7 Ways to use eggs in cookery

Eggs are extremely useful food as they are used in making so many different kinds of dishes, either as a full menu or breakfast dishes.

Eggs are an integral part of cookery and they can be used for many purposes including:

The stickiness of the egg helps to attach crumbs or items to food and binds the ingredients together. Examples: you can add an egg yolk to burgers or fish cakes, it will help them to stick together. An egg batter provides a binder for added coating, frequently an outer coating of flour, bread, crumbs or batter is added to food such as meatloaf to enhance its appearance, texture or flavor

Beaten eggs can be used to coat fish or chicken portion before they are dipped into breadcrumbs and fried.  This gives a crisp and attractive finish

If pastry and scones are brushed with beaten egg and milk, they will have a shinny golden brown appearance when cooked

Eggs are used to form stable emulsion when you add an egg or egg yolk to mayonnaise, it helps the oil and vinegar to stay smoothly blend together.  Eggs are also used as emulsifiers in ice creams, cakes and cream puffs

Raw eggs maybe added to hot broths.  Egg whites will hold impurities and bring them to the top of a simmering liquid.   

Egg provides extra flavor and body in sauces and sweets.  You can add a beaten egg to mashed potatoes or a milk pudding to improve the food value and make the dish more nutritious.

Eggs will hold a lot of air when whisked. Eggs will hold the air in small bubbles “to tighten” mixtures by encapsulating air bubbles. You will observe this when making a sponge cake, Pavlova or meringues. All the air held in the mixture by the egg makes the cake light and well risen.

• Eggs should be stored broad end up in cool, clean conditions away from strong smells such as strong cheese, seafood and onions.

• Ideal storage is at 2-5 ⁰C with 85 per cent away from humidity.
• Eggs required for cooking should be allowed to reach a temperature of 20⁰C slowly.
• For pastry work, avoid using eggs directly from the refrigerator