Tip: Better Crumble Toppings

Many holiday deserts use a crumble topping. This is usually a somewhat dry dough that is stirred but not kneaded to a uniform consistency which you spread over the top of the baked desert.

One thing that can make the crumble a bit difficult to work with is the natural stringyness of egg white. To combat this, add a teaspoonful of water to an egg used for crumbing in order to remove the stringiness.

Cleaning Up After Eggs: Cooked on Egg, #2

In Cleaning Up After Eggs: Cooked on Egg, #1 we discussed how to prevent cooked on egg mess in your pans. Sometimes prevention doesn't work. If you do have eggy cooked on mess, here are some ways to clean your pans.

The best way to remove cooked on egg is to scrape the egg off as soon as possible. The sooner you get to it the easier it will be to remove the cooked on egg. Don't wait for the pan to cool.

The main way to get cooked on egg off of pans is to scrape it off. The earlier you get to it the easier it will be. If you get to it right away, while the pan is still hot, it just slides off using a wooden spatula. The longer it sits, the harder it will be and the stronger your scraper will need to be. If it sits for more than a couple of hours, you will essentially be chiseling it off.

If the egg is just impossible to get off, you need to soak the pan. This will not remove the egg. It will, however, make it easier to scrape the egg off using the above methods. Sometimes, for Very Cooked On Eggs, you will need to soak, scrape, and repeat a few times to get it all off.

Adding baking soda to the soaking water may help as well.
Adding bleach to the soak works even better but be sure to clean the pan a couple of times after that unless you really like the taste of bleach.
Adding dishwasher soap works very well too. I don't know what's in that stuff but it isn't meant to be handled by hand while it's wet. So, I would be careful about handling the pan until you rinse it out; maybe even wear gloves.