All About Eggs

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All About Eggs

Practically everyone in your operation is familiar with eggs. Not only are eggs extremely functional, they have enormous applications, from garnishes to side dishes, appetizers to entrees. Eggs are also economical when compared with other sources of protein. Eggs require little labor to prepare. Add that to their low cost and you can see the real financial benefit of cooking with eggs.

Knowing how to safely buy, store, handle and cook eggs, and the foods that contain eggs, is important. Read on for a quick review of egg handling, preparation, storage and safety.

Storage Tips

Refrigerate at 45 degrees F or below. Do not freeze.
Store shell eggs in their case and away from foods with strong odors, such as fish, cabbage, or onions.
Rotate: first in, first out.
Eggs can be kept refrigerated in their carton for at least four to five weeks beyond the pack date.

Handling Tips

Always wash hands when handling eggs.
Take out only as many eggs as needed for immediate use. Do not stack egg trays near the grill.
Use only clean, un-cracked eggs.
Eggs should not be washed before using. They are washed and sanitized before they are packed.
Never mix the shell with the internal contents of an egg.
Do not re-use a container after it has had a raw egg mixture in it. Clean and sanitize it thoroughly before using it again.

Preparation Tips

It's not necessary to cook eggs until hard or rubbery in order to kill any bacteria that may be present. Egg whites coagulate between 144 degrees F and 149 degrees F, and yolks between 149 degrees F and 158 degrees F. Therefore, whole eggs cooked until the white is set (completely coagulated and firm) and the yolk beginning to thicken (no longer runny but not hard) are considered to have met necessary time and temperature requirements for safety. Scrambled eggs need to be cooked until firm throughout.

Cooking Times

(All guides reference a cooking surface temperature of 250 degrees F.)

Scrambled: 1 minute
Poached: 5 minutes in boiling water
Sunnyside: 7 minutes uncovered or 4 minutes covered
Fried, over easy: 3 minutes
Soft-cooked: 7 minutes in boiling water
Hard Boiled: Cover eggs with enough water to come at least two inches above the eggs. Cover the pan and bring to a rapid boil. Turn off the heat. (If necessary, remove the pan from the burner to prevent further boiling.) Let eggs stand covered in the hot water 15 to 20 minutes for large eggs. Adjust the time up or down by 3 minutes for each size larger or smaller. Immediately run cold water over the eggs or put them in ice water until they are completely cooled. Refrigerate immediately and use within one week.

Egg Safety

A good rule of thumb is that whole eggs should be cooked until the white is completely coagulated (set) with the yolk beginning to thicken.
Cook scrambled eggs in small batches (no larger than 3 quarts) until there is no visible liquid egg, according to the rate of service.
Pooling eggs, the practice of breaking large quantities of eggs together and holding before or after cooking, greatly increases the risk of bacteria contamination.
Never leave eggs or egg-containing dishes at room temperature for more than one hour, including preparation and service.
Egg dishes for those who are pregnant, elderly, very young, or ill should be thoroughly cooked.
Hold cold egg dishes below 40 degrees F.
Hold hot egg dishes above 140 degrees F. Do not hold hot foods on a buffet line for longer than 30 minutes.
Do not combine eggs that have been held in a steam table pan with a fresh batch of eggs. Always use a fresh steam table pan.
Do not add raw egg mixture to a batch of cooked scrambled eggs to be held on a steam table.
When refrigerating a large quantity of hot, egg-rich dishes or leftovers, divide into several shallow containers so they will cool quickly.

"Egg-citing" Facts

Egg yolks and whites separate best when cold. Egg whites will beat to a better volume if they're allowed to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before beating.
A hard cooked egg will peel more easily if the egg to be hard-cooked is one or two weeks old.
Eggs age more in one day at room temperature than in one week in the refrigerator.
A large egg contains only 75 calories and five grams of fat.
If you drop an egg, sprinkle it heavily with salt to make clean-up easier.
Spin an egg to find out if it's raw or hard-cooked. Raw eggs will wobble. Hard-cooked will spin.
There is no difference in white and brown eggs. The color of the shell is determined by the breed of the hen and has nothing to do with the nutritive value or cooking characteristics. However, because birds that lay brown eggs are slightly larger and require more feed, brown eggs tend to be more expensive than white.

Substitutions

There are no substitutions between large, extra large, and medium sized eggs when the recipe calls for one to three eggs.
When the recipe calls for four large eggs substitute four extra large and five medium.
When the recipe calls for five large eggs substitute four extra large and seven medium.
When the recipe calls for ten large eggs substitute eight extra large and 14 medium.
When the recipe calls for 25 large eggs substitute 20 extra large and 35 medium.

Substituting Frozen Eggs for Fresh Eggs

Whole Egg

1 is equivalent to 1 3/4 oz. or 3 Tbsp
10 is equivalent to 1 lb. 1 3/4 oz. or 2 cups
12 is equivalent to 1 lb. 5 1/2 oz. or 2 1/2 cups
25 is equivalent to 2 lb. 13 oz. or 1 qt. 1 1/4 cups
50 is equivalent to 5 lb. 8 oz. or 2 qts. 2 1/2 cups

Yolks

1 is equivalent to 7 1/4 oz. or 3/4 cup
12 is equivalent to 8 1/2 oz. ounce or 3/4 cup 2 Tbsp
22 is equivalent to 1 lb. ounce or 2 cups less 2 Tbsp

Whites

10 is equivalent to 11 1/2 oz. or 1 1.4 cups less 2 Tbsp
12 is equivalent to 14 oz. or 1 1/2 cups less 2 Tbsp
14 is equivalent to 1 lb. or 2 cups less 2 Tbsp

Egg Sizes

Jumbo: 30 oz./doz.
Extra Large: 27 oz. / doz.
Large: 24 oz. / doz.
Medium: 21 oz. / doz.
Small: 18 oz. / doz.

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