EGG 



19G2 



EGG 



16.1 per cent protein, 33.3 per cent fat and 

 1.1 per cent ash, and has a fuel value per 

 pound of 1,705 calories. These figures are for 

 hens' eggs, but the eggs of other poultry do 

 not differ greatly. 



Cooking Eggs. Eggs, it is estimated, form 

 about two per cent of the food of the aver- 

 age Canadian or American family, and the 

 methods of serving them, either alone or in 



Protein, 16. 



at, 3 3. 3 



Fat ,0.2 



Watei%49.5 



COMPOSITION OF WHITE AND TOLX 

 For analysis of entire egg, see preceding dia- 

 gram. 



combination, are almost unlimited. Since they 

 are a concentrated animal food, they are best 

 served as a substitute for meat, not eaten 

 with meat. It is impossible to give here spe- 

 cific directions for cooking eggs in all the vari- 

 ous ways, but a few general principles may 

 be stated. When eggs are "boiled," perhaps 

 the commonest way of serving them, they are 

 most palatable and most easily digested if 

 they are not really boiled at all, but cooked 

 in water below the boiling point. The white 

 begins to coagulate or "set" at about 134 F., 

 and at 160 is of a jellylike consistency a 

 "soft-boiled" egg in its best form. If allowed 

 to remain long enough in water at this or a 

 slightly higher temperature, the egg becomes 

 "hard-boiled," but while it is firm it is tender 

 as well, and has not the almost horny con- 

 sistency of an egg cooked in boiling water. 



Since cooked milk is also at its best if 

 kept always below the boiling point, it is 

 obvious that custards or other substances in 

 which eggs are used to thicken milk should 

 not be allowed to boil. If, however, corn- 

 starch is used in addition, it must be boiled, 

 but this can usually be done before the eggs 

 are added. 



How to Tell a Fresh Egg. Eggs but a day 

 or two from the nest are far better flavored 

 than those which have been held for a time, 

 even if these latter are still in perfectly good 

 condition. Of the two most popular methods 



used for testing eggs, one makes no attempt 

 to distinguish degrees of age, but contents 

 itself with showing whether an egg shows signs 

 of being addled or of starting to hatch. The 

 other, within limits, shows whether an egg is 

 fresh or simply well preserved. 



The first method is known as candling. An 

 egg, held in some device, as a pasteboard cyl- 

 inder open at the ends, which shuts off the 

 light from the sides, is held against a rather 

 bright light. If it shows clear, it is fresh; if 

 dark and clouded, it is addled; if a well- 

 marked dark spot appears, the germ has begun 

 to develop. In either of the two latter cases 

 the egg is unfit for use. 



For the brine method of testing, a salt solu- 

 tion made by adding two ounces of salt for 

 each pint of water forms the basis. The eggs 

 are placed in this brine, and those which sink 

 immediately to the bottom are proved to be 

 perfectly fresh not more than one day old. 

 But because evaporation lowers the density 

 of eggs, an egg three days old will not sink to 

 the bottom, but will be entirely submerged 

 just below the surface of the water, while one 



Missouri 

 112 



Kansas 

 82 



Indiana Texas 

 81 78 



Figures Represent Millions of Dozens 



EGG PRODUCTION IN A TEAR 

 The statistics illustrated represent an aver- 

 age covering five years, ending with 1916. 



more than three days old will float on top, 

 the proportion of it which appqgrs above the 

 water being in proportion to its age. 



Of course no such test can be looked upon 

 as absolutely accurate, but both of these are 

 satisfactory enough to be of the greatest 

 importance commercially. Indeed, anything 

 which concerns the commercial aspect of eggs 

 is of importance, for it is estimated that there 

 are more than a trillion and a half dozens 

 produced in the United States each year. The 



