Culinary Arts I

Day #23

Structure of egg• With your kitchen groups, using a book on

page 491, work together first to complete “Activity 2” – Parts of an Egg. Label the parts about the egg, and then include one fact about each part.

Structure of egg

• 1. Air Cell – air pocket, lies between the shell and egg membranes at wide, round end of egg

• 2. Thin albumen – closest to the shell membranes

• 3. Thick albumen – closest to the egg yolk

• 4. Shell membrane – helps keep air from leaving egg too soon

Structure of egg

• 5. Shell – is porous and lined with membranes

• 6. Chalaze – two thick, twisted strands of albumen that anchor the yolk in center of the egg

• 7. Yolk – round, yellow portion of egg

• 8. Egg membrane – encases the albumen

Nutrients

• Protein, Vitamin B12• Also Vitamin A, other B’s, iron, calcium,

phosphorus and trace minerals.

• Eggs have only roughly 80 calories each.

• Yolk contains more nutrients than egg white, but contains lots of fat and cholesterol and should be used in moderation.

• Are brown shells more nutritious than white?• Breed of hen determines color. Color isn’t

related to egg’s nutrients, flavor, or cooking qualities.

Buying eggs

• Open carton to inspect before buying• Clean, white, no cracks

• Eggs are sold according to grade and size standards set by the USDA.

• Grades – AA, A, and B.• AA & A – thicker, white when appearance is

important for fried and poached eggs.• B – baked goods, where appearance doesn’t

matter• Supermarkets typically don’t carry B

Size of Eggs

• Once you know the grade you want…you pick the size!

• Sold in M, L, XL, and Jumbo!

• As a general rule, recipes assume that large eggs will be used. If you use eggs of another size, you may need more or fewer eggs to get the same results.

Storing eggs

• With your “shoe partner”, fill out the backside of your worksheet “Activity 3” talking about buying and storing eggs.

• We will then discuss as a class.

Storing eggs

• Raw eggs stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to four weeks.

• You can refrigerate leftover raw egg yolks, covered, for up to 2 days.

• A red spot in the egg means that one or more small blood vessels in the yolk ruptured, but the egg is safe to eat. If it has an unpleasant odor when opened, then it is spoiled and needs to be discarded.

Egg Science!

• When we use eggs, A LOT of science is taking place!

• Coagulation – egg becomes firm, changing from a liquid to a semisolid or solid state and this helps bind ingredients

• Emulsifiers – they hold together two liquids that normally won’t stay mixed (example: oil and water)

• Foams – using egg whites to do a soft peak (stands up with a curve like ice cream), or stiff peak stage (stands up straight)• Souffle – made by folding stiffly beaten egg wihtes

into a sauce or pureed foods.

Cooking with eggs• Eggs in Shell

• 15 minutes for large, about 18 minutes for jumbo

• Poached – cooks in simmering water, adds no fat while cooking (like a fried egg in water)

• Fried

• Scrambled

• Baked – known as shirred eggs, put into a shallow, greased baking dish.

• Omelet – like a large, thick pancake, then is folded in half • Puffy Omelet – in the oven

Cooking with eggs

• You can microwave eggs too!• Fried• Scrambled• Poached

• Custards – thickened blend of milk, eggs, and sugar

• Meringue – foam baked of beaten egg whites and sugar in desserts (lemon meringue pie)

Which came first?

• Do you believe the chicken or egg came first?

• We will separate into two groups.

• Write down your talking points as to why you believe this.

• We will discuss “debate” as a class next.

Assignment

• Eggs

• Page 504 • 1-21