Big list of interesting things about eggs
April 5th 2010 01:04
Eggs are naturally high in protein
A large egg has fewer than five grams of fat, fewer than two grams of saturated fat, and is low in kilojoules/calories
Eggs contain 11 vitamins and minerals. They are a good source of Vitamin B12 which may be lacking in vegetarian diets. Egg yolks are one of few foods that naturally contain Vitamin D.
Eggs are a source of iron, and it is logical to have your eggs with a glass of orange juice because iron is best absorbed from food when Vitamin C is present.
Eggs contain choline, which is necessary for healthy cell membranes in the body. Choline stimulates brain development and function and helps preserve memory.
Eggs contain lutein, which helps prevents age-related cataracts and muscular degeneration. Eggs contain more lutein than spinach and other green vegetables.
Eating two eggs a day will not increase LDL (bad) cholesterol for people with a normal blood cholesterol level
To test the freshness of an egg, put 15 cm/six inches of water in a bowl and place the egg in the water. A very fresh egg will sink to the bottom. A one-week old egg will stand at a 45-degree angle. A three-week old egg will stand upright. Older eggs will float.
An egg will age more in one day at room temperature than in one week kept in the fridge.
To tell if an egg is raw or hard-boiled, place it on your bench top and spin it. If it spins smoothly, it is hard-boiled. A raw egg will wobble.
There are about 17,000 holes in the shell of an egg. These enable air and smells to get in. So store eggs in their carton in the fridge, well away from the Stilton.
A greenish tinge around the yolk of a hard-boiled egg is a result of a reaction between the sulphur in the egg white and the iron in the yolk. It is caused by overcooking.
To cook hard-boil eggs perfectly, place them in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, lower heat until water is simmering, and cook for a further nine minutes. Immediately drain and place into cold water (iced water is best, if you want to be professional) to prevent further cooking.
If you are having trouble peeling a hard-boiled egg, the reason is that it is fresh. The secret of peeling a fresh hard-boiled egg is yet to be discovered. If you want to hard-boil an egg, use one which is at least a week old.
The secret of peeling hard-boiled eggs them is to break the membrane between the shell and the egg. The easiest way is to roll gently on a bench top with the palm of your hand.
It takes about 24 hours for a hen to produce an egg. About half an hour after laying one, she starts work on the next one.
The yolk makes up 31 per cent of an egg's total weight. The yolk itself is 51 per cent water, 30.5 per cent fat and 16 per cent protein. The rest is minerals.
An egg's colour is often ascribed to quality, freshness, nutrients, flavour or cooking characteristics, but is due to none of these. White-shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and white ear lobes, and brown-shelled eggs are produced by hens with red feathers and red ear lobes. Chickens which lay brown eggs are usually larger and require more food, which is why brown eggs usually cost more than white ones.
Older hens tend to lay bigger eggs. Double-yolked eggs are produced by younger hens whose production cycles are not yet synchronised.
The countries with the highest egg consumption are Japan, Mexico, Spain and France. China produces the most eggs, at about 160 billion per year. The US produces about 65 billion and Australia about 3.5 billion.
The smallest egg comes from the Vervain hummingbird. The largest comes from the ostrich. The ostrich egg can weigh almost two kilograms.
A kiwi, which is about the size of a chicken, produces an egg about the size of an ostrich's. A kiwi's egg can account for about 20 per cent of its body weight just before laying, the largest egg-to-body weight ratio of any bird.
Chickens are amongst the first domesticated creatures, appearing in China about 1400 BC. They are descended from the Asian red jungle fowl (gallus gallus spadiceus). There are about 150 chicken species and hundreds of chicken breeds.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The answer, according to the Did you know web site, is as follows: The chicken is the egg’s way of creating another egg.
Do you like cryptic crosswords? Try this one: GSEG (9,4)
Sources: Sunny Queen Farms, Good Weekend magazine (Fairfax media Publications, Australia); Did You Know; images: i.ehow.com, www.apartmenttherapy.com.
An ostrich egg
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