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(10) To make meringues, in which the whites only.are used, along with a sugar
or syrup.

In short, we could never hope to do fine cooking without the help of eggs... .
and into every dish in which they are used, they put additional food value.

TO COOK EGGS

As has been said, no matter what the individual method of cooking eggs may
be, the temperature used should be a low one, the cooking gentle. A high temperature
has various undesirable effects: It toughens the egg. It prevents the egg from thicken-
ing smoothly—as in a custard-type mixture. It causes mixtures to “‘break.”’ It cuts
down on deliciousness and digestibility of eggs or a mixture in which the proportion
of egg is at all important. (High temperatures are used, it is true, when frying a
food in which egg forms part of the coating, or when baking some of the cookie-
doughs . . . but in such cases, the egg used is present in a very modest role, and
does not actually assert itself, one way or another.)

This general rule as to temperature governs the most widely accepted methods
for basic egg cookery—and underlies many further uses, (as in the case of a sponge
cake, which, being so preponderantly an egg mixture, is baked at a lower temperature
than most other cakes).

SOFT-COOKED EGGS—Eggs so widely spoken of as “‘boiled,”’ are not boiled at all,
when handled by the most knowing cooks. There are three methods to choose from:

(1) Place required number of eggs in a saucepan of a size to allow water to nicely
cover them. Pour in boiling water. Simmer—do not boil—for 3 to 5 minutes,
according to individual liking.

(2) Place required number of eggs in saucepan. Add cold water to cover them
well. Bring water to the boil, and remove eggs immediately, if you like them soft—
or if more firmly-cooked eggs (medium-soft) are required, remove pan from heat
as soon as water boils, put on a cover, and allow eggs to stand 2 to 5 minutes,
according to individual preference.

(3) The method usually referred to as ‘‘coddling”’ gives similar results. Measure
water into saucepan of suitable size, allowing 2 cups for.first 1 or 2 eggs and an
additional cup for each additional egg; bring to full boil. Lower eggs into the water,
using tongs or spoon. Remove pan from heat, cover closely and let eggs stand in a
warm place 6 minutes for a soft coddled egg, longer to give degree of doneness you
may prefer.

HARD-COOKED EGGS—I like to start eggs in cold water, then, when water on
eggs comes to boil, reduce heat at once and simmer 15 minutes.

Remove eggs from hot water immediately and plunge them into cold water—
it’s a good idea to allow cold water from the tap to flow gently into the saucepan
for some time. This is done to discourage the formation of the ugly black line around
the yolk, which so spoils the appearance of cut hard-cooked eggs; the shells are
also easier to remove, when eggs have been sharply cooled this way.

CREAMY SCRAMBLED EGGS—This name—and the use of a double boiler for
cooking the eggs—have come into general use in order to avoid the scramble that has
been cooked to dryness in a frying pan. Actually, the desired result can be achieved,
with care, in the frying pan—but because of the large area that is directly over
the heat, the eggs are more likely to make the sudden unwanted change from
“‘creamy and delicious” to “‘dry and stodgy.’ The double boiler method is easier to

89 LESSON 12

**E OHHH @ @ @