Eggs As every cook knows, eggs are not just the symbol of life, they are the most magical of all ingredients. They are wonderfully versatile and hold incredible powers, which are critical for a host of dishes, from a simple omelette to an exquisite fluffy soufflé. Incidentally, you’ll find both dishes in this chapter and when it comes to that omelette, remember to break up the eggs with a fork, not a whisk. It is difficult to imagine where we would be without eggs – a classic English breakfast without one is unthinkable. Without doubt, this nutrient-packed ovoid is the cook’s best friend, but if you want the egg to be your friend you need to tame and understand it. Always use very fresh eggs, preferably organic, but at least free-range. Egg producers don’t tell us when the eggs were laid, but they do give us a best-before date. You’ll find this on the shell, along with a few red figures that call for a magnifying glass – it’s a bit like trying to crack the Enigma code. O = organic; 1= freerange; 2 = barn egg; 3 = caged (nasty). The little picture of a red lion is important, especially if you intend to use raw eggs for a mayonnaise. The lion has nothing to do with English football, it is the guarantee that the laying hen has been vaccinated against salmonella. Then there is the question of size. I use medium eggs for all my recipes; these weigh approximately 60g.
Crack an egg onto a plate and it will reveal its freshness. The white should be firm, not loose; it should cling tightly to the yolk and be springy to the touch. Note that an orange yolk is not always the sign of a tasty egg. The colour is determined by the chicken’s diet. A corn-fed chicken produces a pale yolk, which in my opinion is the tastiest hen’s egg. The egg white is the ‘lifter’ in dishes. It can be whisked into an extraordinary foam in which billions of air bubbles are harvested and trapped within a protein network. Egg whites whisk most successfully when they are at room temperature (make sure there is no trace of yolk in the white, or grease in the bowl). And add just a dash of lemon juice at the beginning to stop the foam graining. Meringues, of course, make excellent use of this technique, incorporating sugar into the foam to give a glossy, thick texture. As I adore them, they feature in two of the desserts in this chapter – pavlova with summer berries and îles flottantes (façon Maman Blanc). They are best eaten on the day they are cooked. The protein-packed egg yolk also has impressive culinary properties. It enriches and thickens many recipes, including crème anglaise. Egg yolks and sugar whip up to an airy mousse, creating sabayons and sponges. And brushed onto bread and pastry, beaten egg yolk bakes to an appetising golden glaze.
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