Time required for cooking eggs in water. Since coagulation takes
place at a definite rate, which increases with a rise in temperature, both
the length of time the egg is left in the water and the temperature of the
water affect the coagulation rate, and thus the time necessary for cooking.
At a temperature just a little above the temperature at which coagulation
of the white occurs, 60° to 65°C., a very long time is required to coagulate
the mass of the egg white. If the cooking temperature is 70° or a little
higher, more than an hour is required to coagulate the white and yolk.
At a cooking temperature of 85° to 90°C. from 25 to 35 minutes are
necessary to have the yolk the same consistency throughout. A shorter time
leaves a portion of the egg yolk an orange color, instead of the uniform,
powdery yellow. At the temperature of boiling water about 12 minutes
are required to complete the cooking of the yolk uniformly. With increase
in height above sea level these times are lengthened.
The exact time of cooking at any given temperature depends upon the
temperature of the egg when placed in the water, the quantity of water
in relation to the size of the egg, and the rate of heating the water.
Poached Eggs
Fresh eggs are usually considered better for poaching than eggs in which
the physical quality has deteriorated, i.e., eggs with watery whites. Class
results substantiate this popular opinion, for eggs with thick viscous whites
can be poached satisfactorily with far less care than those with thin whites.
In poaching eggs it is desirable to have the temperature of the water near
the boiling point when the egg is added. Thus the outer portion of the
egg is coagulated in a short period of time. If desired, the cooking can
be completed at a lower temperature.
Since both the white and yolk tend to flatten on standing after being
broken out of the shell, poached eggs of better appearance are usually
obtained if the egg is broken just before it is added to the poaching water.
St. John and Flor have reported that the thin portion of the white coagu-
lates as satisfactorily as the thick portion if ^ teaspoon of salt to a pint of
boiling water is used. The salt aids in coagulation. Eggs with about the
same proportion of thick and thin parts of the white are firmer when poached
in salted than in unsalted water. But for what food teachers call standard
products, eggs poached in unsalted water often have a better appearance
than those poached in salted water. The ones cooked in salted water are
usually not so shiny. Occasionally the reverse is true. The added salt aids
342 EGG COOKERY
in coagulation, so that the thin portion of the white is less readily detached
from the thicker portion. But the appearance of the thin portion after
cooking in the salted water is often more puckered, wrinkled, and ruffled,
or is in voluminous folds around the thicker coagulated part. This detracts
from the appearance. Either a very hard water or a softened water is used
for poaching eggs in class work. It is possible that the natural salt content
of the water may effect coagulation, so that thin watery whites cooked in
Ames's water do not give as good appearing products as those obtained by
St. John and Flor.
The Formation of Ferrous Sulfide in Cooked Eggs
Page 279
Presented as published in 1932. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
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Time required for cooking eggs in water. Since coagulation takes
place at a definite rate, which increases with a rise in temperature, both
the length of time the egg is left in the water and the temperature of the
water affect the coagulation rate, and thus the time necessary for cooking.
At a temperature just a little above the temperature at which coagulation
of the white occurs, 60° to 65°C., a very long time is required to coagulate
the mass of the egg white. If the cooking temperature is 70° or a little
higher, more than an hour is required to coagulate the white and yolk.
At a cooking temperature of 85° to 90°C. from 25 to 35 minutes are
necessary to have the yolk the same consistency throughout. A shorter time
leaves a portion of the egg yolk an orange color, instead of the uniform,
powdery yellow. At the temperature of boiling water about 12 minutes
are required to complete the cooking of the yolk uniformly. With increase
in height above sea level these times are lengthened.
The exact time of cooking at any given temperature depends upon the
temperature of the egg when placed in the water, the quantity of water
in relation to the size of the egg, and the rate of heating the water.
Poached Eggs
Fresh eggs are usually considered better for poaching than eggs in which
the physical quality has deteriorated, i.e., eggs with watery whites. Class
results substantiate this popular opinion, for eggs with thick viscous whites
can be poached satisfactorily with far less care than those with thin whites.
In poaching eggs it is desirable to have the temperature of the water near
the boiling point when the egg is added. Thus the outer portion of the
egg is coagulated in a short period of time. If desired, the cooking can
be completed at a lower temperature.
Since both the white and yolk tend to flatten on standing after being
broken out of the shell, poached eggs of better appearance are usually
obtained if the egg is broken just before it is added to the poaching water.
St. John and Flor have reported that the thin portion of the white coagu-
lates as satisfactorily as the thick portion if ^ teaspoon of salt to a pint of
boiling water is used. The salt aids in coagulation. Eggs with about the
same proportion of thick and thin parts of the white are firmer when poached
in salted than in unsalted water. But for what food teachers call standard
products, eggs poached in unsalted water often have a better appearance
than those poached in salted water. The ones cooked in salted water are
usually not so shiny. Occasionally the reverse is true. The added salt aids
342 EGG COOKERY
in coagulation, so that the thin portion of the white is less readily detached
from the thicker portion. But the appearance of the thin portion after
cooking in the salted water is often more puckered, wrinkled, and ruffled,
or is in voluminous folds around the thicker coagulated part. This detracts
from the appearance. Either a very hard water or a softened water is used
for poaching eggs in class work. It is possible that the natural salt content
of the water may effect coagulation, so that thin watery whites cooked in
Ames's water do not give as good appearing products as those obtained by
St. John and Flor.
The Formation of Ferrous Sulfide in Cooked Eggs