The “How To” Guide on Eggs

Not surprisingly, June is proving to be as busy—if not busier—than May was, so we’re riding the egg-cooking train again. Last month, I introduced you to J. Kenji López-Alt, the author of The Food Lab, a veritable ‘food Bible’ of sorts to which I refer regularly. If you’ve checked him out and fallen in love with his book, you’re welcome. If you haven’t, why not?!

Does anyone poach eggs anymore? I think I tried once and failed miserably, which isn’t hard to do if you don’t know what you’re doing. López-Alt to the rescue! It’s so simple—or at least in theory—I’m going to have to give it a try again soon. You’ll need fresh eggs, a pot with salted water, and a mesh strainer. First, start with fresh eggs. As in, the freshest you can find. Eggs from the grocery store could be more than a month old, so perhaps it’s time to start shopping at the farmers’ market…

Fresh eggs have a strong membrane that keeps the whites together, the older they are, the weaker that membrane becomes. Second, let the water simmer, then lower the heat after the eggs go in. Boiling simply creates too much agitation, which can cause the whites to spread out. Lastly, crack your eggs into a mesh strainer first. It will allow some of the separated white to drip away, and then lower the strainer into the water. The eggs will begin to cook, so gently roll the egg out of the strainer and then use a spoon to gently flip them in the water while they cook. Flipping the egg while it cooks creates the oval shape of a poached egg. Doesn’t sound that hard, does it?

Perhaps poaching still seems too complicated. In addition to scrambling and hard-boiling, frying is another quick and easy option for cooking eggs. I’ve recently embraced the fried egg and found it to be a new favorite!

However, I’m learning right along with you, just liked the poached eggs. It seems López-Alt likes the mesh strainer for fried eggs, too. Same concept as poached eggs, above: you want fresh eggs, with whites that stay together and yolks that sit nice and high in the pan. Ultimately, according to López-Alt, the yolks begin to cook faster than the whites, so you risk overcooking the yolks before the whites are set. His solution: use a spoon! After straining your eggs, he recommends heating a few tablespoons of butter or oil in a small skillet. Gently pour the egg into the skillet, but then tilt the skillet so the fat pools on one side, and then spoon it over the egg whites to help them cook more quickly. This should allow for set, and perhaps a bit crispy, whites with a runny yolk.

Come to think of it, a friend makes his eggs this way and taught my husband to do it, too. I thought it was genius!

Egg-stra Special Edition about a Culinary Staple

Let’s take a break from some of this complicated cooking stuff, shall we? It’s ‘Maycember’ after all!

(For those who don’t know this new term, it’s basically equating the month of May with December in terms of busyness—activities, gatherings, outdoor to-do list items—especially for those with school-aged children.)

So, in honor of Maycember, we’re taking it easy and talking about EGGS. What could be simpler?

Well, cooking eggs doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult, but there are definite ways to improve the taste and texture of your eggs by following a few simple steps.

First, we’ll talk about scrambling. According to The Food Lab, by J. Kenji López-Alt, scrambling is all about the wait time before you actually start cooking. López-Alt is a New York Times food columnist and chief culinary advisor at SeariousEats.com. His book also won the James Beard Award…so, basically, you should do anything he says in relation to food. (I have, and I’m always glad I did.)

I’ve been making my scrambled eggs his way for awhile now—I think it was the first thing I tried after I got his book—and like I said, I’m glad I did. All you have to do is think ahead; you need to start about 15 minutes before you want to actually cook the eggs. In a bowl, crack your eggs; add a dash of salt and milk, scramble and let sit. The salt and milk both work to lessen the attraction between the protein bonds in the yolks (i.e. they loosen up) which leads to a fluffier, tender texture. The salt also prevents the eggs from weeping after cooking, but it must have time to dissolve, hence the 15-minute wait time.

Your bowl of raw egg should turn a darker shade of orange. Now pour the mixture into a warm skillet—not hot—and cook them on low heat, using your spatula to gently scrape the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat off and remove your pan from the burner just before the eggs are completely done; they’ll finish cooking with the residual heat. They should be shiny with soft mounds, but no liquid.

Next, we’ll talk about hard-boiling. My daughter likes hard-boiled eggs (She also likes beets—how did I get so lucky?!) and they are an excellent protein source to pack in her preschool lunches. López-Alt’s method is a bit tedious, BUT it ensures the yolk is perfectly cooked and that you can easily peel the shell off the egg without losing the white along with it.

The challenge with hard-boiling eggs is that the whites and the yolks cook very differently. The goal is to get the whites cooked but not rubbery, and the yolks to be creamy but not chalky. López-Alt recommends a hot start to eggs—gently dropping them into already boiling water—instead of putting eggs into cold water and then bringing it all to a boil. Why? Cooking the whites hot and fast allows the outer edges of the whites to adhere to itself instead of the membrane of the shell. This allows you to peel the egg more easily. Now, what about the problem of overcooked, green egg yolks? That green tint is caused by the iron in the yolks reacting with the sulfur in the whites at high temperatures. The remedy? Don’t cook your eggs in a rapid boil the whole time. Instead, after lowering your eggs into the boiling water, wait 30 seconds and then add ice cubes. Yes, ice cubes. You’ve got to lower the temperature of the water, and fast. Continue cooking the eggs at a simmer for 11 minutes. Voilá! Perfect hard-boiled eggs.

That’s all the room we have for today folks—I’ll be back with more of J. Kenji López-Alt’s egg wisdom next month!

The Art of Browning Food

After two months of discussing baking, we’re moving on! (At least we will be after this column.) Last month, I wrote about the building blocks of baking, and the role each ingredient plays in achieving the desired result.

This month, we’re talking about browning, which does play a role in baking, but not JUST baking. Browning is so important, it even has a special name: the Maillard Reaction.

In addition to adding a nice color to the crust of baked bread, browning is also involved in improving the texture, taste and scent of cooked foods. Think of cooked onions that turn a light brown color or a seared steak that sizzles in a cast iron pan. In both cases, the foods change their texture and taste dramatically by browning.

Here’s what you need to know:

-The Maillard Reaction is different from simple caramelization. Caramelization involves the breakdown of sugars once the liquid released by the food has been absorbed. The Maillard Reaction is similar but describes a complex reaction between sugars and proteins in the presence of heat. It’s as simple as the darkening of your toast and as complex as the searing of a steak.

-The Maillard Reaction works better in an alkaline (a.k.a. more basic) environment. If you remember from last month, I mentioned this when I wrote about baking soda. Excess baking soda, as in what’s left over after the acid in the recipe has been neutralized, aids in browning, both in time and amount. However, too much baking soda will result in an unpleasant taste, so don’t go overboard! For example, according to “The Food Lab” by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (a book that should be in every amateur chef’s kitchen), adding one-quarter teaspoon of baking soda to a pound of onions is just enough to shorten the cooking time and improve the texture when making French Onion Soup.

-Browning only occurs at high temperatures, such as 300 degrees and above, which is why boiled foods (212 degrees) won’t brown. Dehydration of a bread, forming a crust in the oven at 350 degrees or grilling a burger at about 300 degrees will result in browning.

-The Maillard Reaction adds flavor to foods. It can make your meat taste ‘meatier’ and even gives coffee beans their intense aroma when roasted. Often, these flavors and scents are described as malty, roasted, umami and burnt.

All this talk of searing meat has me wishing the grill were out! Soon friends, soon.