All about Eggs

by Simona Pruiti Ciarello

Good morning my dear readers, how are you?

I'm here again to delight you (at least I hope) with a new article, this time I was inspired by my latest purchase made on Segni Particolari: the egg house.
I literally fell in love with it at first sight and when it arrived I was truly speechless. A kitchen accessory that I must say adapts to all styles, as well as being beautiful it is certainly very useful, but above all trendy. What is it for? to store eggs in a functional and graceful way.

Today we could only talk about eggs. The various types, their conservation, nutritional values, benefits and contraindications and much more.

Obviously it's a topic we already know a lot about, but probably still something we're missing, so here I am to fill in your every gap on the subject.

Speaking of eggs in general, without any specification, we are referring to chicken eggs. Food rich in iron and protein, free of carbohydrates, calcium and vitamin C. For this reason it cannot be considered a complete food, from a nutritional point of view it is not. However, it is undoubtedly an excellent reserve to accumulate high quality proteins, and a good load of Vitamin A and D.

How do we recognize a fresh egg? There are some tests that you can easily do at home, such as the egg floating test.

It is necessary to immerse it in a basin of water with 10% of cooking salt, since the fresh egg has a higher specific weight, once immersed it will settle on the bottom, on the contrary if the egg is not fresh it will start to rise from the bottom until it floats to the surface.

How do we store them?

• At room temperature for 10-15 days in winter and 4-5 days in summer.
• Refrigerated: if kept at -1°C the eggs will keep for up to 6 months (in the fridge at home where the temperature is +4°C and is certainly less stable they can be kept for 20 days)

We have different types of eggs, not only chicken eggs, but we find quail eggs, which after chicken eggs are the best known in the kitchen, guinea fowl, turkey, duck, goose, ostrich eggs. For the more curious in the kitchen, eggs really open up a world of possibilities

At this point the classic question arises: how many can you eat?
There have always been many studies on the matter, but according to a recent one published in Nutrients, eating 2 eggs for breakfast doesn't hurt, however doctors always recommend not to exceed 4-5 eggs per week. Also because if on the one hand they contain proteins, iron, zinc and other vitamins, the excess content of lipids inside them can increase cholesterol levels.

We also know that with eggs there is always the risk of Salmonella, how can we avoid it and stay calm? Definitely preferring the consumption of cooked egg, cooking in fact reduces the bacterial load, not only in eggs, but in all foods.

We go to the kitchen
After this more or less general overview of the subject, let's move directly to the kitchen. We know that eggs can be eaten alone or in many recipes, from starters to desserts. They have a fundamental function, that is, they act as a link in many preparations, giving them compactness. But very often people are intolerant or are vegan by choice, so the problem arises of how to replace them. It is necessary to go and replace them with the correct foods based on the preparation.

What are these substitutes?

• flax seeds (substitute par excellence because it adapts to sweet and savory bases)
• black chia seeds
• half a ripe banana or half a mashed apple
• vegetable oil
• apple cider vinegar combined with baking soda
• tofu
• potato starch

And the omelette without eggs? Yes you can!

 Combine 150 ml of soy milk with 50g of flour + 50 g of chickpea flour and half a teaspoon of bicarbonate, softening everything with a couple of grated zucchini. And that's it, omelette cooked and served!

Poached egg recipe
But for egg lovers, a real must have is the poached egg. So here is the perfect recipe.

I rely on Giallo Zafferano to make no mistakes and therefore I leave you the link to their recipe: click here to go to the original recipe .

Fill a large saucepan with water leaving 4-5 cm from the edge, over moderate heat, pour white wine vinegar and coarse salt, when the salt has dissolved and the water starts to boil slightly, lower the heat and start stirring constantly in the same direction to create a vortex in the water. Break an egg into a small bowl and pour it into that vortex, let it cook for 2 minutes without stirring or moving the egg, after these 2 minutes you will get a liquid yolk (you can slightly extend the cooking time if you want). Gently drain the egg with the help of a slotted spoon and place it on a plate.

We have reached the end of this article of mine, I hope this time too I have intrigued you, I greet you with the photo of my sweet little egg house, I can only warmly recommend it!

The author of this article is Simona, if you want to continue following her here are her social references:

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