Egg Recipes

Chicken eggs are widely used in many types of dishes, both sweet and savory, including many baked goods. Some of the most common preparation methods include scrambled, fried, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, omelettes and pickled. They can also be eaten raw, though this is not recommended for people who may be especially susceptible to salmonellosis, such as the elderly, the infirm, or pregnant women. In addition, the protein in raw eggs is only 51% bioavailable, whereas that of a cooked egg is nearer 91% bioavailable, meaning the protein of cooked eggs is nearly twice as absorbable as the protein from raw eggs.

As an ingredient, egg yolks are an important emulsifier in the kitchen, and are also used as a thickener in custards.

Soft-boiled quail eggs, with potato galettes
The albumen, or egg white, contains protein, but little or no fat, and can be used in cooking separately from the yolk. The proteins in egg white allow it to form foams and aerated dishes. Egg whites may be aerated or whipped to a light, fluffy consistency, and are often used in desserts such as meringues and mousse.

Ground egg shells are sometimes used as a food additive to deliver calcium. Every part of an egg is edible,[citation needed] although the eggshell is generally discarded. Some recipes call for immature or unlaid eggs, which are harvested after the hen is slaughtered or cooked while still inside the chicken.

Eggs contain multiple proteins which gel at different temperatures within the yolk and the white, and the temperature determines the gelling time. Egg yolk begins to gelify, or solidify, when it reaches temperatures between about 60 and 70 °C (140 and 158 °F). Egg white gels at slightly higher temperatures, about 60 to 80 °C (140 to 176 °F)- the white contains ovalbumin that sets at the highest temperature. However, in practice, in many cooking processes the white gels first because it is exposed to higher temperatures for longer.

Salmonella is killed instantly at 71 °C (160 °F), but is also killed from 54.5 °C (130.1 °F) if held there for sufficiently long time periods. To avoid the issue of salmonella, eggs can be pasteurized in-shell at 57 °C (135 °F) for an hour and 15 minutes. Although the white is slightly milkier, the eggs can be used in normal ways. Whipping for meringue takes significantly longer, but the final volume is virtually the same.

If a boiled egg is overcooked, a greenish ring sometimes appears around egg yolk due to the iron and sulfur compounds in the egg. It can also occur with an abundance of iron in the cooking water. The green ring does not affect the egg's taste; overcooking, however, harms the quality of the protein. Chilling the egg for a few minutes in cold water until it is completely cooled may prevent the greenish ring from forming on the surface of the yolk.