Working with eggs means mastering a few techniques: breaking an egg, separating an egg yolk from the egg white, whipping an egg white, and things like that. Before you try any egg recipes, first practice your egg-handling techniques.
Breaking a few eggs
To make an omelet (or a frittata or a meringue or a cake), you have to break a few eggs. Here's how to do it.
1. Hold the egg in one hand.
2. Tap the egg on the side of a small bowl or glass measuring cup to gently break the shell.
Don't tap too hard, or you'll shatter the egg and your egg will be full of shell pieces.
3. Put your two thumbs inside the crack and gently open the egg so that the yolk and white fall into the bowl or measuring cup.
If a piece of shell falls in the egg, use the tip of a knife to nudge it up the side of the bowl and out.
 | Always break eggs into a separate bowl or cup before adding them to other ingredients. That way, you can remove any stray shell pieces before they get lost in, say, the birthday cake batter. |
Separating an egg
Many recipes require separated egg whites and yolks. Don't worry; separating an egg really isn't as difficult as it looks (you don't even need to be a divorce attorney!). Follow these steps, as shown in Figure 1, to separate an egg without breaking the yolk. (You don't want any yolk in your whites, or the whites will not beat stiff.)
1. Hold the egg in one hand above two small bowls.
2. Crack the shell on the side of one bowl — just enough to break through the shell and the membrane without piercing the yolk or shattering the shell.
This step may take a little practice. Repeat on the other side if necessary.
3. Pry open the eggshell with both thumbs and gently let the bulk of the white fall into one of the bowls.
4. Carefully pass the yolk back and forth from one shell cavity to the other, each time releasing more white.
5. When all the white is in the bowl, carefully transfer the yolk to the other bowl (it doesn't matter if the yolk breaks); cover and refrigerate if not using right away.
Figure 1: Recipes often call for separated egg yolks or whites. Follow these steps to get only the part you want.
Beating egg whites
Beaten egg whites make soufflés rise and give volume to desserts. Before beating egg whites, make sure that your mixing bowl and beaters are clean and dry. Even a speck of dirt, soap, oil, or egg yolk can prevent the whites from beating stiff. Make sure the egg whites are at room temperature before beating; they'll beat more quickly. Using an electric mixer or handheld balloon whisk, slowly begin beating the egg whites they're foamy; add a pinch of cream of tartar to help stabilize the foam, and then increase the beating speed to incorporate as much air as possible until the whites form smooth, shiny peaks. If you're making a sweet soufflé, start beating in the sugar after the whites form soft peaks.
If any of the yolk breaks and falls into the separated whites before you beat the egg whites, remove the yolk by dabbing with a piece of paper towel. Also avoid using plastic bowls when beating whites. Fat and grease adhere to plastic, which can diminish the volume of the beaten whites.
| If you overbeat the egg whites so that they lose their shine and start to look dry and grainy, add another egg white and beat briefly to reconstitute. |
Folding egg whites
To fold egg whites into a batter, a soufflé base, or any other mixture, begin by stirring about one-quarter of the beaten whites into the yolk mixture. (This step lightens the batter somewhat.) Then pile the remaining egg whites on top. Use a large rubber spatula to cut down through the center of the mixture, going all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Pull the spatula toward you to the edge of the bowl, turning it to bring some of the yolk mixture up over the whites. Give the bowl a quarter-turn and repeat this plunging, scooping motion about 10 to 15 times (depending on the amount of batter) until the whites and yolk mixture are combined. Be careful not to overblend, or the beaten whites will deflate. See Figure 2 for illustrated instructions of this technique.
Figure 2:Folding egg whites into a soufflé base involves a plunging, scooping motion.
| Cooking and peeling hard-cooked eggs |
Eggs really should never be hard-boiled (in their shells), but rather hard-cooked; rigorous boiling causes eggs to jostle and crack, leaving the whites tough. The correct technique is to place the eggs in cold water, bring the water to a boil, and then immediately remove the pot from the heat, as in the following steps:
1. Place the eggs in a saucepan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Add cold water to cover by about 1 inch.
2. Cover the saucepan and bring the water to a boil over high heat as fast as possible. Then turn off the heat.
If your stove is electric, remove the pan from the burner.
3. Let eggs stand in the pan, still covered, for 15 minutes for large eggs, 18 minutes for jumbo, and 12 minutes for medium.
4. Drain the eggs in a colander and run cold water over them until completely cooled.
Hard-cooked eggs have numerous uses. Slice them into tossed green salads or potato salads, make deviled eggs, mash them for egg salad sandwiches, or simply peel and eat them with a little salt. Sounds like lunch to us! Always refrigerate hard-cooked eggs and eat them within a week to ten days.
| But about peeling that egg. . . . The fresher the egg, the more difficult it is to peel, although running cold water over the eggs as you work can help separate the egg white from the shell slightly, making peeling easier. For perfect peeling, follow these steps: |
1. As soon as your hard-cooked egg is cool enough to handle, tap it gently on a table or countertop to crackle the shell all over.
2. Roll the egg between your hands to loosen the shell.
3. Peel off the shell, starting at the large end of the egg.
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