Here is some help for eggs and the cooking of such things! Lol Step 1 PLACE eggs in saucepan large enough to hold them in single layer. ADD cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. HEAT over high heat just to boiling. Step 2 REMOVE from burner. COVER pan. LET EGGS STAND in hot water about 12 minutes for large eggs (9 minutes for medium eggs; 15 minutes for extra large). Step 3 DRAIN immediately and serve warm. OR, cool completely under cold running water or in bowl of ice water, then REFRIGERATE. Enjoy Pack hard-boiled eggs for lunch to eat out-of-hand. Slice or cut into wedges for tossed salad. Color and decorate for Easter. Classic Egg Salad is great by itself or as a sandwich filling. Take Easy Deviled Eggs to your next picnic or potluck or take it up a notch with Bacon & Cheddar Deviled Eggs. Add hard-boiled eggs to Breakfast Burrito Panini for a delicious breakfast treat. Classic Egg Salad Easy Deviled Eggs Bacon & Cheddar Deviled Egg Breakfast Burrito Panini Insider Information Hard-boiled, not hard-boiled. Although the cooking water must come to a full boil in this method, the pan is immediately removed from the heat so that the eggs cook gently in the hot water. This produces tender, not rubbery, eggs and minimizes cracking. insider-1 Banish the greenish ring. This harmless but unsightly discoloration that sometimes forms around hard-boiled yolks results from a reaction between sulfur in the egg white and iron in the yolk. It occurs when eggs have been cooked for too long or at too high a temperature. Our method – cooking eggs in hot, not boiling, water, then cooling immediately – minimizes this. Very fresh eggs can be difficult to peel. To ensure easily peeled eggs, buy and refrigerate them a week to 10 days in advance of cooking. This brief breather allows the eggs time to take in air, which helps separate the membranes from the shell. Hard-boiled eggs are easiest to peel right after cooling. Cooling causes the egg to contract slightly in the shell. insider-1 To peel a hard-boiled egg: Gently tap egg on countertop until shell is finely crackled all over. Roll egg between hands to loosen shell. Starting peeling at large end, holding egg under cold running water to help ease the shell off. Storage time: In the shell, hard-boiled eggs can be refrigerated safely up to one week. Refrigerate in their original carton to prevent odor absorption. Once peeled, eggs should be eaten that day. Food safety precaution: Piercing shells before cooking is not recommended. If not sterile, the piercer or needle can introduce bacteria into the egg. Also, piercing creates hairline cracks in the shell, through which bacteria can enter after cooking. Never microwave eggs in shells. Steam builds up too quickly inside and eggs are likely to explode. High altitude cooking: Its almost impossible to hard-boil eggs above 10,000 feet. Peeling Removing the shell and membranes from a hard-boiled egg. Opinion among researchers is divided as to whether or not salt in the cooking water helps make hard-boiled eggs easier to peel. Some research indicates that a 1 to 10% salt level (2 to 4 tablespoons per gallon of water) makes unoiled eggs easier to peel, but peelability of oiled eggs is not significantly affected. About 90% of the eggs available at retail are unoiled. A nicely centered yolk makes very attractive deviled eggs and garnishes. However, as an egg ages, the white thins out which gives the yolk more opportunity to move about freely. This can result in a displaced yolk when you cook the egg. Using the freshest eggs possible will minimize this displacement, but very fresh eggs are more difficult to peel after hard boiling. The air cell that forms between the shell membranes as the egg ages helps to separate shell from egg but, in very fresh eggs, the air cell is still small. The best compromise for attractive eggs with centered yolks that are relatively easy to peel seems to be using eggs that have been refrigerated for about a week to 10 days. Some new research suggests that yolk centering may be better if you store eggs small-end up for 24 hours before hard-boiling. Immediately after cooking, thoroughly cool eggs in a bowl of ice or under running cold water; five minutes isn’t too long. Peel the eggs right after cooling for immediate use or refrigerate them in the shell in the carton for use within one week. To peel an egg, crackle the shell all over by gently tapping the egg on a table or countertop. Roll the egg between your hands to loosen the shell. Then peel off the shell, starting at the large end. Hold the egg under running water or dip it in water to make peeling easier/ How can I tell if my eggs have spoiled? The faster you use your eggs, the less time any potential bacteria will have to multiply. However, when properly handled and stored, eggs rarely spoil. Instead, as an egg ages, the white becomes thinner, the yolk becomes flatter and the yolk membrane weakens. Although these changes may affect appearance, they don’t indicate spoilage and don’t have any great effect on the nutritional quality of the egg or its functions in recipes. Rather than spoiling, if you keep eggs long enough, they’re more likely to simply dry up – especially if they’re stored in a moisture-robbing, frost-free refrigerator. But, like all natural organic matter, eggs can eventually spoil through the action of spoilage organisms. Although they’re unpleasant, spoilage organisms don’t cause foodborne illness. The bacteria Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Micrococcus and Bacillus may be found on egg shell surfaces because all these species