Eggs & Cheese [antikvár]

Eggs and cheese are both excellent foods which are often used unimaginatively. This book has many recipes for egg and cheese dishes which introduce a wide and exciting new range of possibilities.What You Should Know About EggsFew foods are as useful and diverse as eggs. They can be a complete meal or course by themselves - boiled, fried, poached, scrambled or as omelettes - or they can be a major constituent of many other dishes. Eggs are binding agents, helping pancakes, omelettes and soufflés to hold together better; stiffly beaten egg-whites or egg-yolks and sugar beaten together act as a raising agent in baking or in soufflés, for instance; whole eggs or yolks are used to thicken soups and sauces; and beaten egg brushed over pastry or breads before baking glazes the food, giving a nice, brown shiny surface. Most important of all, eggs have great nutritional value and contain both minerals and vitamins.EGG TIPSFresh eggs should have a clean, whole shell, a thick, jelly-like white, and a golden yolk in the centre.To test for freshness There is an air chamber at the blunt end of the egg which increases in size as an egg deteriorates, through age or bad storage.Put a raw egg in a glass of cold water. If fresh, the egg will lie on the bottom; if less than fresh, the blunt end will rise; if stale or bad, the eggwill float. Always break an egg into a saucer first to double-check.Egg storage All eggs should be stored in a cool place or in the refrigerator, pointed end downwards. This means that the yolk rests on the white instead of against the air chamber or the shell, and thus lasts longer.Egg shells are porous, so they should never be stored next to strong-smelling foods.Egg freezing Whole eggs cannot be frozen, but yolks and whites can be frozen separately or beaten well together.Boiled or raw? If you have hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator with raw eggs, 'spin' the egg on a surface to see whether it is cooked or raw. If hard-boiled, the egg will spin fast; if raw, it will spin slowly.Egg sizes Shop-bought eggs are sold in packages of 6 or occasionally 10. They used to be labelled Large, Standard, Medium or Small, and are now, following adoption of the EEC sizing system, numbered from 1-7. Most recipes require Standard eggs - Sizes 3 or 4 - while Large eggs are sizes i or 2, Mediiun are size 5, and Small are 6 or even 7.White or brown? There is no difference at all between white and brovm eggs. In France and Britain, brown eggs are thought to be tastier and healthier; in America white eggs are thought to be more pure, and are more popular. What does make a difference, though - in the nutritive value and in the taste - is the feed given to the laying hens. Battery hens can, for example, be fed too much fish- or bone-meal, which can affect the taste of their eggs.Over-boiled eggs Eggs boiled too long get an unsightly dark rim at the edge of the yolk. These can be used in a salad. Mix chopped egg and mayormaise, and sdr in some freshly-chopped herbs, seasoning and a little lemon juice.Slicing eggs Eggs to be sliced or halved should not be too large, as the white and the yolk tend to fall apart.Egg shells Egg-shells can be used as a bleaching agent for cloth. Rinse the shells well, dry them, and crush to a powder. Put the powder in a little cloth bag and add it to whites that are to be boiled or washed at a very high temperature. Egg-shells are also used in consommé and cleared jellies, because the impurities cling to them.How to separate eggs1Knock the egg against the edge of a bowl or table.2Over a bowl, put your thumb inside the shell.3Separate the two halves of shell.4Keep the yolk in one half shell, and let the white run down into the bowl.5Pour the yolk into the other half shell to get out the remaining white. It is easiest to use a special yolk-white divider, or even an ordinary funnel. Break the egg into the funnel and let the white run down into a glass. The yolk will then be left whole in the top of the funnel.Left-over yolks or whites Use upyolks straightaway in a custard -baked, boiled or caramel; as a glaze; for an egg and breadcrumb coating; for binding a mixmre, like fish cakes or beefburgers; in a mayonnaise or hollandaise sauce; to enrich creamed potatoes or a shortcrust pastry. Yolks will add to the taste