46 replies to this topic

[CathyL]

I can tell from the pictures of your Canada trip - you and Momo look very happy together.


By the way, if I had lots of egg yolks I'd make a big batch of lemon curd and parcel it out among my best friends.

[Shiva]

Why crack eggs on a flat surface? To avoid driving potentially salmonella contaminated eggshell fragments into the the egg white itself.

DISCLAIMER: The chances of you getting salmonella poisoning at home via the above route is very, very slim. Bad things can happen when one contaminated egg gets into the Sysco Food Services, Inc®. "Big Bag O' Eggs©" and the kitchen staff at your local dive gets lazy about refrigeration.

[Fat Guy]

I use the flat surface. One hand. I wrap a couple of fingers around each end of the egg and cradle it in my palm and, after I tap the egg on the surface, I move the egg over the bowl (or, if I'm separating eggs, my other hand) and give a gentle separating pull. This usually works just fine, though I have been known to have the occasional disaster.

[Varmint]

I use the rounded edge of the sink above my garbage disposal. That makes it very easy to deal with the eggs and not worry about the shells.

[Wimpy]

I love raw yolk mixed into hot rice.

Jinmyo-san: I love raw egg on hot rice as well! It's a trick my Japanese mother taught me as a kid. Of course, need some soy sauce to go with it (please, not the Chinese type). It's a handy snack when there's nothing else in the pantry. I'd make sure the egg is fresh though- remember Salmonella!

However, it's even better if there's some natto available.

[Varmint]

I'd make sure the egg is fresh though- remember Salmonella! 

Has anyone here actually been inflicted with a confirmed case of salmonella? If so, how severe were your symptoms?

I often wonder how big of a deal this is.

[Fat Guy]

Some helpful egg-cracking instructions:

http://www.akiskitch...html#crackwhole

[Jon Tseng]

going back to the surfeit of egg white, it has occured to me that the french use an awful lot of egg yolk in their classical recipes (hollandaise, bearnaise, custard &tc) but very little egg white (errrr, meringue anyone), whereas the chinese use lots of white (velveting &tc) but very little yolk. perhaps there is an arbitrage opportunity for trading frozen whites/yolks...

also does using the egg shell to get out the egg shell bear comparison with using a mussel shell to pick out mussels from your moules mariniare? (sp)

j

[ShawtyCat]

You mean all this time Ive been cracking my eggs wrong!?

Question: So if I were a short order cook and I cracked my eggs on the rim of a bowl......would I be subject to a real a** chewing from the head cook? Or does this even matter? I've never had a problem cracking eggs on the bowl rim....

[Orik]

Has anyone here actually been inflicted with a confirmed case of salmonella?  If so, how severe were your symptoms?

I often wonder how big of a deal this is.

I was present at an event (a wake of sorts) where deviled eggs were served. Every person who had them, fortunately not including myself, was hospitalized for 1-5 days with confirmed cases of salmonella. I do not want to repeat the pathology, as this is after all a gastronomic site, not a gastrointestinal one, but I can assure you it is not pleasant at all. I'd say it's much more likely to suffer from salmonellosis than to win the lottery, but still not as likely as to make me avoid raw eggs and other would be hosts.

[=Mark]

Macrosan: My lifestyle choices may seem odd to some, but I was simply standing around with nothing to do and I decided to crack four dozen eggs and set aside the egg whites for future use. I threw out all the yolks. The dog found it all highly entertaining, and so did I.

This has got to be one of the absolute all time definitions of foodie mentality! "Yawn... I'm bored. I think I'll crack 4 dozen eggs for no particular reason..."

[lizziee]

When I was trying to learn how to use the Japanese food topper, I went through a couple of dozen eggs for practice. Didn't make anything with the eggs, but I had a lot of pretty shells.

Then there was the time, I was trying to make eggs mollet. The idea was to have a soft boiled egg that could be peeled whole with a done white, but a runny yolk. That took another 3 dozen eggs of varying degrees of doneness. Out of the 3 dozen, I was only able to get 4 eggs, perfectly cooked and peeled.

[Jinmyo]

lizziee, but they were worth it, I'm sure. I love ouef au mollet. With toast, as part of a salad, with slices of ribeye, whatever. Delicious.

It's a skill worth pursuing.

[lizziee]

What's the best way to make it so it won't cost me another 3 dozen eggs?

[Jinmyo]

lizziee, ice water and careful fingers.

And if they do break and ooze from the shell, just pour them into a martini glass. Top with butter or creme fraiche, a bit of roe or caviar or fresh grated parmesan. Eat immediately. Or they're quite nice at room temperature if the yolks are molten enough.

Or dump them into a bowl, add some fresh mayo, capers, crumbled bacon or brunoise of pancetta, some Dijon and s&p. Spread on crostini or use as a dip. If you have some cooked, peeled lobster tail, this makes a nice arrangement with the tail on some coddled egg with some microgreens and a few roasted baby or fingerling potatoes.'

There's never a problem.

[lizziee]

Jinmyo,

Thanks. Next time, I'll break the eggs on purpose.

[Fat Guy]

I performed an interesting (for me) experiment. I made three omelettes. Fritattas really because they had plenty of vegetables in them and were cooked through. One I made with three whole eggs, one with two whole eggs topped off with egg whites to equivalent volume, and one with one whole egg plus egg whites. Using typical flavorless American supermarket eggs (actually I use eggs a couple of steps up from that, but they're still flavorless as are most fancy eggs in America), there is hardly any difference. Even in appearance there isn't much difference. I also put some egg whites in the iSi and played with them, but I didn't know what to do with them. It was fun, though.