A text-book of cooking

If hard-cooked eggs are not well masticated, they are apt to cause distress during digestion. To insure thorough mastication, it is well to chop them fine and mix them with some other food (see Goldenrod Eggs, p. 91). Hard-cooked eggs used in this way cause no digestive disturbances to the normal person. Is it possible to cook eggs hard in water that is below the boiling point ? Explain your answer. Why should eggs be called hard- or soft-cooked rather than hard- or soft-boiled f LESSON XXIV Eggs : Digestion of Protein The digestion of protein begins in the stomach and continues in the intestines. The pepsin and hydrochloric acid of the stomach, the trypsin of the pancreatic juice, and the erepsin of the intestinal juice change protein into soluble forms. Experiment 37 : Digestion of Protein. — With a fork break 2 teaspoonfuls of a soft-cooked white of an egg into fine pieces. Add to it 7 teaspoonfuls of the diluted hydrochloric acid solution. 1 Rub the bits of egg-white with a spoon against the sides of the dish. Then add one teaspoonful of acid pepsin solution. 1 Pour the mixture into a bot- 1 Note to the Teacher. — For the dilute hydrochloric acid solution use 5 cubic centimeters (1 teaspoonful) of hydrochloric acid with 295 cubic centimeters (H cupfuls) of distilled water. For the acid pepsin solution use ^ gram (| teaspoonful) of pepsin with 150 cubic centimeters (§ cupful) of the dilute hydrochloric acid solution. EGGS: DIGESTION OF PROTEIN 91 tie or test tube, cork, place in warm water (about 126° F.), and set aside in a warm place. After 1£ hours examine. Is the white of egg or albumin dissolved, i.e. digested ? Tell how this may be compared with the digestion of protein in the stomach. Experiment 38 : Effect of Vinegar on Albumin. — Add some vinegar to a little egg-white. Allow to stand, and after a few minutes, examine. How has the egg been changed by the acid ? What practical application in the cooking of eggs can be made from this experiment ? (See Poached Egg below.) POACHED EGG Fill a shallow pan about two thirds full of boiling water. Add % teaspoonful of salt and 1 teaspoonful of vinegar to each pint of water ; place buttered muffin rings in the pan. Break separately each egg into a saucer and carefully slip it into a buttered muffin ring. Cover the pan and place it where the water will keep hot but not boil. Let stand (about 5 minutes) until the white is coagulated and a film covers the yolk. Take up with a skimmer, drain, place on slices of toast, and serve at once. An egg poacher may be used in place of the muffin rings, or the water in the pan may be stirred in a circular motion and the eggs dropped at once into the " whirlpool." This tends to keep the white of egg from separating into pieces. GOLDENROD EGGS 4 hard-cooked eggs 1£ tablespoonfuls butter 2 tablespoonfuls flour 1£ cupfuls milk i teaspoonful pepper 6 pieces of toast } teaspoonful salt Parsley Separate the yolk and white of the cooked eggs, and chop the whites. Make a white sauce of flour, seasoning, butter, and milk. Add the chopped egg whites to the sauce and pour it over the toast. Press the yolks through a strainer or crush them with a fork and sprinkle them over the top of the toast. Garnish with parsley and serve at once. If the crusts are not cut from bread in making toast, it is well to dip the edges of each slice of toast for an instant in hot, salted water before adding the sauce. (See Cream Toast, p. 57.) Explain why the chopped hard-cooked eggs in Goldenrod Eggs should be more easily digested than plain hard-cooked eggs. (See Experiment 9, p. 20). LESSON XXV Eggs: Omelets (I) To Break an Egg and Separate the White and Yolk. — An