Foods and home making

agreeable odor. When an egg is broken open there are several things to notice. (See Figure 31.) The egg is not fit to use if : 1. There is an unpleasant odor. 2. The yolk is stuck to the shell. 3. The white and yolk are mixed together or the white is streaked with the yolk. In a fresh egg there is a membrane which separates the yolk from the white. When an egg spoils this membrane disappears DO YOU KNOW A GOOD EGG? A clear firm white An upstanding yolk A good flavor A strong shell U. S. Department of Agriculture Figure 31. A Good Egg Notice that the yolk is distinctly separated from the white. and the white and the yolk run together. It sometimes happens that an egg shell may be carelessly broken so that this membrane will break also. You can tell whether such an egg is fit to eat Eggs, Bacon, and Other Breakfast Dishes 95 by looking carefully at the yolk and white. If the egg white is thick and clear and if the yolk is thick and yellow , the egg is probably good. Some fresh egg yolks are of a much lighter yellow than others. This difference is due to the kind of hen or to the kind of food fed to the hen. Where and how should eggs be kept in your home ? Keep eggs in a cool place. They spoil more quickly in a warm place. Some time before beating eggs, remove them from the refrigerator. At room temperature eggs beat up more readily than when cold. Before using eggs, the shells should be washed. Do not wash eggs (unless they are very dirty) before putting away in the refrigerator. When eggs are washed a coating on the shell is removed and the shell becomes more porous. This makes the egg spoil more readily. Have you ever noticed that an egg yolk from which the white has been separated soon dries up ? Drying of an egg yolk may be prevented by covering it with cold water. If the membrane covering the yolk has not been broken, the water can be poured off when the yolk is to be used. Egg whites keep much better than egg yolks. Both egg yolks and egg whites should be kept in a cold place. In the spring and summer when hens lay more eggs than in the winter months, it is sometimes a good thing to store some of the eggs so they will keep. The best way to do this in the home is to cover the eggs with a mixture of water glass and water. Put the eggs in an earthenware crock or glass jar. Do not use a metal container. Scald the crock or jar before adding the eggs. Pour into the crock the water glass and water mixture. Not all the eggs need to be put in the crock at one time. The eggs may be added as they accumulate. Keep the crock in a cool place. For 14 to 16 dozen of eggs stored in a 5-gallon crock, buy (at the drug store) 1 quart of water glass. Water glass is sold usually in liquid form — it should be about as thick as molasses. Poil 96 Breakfast and cool io quarts of water. Add the quart of water glass; mix well. Why should eggs be soft-cooked rather than soft-boiled?