled

DEFINITION: Hard Cooked /Hard Boiled Egg

Boiled eggs are eggs (typically chickens' eggs) cooked by immersion in boiling water with their shells unbroken. (Eggs cooked in water without their shells are known as poached eggs, while eggs cooked below the boiling temperature, either with or without the shell, are known as coddled eggs.) Hard-boiled eggs are either boiled long enough for the egg white and then the egg yolk to solidify, or they are left in hot water to cool down, which will gradually solidify them, while a soft-boiled egg yolk, and sometimes even the white, remains at least partially liquid.

More here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiled_egg

DEFINITION: Scrambled Egg

Scrambled eggs is a dish made from beaten whites and yolks of eggs (usually chicken). Beaten eggs are put into a hot pan (usually greased) and stirred frequently, forming curds as they coagulate.

More here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrambled_eggs

DEFINITION: Sunny Side Up

A fried egg is a food made from an egg fried whole with minimal accompaniment. They are traditionally eaten for breakfast in western countries, but may be eaten at other times of the day.

More here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fried_egg

DEFINITION: Egg Yolk

An Egg Yolk is a part of an egg which feeds the developing embryo. The egg yolk is suspended in the egg white (known alternatively as albumen or glair/glaire) by one or two spiral bands of tissue called the chalazae. Prior to fertilization, the yolk together with the germinal disc is a single cell; one of the few single cells that can be seen by the naked eye.

As a food, yolks are a major source of vitamins and minerals. They contain all of the egg's fat and cholesterol, and about one-fifth of the protein. If left intact while cooking fried eggs, the yellow yolk surrounded by a flat blob of whites creates the distinctive sunny-side up form of the food. Mixing the two components together before frying results in the pale yellow form found in omelets and scrambled eggs. In England a fried egg is a popular dish, sometimes served with chips.

More here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_yolk