LESSON 12

Egg and Cheese Cookery

In this lesson, we are going to make a study of both eggs and cheese, because these
two very excellent foods have a great deal in common. They are both tissue-building
protein foods.

Both eggs and cheese need to be cooked at low temperatures, for best results
and greatest digestibility. You will see how, in method after method, this rule of
gentle cooking is evident.

EGGS IN THE DIET

Nutritionists advise, for the normal person, at least 3 or 4 eggs a week, but
“an egg a day” is a still better level at which to aim. It does not matter whether
eggs are eaten “‘as eggs’ or whether they become a part of made dishes of any kind,
Savory or sweet—any given amount of egg makes its worth-while contribution to
the day’s diet, just as readily in a sponge cake as it does when eaten from the shell—
a point to be remembered in connection with estimating the food values and perhaps
the cost of a dish which may call for several eggs.

Another good feature of eggs is that for most people, they are easily digested.

BUYING AND STORING EGGS

The wisdom you bring to the buying of eggs, is the first contribution you make
toward enjoying them.

You probably know that the color of the shells makes not a jot of difference in
the value of the eggs—if eggs are differently priced in your community because
they are either brown or white, economy bids you buy the lower-cost ones, provided
real quality-points are equal.

Truly fresh eggs, from well-fed birds, are the aim of every buyer who knows
and appreciates the real thing in quality.

It may be that the original source of your supply ensures these points of superi-
ority But keep in mind that ‘“‘country eggs” that have stood in the sun a few hours,
have lost as much value as eggs that have been laid much longer, but have been
refrigerated all the time.

If you purchase your eggs through the usual trade channels, you should know
how they are graded, and understand the grade marks which incidentally cover
two things—size and eating-quality.

New-laid eggs, properly protected until cooked and served, are eggs at their finest.

Storage eggs are eggs which have mounted up during a period of high production
and been stored against a period of low production. If storage has been scientifically
controlled, such eggs will have retained a high food value but may be found to
have lost flavor. These stored eggs are therefore often used for general cookery
purposes by the housewife, though she may prefer to buy new-laid eggs for table
use, where flavor so directly affects enjoyment.

KNOW THE GOVERNMENT GRADE-MARKS—Once you are aware of the fact that
grades are established on both size and quality of eggs, you can easily learn the
meaning of the grade-marks established by the federal government; the Department
of Agriculture has set up these grades as follows:

87 LESSON 12

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