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When there is any doubt as to the freshness of eggs, they may be
tested in various ways. Quite fresh eggs will sink in a strong brine,
and as they become stale they remain suspended at different depths
in the brine, until an absolutely stale egg will float. Successful
preservation depends in a great measure upon the condition of the egg
at the time of preserving. Different methods of preserving all aim
at the same thing, namely, at coating the porous shell with some
substance which will prevent the air entering and setting up
decomposition. See page 30.
When used as food, eggs should be cooked at a low temperature--about
160° F., or if in the shell at about 180° F. The time varies with
the size of the egg, from two and a half minutes for poaching a
medium-sized egg to four and a half minutes for boiling a large one.
If too much cooked, or at too high a temperature, the white becomes
tough, hard, and to many people, indigestible.
When required for salads, garnishing, etc., the eggs must be boiled
from ten to twenty minutes, and if the yolks are to be powdered for
sprinkling, they must be cooked for a longer time, or the centers will
be somewhat tough and elastic, and useless for the purpose.
In beating eggs, a little salt added to the whites helps to bring them
to a froth more quickly. When frothed whites are to be mixed with a
heavier or more solid substance, great care must be taken not to
break down the froth. The object of beating being to mix in air, rough
handling afterwards would render the beating useless; the mixing must
therefore be done very carefully. They should be folded or wrapped up
in the other substance, but the mixing also must be thorough, for
any pieces of white separated from the rest will toughen and taste
leathery, besides failing in the special purpose of giving lightness
to the mixture. After mixing lightly and perfectly all such
preparations should be cooked at once. The white "speck" always should
be removed from a broken egg, as it is easily distinguished after
cooking, and in anything of a liquid nature, such as custards, sauces,
etc., it would be hard and unpleasant.
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