can tolerate dry conditions. As the egg ages, though, these bacteria decline and are replaced by spoilage bacteria, such as coliform and Flavobacterium, but the most common are several types of Pseudomonas. Pseudomonas can grow at temperatures just above refrigeration and below room temperatures and, if they’re present in large numbers, may give eggs a sour or fruity odor and a blue-green coloring. Although it is more likely for bacteria to cause spoilage during storage, mold growth can occur under very humid storage conditions or if eggs are washed in dirty water. Molds such as Penicillium, Alternaria and Rhizopus may be visible as spots on the shell and can penetrate the shell to reach the egg. Discard any eggs with shells – or, for hard-boiled eggs, egg white surfaces – that don’t look or feel clean, normally colored and dry. A slimy feel can indicate bacterial growth and, regardless of color, powdery spots that come off on your hand may indicate mold. ^ back to top Are there hormones in my eggs? Whether it says so on the carton or not, laying hens (hens raised to produce eggs) do not receive hormones in any form. ^ back to top Do antibiotics in eggs contribute to antibiotic resistance? Antibiotics aren’t considered a food-safety issue for eggs. Low levels of antibiotics are occasionally, but only rarely, used to prevent disease and ensure the health of laying hens, just as for humans. Very few antibiotics are permitted and there is an economic incentive not to use them due to the additional cost. Rather than routinely, antibiotics are used only if the birds become ill – a rare occurrence because hens have to be healthy to produce eggs. Because so few antibiotics are used and are used to such a small degree, they aren’t likely to contribute to the problem of antibiotic resistance. ^ back to top Is genetic engineering used to produce eggs? chick_eggshell Only traditional selective breeding is used in the egg-laying industry. Based on their positive characteristics, specific cocks and hens are chosen as parents for breeding egg layers, a practice which doesn’t involve genetic engineering. If a hen were to be fed genetically engineered feed, any genetic engineering products would be destroyed by the hen’s digestive processes. Research has confirmed that no genetically engineered materials would be passed into the hen’s eggs. ^ back to top Are there any people who are at increased risk from foodborne illness? Yes. Certain people are more likely to become ill or may be affected more severely than normal, healthy individuals and are at increased risk of developing complications from foodborne illness. Infants and children under age 10 contract salmonellosis more often than other age groups. Serve the very young, pregnant women, the elderly, the ill or the immuno-compromised only dishes made from fully-cooked shell eggs or pasteurized shell eggs or pasteurized egg products. Commercially-prepared mayonnaise, eggnog, frozen entrees, ice cream, egg substitutes, meringue powder, powdered sauce bases, and liquid, frozen and dried egg-white, egg-yolk or whole-egg products are all pasteurized and are suitable for special-risk audiences. When you prepare and store pasteurized egg products, carefully follow package directions to avoid bacterial infection through cross-contamination and spoilage. ^ back to top Tell me more about egg products and how I should use and store them. Egg products are convenience forms of eggs made by breaking and processing shell eggs. Many egg products once sold only for foodservice use are becoming more readily available at consumer retail markets. Most supermarkets now carry egg substitutes, dried and/or refrigerated liquid egg whites and frozen egg entrees, among other egg products. Federal regulations require that all uncooked egg products be pasteurized. Pasteurization, though, destroys only those bacteria which might be present at the time of processing. All pasteurized foods, including egg products, can become contaminated if you don’t handle them properly after they’re pasteurized. Important handling tips are: Avoid buying any frozen egg products which show signs of thawing. Return frozen egg products to the freezer as soon as possible after you buy them. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight or under cold running water in tightly sealed containers, not at room temperature. Use thawed egg products promptly. Cover and refrigerate any unused portions and use them within three days. Refrigerate liquid egg products as soon as possible after you buy them. Once you open a liquid product, use it immediately. Pasteurized liquid egg whites can be refrigerated for about 3 to 4 months unopened or about 1 week after opening, or can be frozen indefinitely. Check the label on other products because shelf life can vary. As long as you keep them dry, you can store dried egg whites indefinitely at room temperature, although it’s better to store them in a cool place away from light and strong odors. Store other dried egg products below 70° F in a dark, cool place, preferably in your refrigerator. Reconstitute only the amount of dried egg product you’ll use immediately. After you open it, tightly seal the container and refrigerate any unused portions. Follow the label instructions to refrigerate or freeze specialty egg products. Use a clean utensil to dip egg products from their original containers. Pour an egg product only if the container is designed for pouring and the outside is clean.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 10:12:21 +0000
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