FoodNet

Domestic science (Clark, Cornell home economics)

1911

Page 12

Presented as published in 1911. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
By experiment it was found that at the end of three and a half months eggs that were preserved the first part of August still appeared perfectly fresh. EGGS 29 The water glass solution is now regarded as one of the most popular and widely used preservatives and although it was recently introduced, it has increased the preservation of eggs on a small scale in the home. Eggs can be obtained when cheap and preserved for use in the winter months. They wiU keep for a year and not decay. Digestibility of Eggs. Time and the amount of material which any food gives to the body as it goes through the digestive organs seems to be the test of thoroughness of digestion. At the experi- ment station, fresh raw eggs beaten were found to digest in one and a half hours. Hard-cooked and fried eggs required about three and a half hours for digestion in the stomach. Sofl^cooked eggs, about three hours. The pupUs may like to know that digestion of foods is not completed in the stomach, and that only food that is soluble can pass through the walls of the stomach and intestines and be taken up into the blood to nourish the body. These foods are made soluble by the action of the digestive juices of the stomach. The digestion of an ordinary meal consisting of meat, bread, etc., is from three to three and a half hours. Composition of Eggs — Total Weight SheU about 11% Yolk 32% White 57% General Composition Proteid 14.9% Fat 10.6% Mineral 1% Water 73.5% 30 DOMESTIC SCIENCE Food Value. From this we may conclude eggs have a high food value and ihey are an important article of diet in every household. Eight or nine eggs are equal in nutritive value to a poimd of beef, so when eggs are cheap they are an inexpensive form of nutriment. Food Value. Eggs possess their highest nutritive value when raw. Albumen subjected to a very high temperature of heat becomes indigestible. The yolk of the egg is rich in fat and in sulphur, and therefore the freshness soon departs, so that it should not be retained in the stomach any longer than the average time for digestion. The white contains about two parts fat, while the yolk contains about thirty parts. Eggs are more quickly and easily digested when the yolks and whites are thoroughly beaten together before cooking, as in scrambled eggs. Many people find the yolks of eggs too rich for them, while they eat the whites and digest them easily. It is poor economy to use stale eggs. If possible use fresh eggs, even for cooking, and economize in something else, as fresh eggs properly prepared at breakfast time mean so much to the health and happiness of the members of the famUy. Cooking and Serving Eggs. The methods of serving and cooking eggs are many. They often take the place of meat. Eggs are combined with other ingredients in various made dishes. In this lesson, however, we shall deal pm-ely with the cook- ing of eggs themselves as a special food. Albumen, the most important part of an egg, is said to coagulate or harden at a high temperature EGGS 31 of from 134° F. to 160° F. Therefore it is a mistake to boil eggs. There are two ways of cooking what is called "boiled eggs." 1. Place eggs carefully in any saucepan and cover with cold water, and let them heat gradually until boiling point, 212° F., is reached, when they are "soft cooked." If one has no thermometer, watch the water; when big bubbles appear on the surface, the water is at boiling point. Or, you can now let them boil two or three minutes, if liked a little better done. If liked hard cooked, let them cook from forty to forty-five minutes.