Don't put all your eggs in one basket...
Thursday, October 19
Or, should I say don't put all your egg whites into one bowl after today's class on Egg Techniques 1. We learned that chefs usually use the" 3 bowl method" for separating eggs for a recipe, with bowl #1 where they crack the egg and put the white into it, bowl #2 for the egg yolks, and bowl #3 for all the collective egg whites. So, each time you separate an egg, you put the egg white from bowl #1 into bowl #3. Otherwise, if you should get any egg yolk into the egg white bowl then you'll have to throw the whole bowl out.
Today, we learned about the basics of eggs, including structure, quality and cooking techniques, and started with the most basic techniques of presenting to the chef eggs soft-cooked, medium-cooked and hard-cooked, and then moved to fried eggs different ways, scrambled eggs, poaching eggs to a perfect consistency and look, which is not as easy as it seems as we learned new techniques such as creating a whirlpool in the water and then sliding the egg into its centre, with the whirlpool either being too fast or slow at the time you place the egg and creating messy poached eggs. Then, we moved on to frittatas, and the American Omelet, which is the standard one we know that is usually folded in half. I'm not sure why it's called the "American" one but the chef said that usually the boring recipes are labelled American for some reason, and I'm not sure if if he was kidding or not. The tricky one is the French Omelet where the eggs are cogulated but cannot become brown on the outside, and when the omelet is ready it is rolled or folded. Leave it to the French to make perfection, presentation and labour the most important ingredients to their recipe, with the chef using one hand to shake the pan back and forth quickly and at the same time stirring the eggs with a circular motion vigorously so the the action keeps the eggs in motion so that they coagulate uniformly. In the end, I perferred the taste of the standard omelet over the French one but it did look pretty.
We also made some egg-based sauces such as Hollandaise and homemade Garlic Mayonnaise, along with home fries to accompany the eggs of course. So, by the end of class, through all the tasting and testing, I must have eaten about six eggs and had my fill for the month or more at least. However, the eggs they bought were fresh and delicious (biodynamic, organic, free- farmed), and the cooking techniques enhanced this.
Here are some egg tips and games, in case you didn't know:
How can you tell if an egg is fresh? You put it in cold water in a bowl. If it lays on its side horizontally on the bottom of the bowl, it's fresh. If it starts to stand up vertically on the bottom of the bowl, then it's not as fresh. If it floats, then it's old and you shouldn't use it.
Why are eggs different colours such as brown? The colour of the egg depends on the colour of the skin behind the hen's ears. I'm not sure how you check this... perhaps when the hen is not looking?
How long is required for a hen to produce one egg? Every 24- 36 hours, one hen produces one egg.
How long do eggs keep? Fresh eggs should be kept in the carton in the refrigerator and can last 4-5 weeks beyond the packing date. Cooked eggs can keep for up to 1 week.
How do you know if an egg is hardboiled? It spins easily on its side. If not, it wobbles.
The latest research links elevated cholesterol levels mostly to refined sugars and starches and not to eggs.
At the right time during a spring equinox, you can stand an egg on its end. Has anyone ever tried and succeeded?
So there you go, I head into Egg Techniques 2 tomorrow and I'll be using eggs in dishes such as souffles, etc. and perhaps I'll have more tips.
It's been beautiful and warm here, in the 20s during the days, and I guess that's why everyone says that autumn is a beautiful period in NYC as autumn stretches out for a long period and there are occasional cool and damp days but lots of sunny and warm days as well and still lots of people enjoying patios. Just after I put away my shorts for good I thought, it was warm and I was out to the gym in them tonight. Very nice indeed and I didn't mind bringing out the shorts again.
Or, should I say don't put all your egg whites into one bowl after today's class on Egg Techniques 1. We learned that chefs usually use the" 3 bowl method" for separating eggs for a recipe, with bowl #1 where they crack the egg and put the white into it, bowl #2 for the egg yolks, and bowl #3 for all the collective egg whites. So, each time you separate an egg, you put the egg white from bowl #1 into bowl #3. Otherwise, if you should get any egg yolk into the egg white bowl then you'll have to throw the whole bowl out.
Today, we learned about the basics of eggs, including structure, quality and cooking techniques, and started with the most basic techniques of presenting to the chef eggs soft-cooked, medium-cooked and hard-cooked, and then moved to fried eggs different ways, scrambled eggs, poaching eggs to a perfect consistency and look, which is not as easy as it seems as we learned new techniques such as creating a whirlpool in the water and then sliding the egg into its centre, with the whirlpool either being too fast or slow at the time you place the egg and creating messy poached eggs. Then, we moved on to frittatas, and the American Omelet, which is the standard one we know that is usually folded in half. I'm not sure why it's called the "American" one but the chef said that usually the boring recipes are labelled American for some reason, and I'm not sure if if he was kidding or not. The tricky one is the French Omelet where the eggs are cogulated but cannot become brown on the outside, and when the omelet is ready it is rolled or folded. Leave it to the French to make perfection, presentation and labour the most important ingredients to their recipe, with the chef using one hand to shake the pan back and forth quickly and at the same time stirring the eggs with a circular motion vigorously so the the action keeps the eggs in motion so that they coagulate uniformly. In the end, I perferred the taste of the standard omelet over the French one but it did look pretty.
We also made some egg-based sauces such as Hollandaise and homemade Garlic Mayonnaise, along with home fries to accompany the eggs of course. So, by the end of class, through all the tasting and testing, I must have eaten about six eggs and had my fill for the month or more at least. However, the eggs they bought were fresh and delicious (biodynamic, organic, free- farmed), and the cooking techniques enhanced this.
Here are some egg tips and games, in case you didn't know:
How can you tell if an egg is fresh? You put it in cold water in a bowl. If it lays on its side horizontally on the bottom of the bowl, it's fresh. If it starts to stand up vertically on the bottom of the bowl, then it's not as fresh. If it floats, then it's old and you shouldn't use it.
Why are eggs different colours such as brown? The colour of the egg depends on the colour of the skin behind the hen's ears. I'm not sure how you check this... perhaps when the hen is not looking?
How long is required for a hen to produce one egg? Every 24- 36 hours, one hen produces one egg.
How long do eggs keep? Fresh eggs should be kept in the carton in the refrigerator and can last 4-5 weeks beyond the packing date. Cooked eggs can keep for up to 1 week.
How do you know if an egg is hardboiled? It spins easily on its side. If not, it wobbles.
The latest research links elevated cholesterol levels mostly to refined sugars and starches and not to eggs.
At the right time during a spring equinox, you can stand an egg on its end. Has anyone ever tried and succeeded?
So there you go, I head into Egg Techniques 2 tomorrow and I'll be using eggs in dishes such as souffles, etc. and perhaps I'll have more tips.
It's been beautiful and warm here, in the 20s during the days, and I guess that's why everyone says that autumn is a beautiful period in NYC as autumn stretches out for a long period and there are occasional cool and damp days but lots of sunny and warm days as well and still lots of people enjoying patios. Just after I put away my shorts for good I thought, it was warm and I was out to the gym in them tonight. Very nice indeed and I didn't mind bringing out the shorts again.
posted by Caroline at 8:05 PM
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