BREAKING AND MIXING EGGS. 13 



The illustrations of the individual eggs shown in Plates I and II 

 were obtained by breaking eggs of known quality and grade into 

 small watch glasses and photographing them with the camera in a 

 vertical position. No illustration of the fresh egg is given, as the 

 convexity of the sound firm yolk makes it difficult to secure the proper 

 light to reproduce its characteristic appearance. 



BREAKING AND MIXING EGGS. 



The process of breaking eggs preparatory to drying or freezing is 

 essentially the same. After grading, the eggs are sent to the break- 

 ing rooms, where they are usually broken by young girls, generally 

 supervised by older and more experienced girls or forewomen. In 

 certain factories the eggs are chilled previous to breaking, and they 

 may be candled again after chilling. 



The breaking process consists of removing the egg by breaking the 

 shell in two, and if desired the yolks of sound eggs may be separated 

 from the whites at this time. It is physically impossible to sepa- 

 rate the albumen from the yolk of the eggs where there is any exten- 

 sive blending of these two constituents. Eggs showing these marked 

 changes usually contain large numbers of bacteria, indicating that 

 decomposition has appreciably advanced. Such eggs would be dis- 

 carded by the average housewife as being unfit for food, and can only 

 be manufactured into mixed products containing the whole egg, in 

 which inferiority would be concealed. Our examinations have shown 

 that commercial mixed eggs, both the dried and the frozen, generally 

 contain many more bacteria than do the commercial whites and 

 yolks. 



The shells of the eggs are broken over the sharp edge of a metal 

 cup or knife blade, sometimes especially made for this purpose, 

 after which the contents are placed in different vessels according to 

 grade. The cups may contain from one to six eggs before they are 

 emptied into larger receptacles. Theoretically, should an egg prop- 

 erly belonging to a lower grade enter a cup intended for that of a 

 higher grade, the whole contents of the container are placed in the can 

 corresponding in quality to the poorest grade egg in the cup. In 

 practice this is not always done. Broken eggs are graded by their 

 appearance, smell, and sometimes by their taste, the final grading 

 of each being left largely to the judgment of the individual breaker. 

 Should she be careless, or her sense of smell be impaired, eggs of 

 inferior quality would probably escape her attention. In event of 

 grave doubt as to the quality of a given egg, the forewoman or man- 

 ager is called upon to act as referee. Should there still be doubt as 

 to its quality the egg should be placed with the tanners' stock. It 

 has been stated that an expert could break and grade 60 dozen eggs 

 an hour, or 1 dozen a minute. 



