Eggs are one of the most versatile ingredients. Not only eggs are used in almost every cuisine, they are cooked in many different ways, in sweet and savory dishes, and eggs can appear at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Ways With Eggs

Some recipes only use yolks, some only the whites. What to do with the rest? How long does it keep? How do you keep it? Those are some of the typical questions. Eggs are universal and there are many ways with eggs.

 
Cooking With Eggs

Eggs keep better: If you keep them with the pointed end down.

Checking for freshness: Put the egg in a bowl of cold water –do it carefully, don’t drop it. The closer to the bottom the egg stays, the fresher. A very fresh egg will sink to the bottom. If it stays in the middle, it is good enough. Any egg that floats is definitely off; throw it away.

Fluffy omelets: Add 1 tablespoon milk or yogurt to the eggs when beating them. Your omelets will come out juicy and fluffy.

Creamier scrambled eggs: Use a stainless steel pan on low heat. Add a bit of milk, light cream to the beaten eggs. If you turn the heat off when the eggs are almost ready, they will finish cooking with the accumulated heat and will not overcook.

Scrambled eggs with chives: Beat 2 eggs and 1 Tbs milk; add 1-2 tsp chopped chives. Heat 1 Tbs butter in a stainless steel pan until it melts and starts bubbling, set heat to low. Add the eggs; scrape the bottom every minute or so until they are thick and creamy. Serve on toasted buttered bread.

Cook scrambled eggs slow: and omelets very quickly.

Boiled eggs that don’t crack: To prevent boiled eggs from cracking and spilling into the boiling water, add 1 Tbs vinegar or 1 Tbs salt to the water before putting the eggs.

To keep yolk yellow: Put hardboiled eggs straight into cold water. This stops the cooking process. The yolk gets that grey-greenish exterior when it overcooks.

To shell a hard-boiled egg: Tap it egg gently at both ends, and then roll on the sides to break the shell. It should come out easily, especially if you run it under cold water to stop overcooking or left them in several changes of cold water for 5-8 minutes.

Raw or hardboiled? If you are wondering if an egg is raw or hardboiled, spin it. If the spin is wobbly, you are dealing with a raw egg. A hardboiled egg spins evenly. You can also shake it -you can "feel" the liquid interior move- or knock it -a hardboiled egg sounds thick. Be careful, in case the egg is raw.

What to do with egg whites

Freezing egg whites: Distribute the egg whites in the compartments of a flexible ice tray. Keep in the freezer until hard. Once frozen, keep the egg white cubes in a plastic bag, tightly closed, stored in the freezer until required.

The best way to defrost them is to place the frozen egg whites into a bowl and place this bowl inside another filled with hot water. In the fridge, egg whites will defrost in about 10 hours; at room temperature, about 3 hours -though this method is not recommended. It can also be done in the microwave. Once defrosted, it is as if they were freshly separated from the yol; use as indicated in your recipe.

shiny pastry: Whenever your recipe calls for brushing with egg, egg yolk or milk, you will achieve the same result using egg whites only. Another way to use leftover egg whites.