Tips for Eggs

¦The whites of eggs will whip more readily if a pinch of salt is added to them.

¦When cream will not whip, add the white of an egg to your cream–chill it and it will whip.

¦If egg yolks become stringy after being added to hot puddings, especially tapioca, use a beater; the lumps will adhere to the beater and leave the pudding smooth.

¦Eggs beat up lighter and make finer cake when not too cold. They should be at cool room temperature (60°F. to 70°F.) for best results. When making sponge cakes, especially angel food, remove eggs from refrigerator several hours before using.

¦Don’t wash eggs before storing. Water destroys the protective film that keeps out air and odors.

¦The fresher the egg, the harder it is to remove the shell of hard-cooked eggs. Use eggs you’ve had the longest.

¦To prevent eggs from cracking when added to boiling water, let stand in warm water a few minutes while cooking water is being brought to boiling point.

¦After hard-cooking eggs, dip eggs immediately in cold water to stop cooking, otherwise they continue to cook when removed from hot water.

¦Dark rings around the egg yolks of hard-cooked eggs are caused by cooking too long or at too high a temperature. Always chill rapidly.

¦To prevent curdling when making custards, mix sugar with egg, add hot liquid, a little at a time. Cook over hot not boiling water or over very low heat. Do not overcook.

¦Many cook books advise taking eggs out of the refrigerator long enough before using them to allow them to warm up to room temperature. This is only necessary if making recipes where fat, sugar and eggs must be blended together. Cold eggs will harden the fat and the batter looks curdled, and this may affect the texture of the finished product.

¦The color of the egg shell has nothing to do with the quality of an egg. Buy brown or white eggs, whichever are cheaper. Old ones are smooth and shiny while fresh eggs are rough and chalky in appearance.