I Like Eggs

[Margot]

Nosing around in blogs and forums today, I came across an interesting piece about eggs. Eggs are funny. In Europe, they do not refrigerate them. In the US, it is recommended that they do get refrigerated. That I knew, but how necessary is it. I think the bottom line about eggs is that s long s you keep them in a cool dry place and at a constant temperature, they will last. That article said that refrigerated eggs will last three to four weeks. I agree, but as I go through about three dozen eggs a week, I've never had the opportunity to test it.

I grew up on a dairy farm, and once we sold that when I was three years old, we moved to a country home. It had a shed. I also had an older sister. She was in 4-H. 4-H was a country thing - a club that boys and girls could join to enhance or increase their skills in home life, gardening, cooking or animals. The four H's stood for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. My sister took on animals, I went to cooking. Her animals consisted of thirty baby chicks that grew into hens. The roosters were culled out at infancy by the seller. Agway comes to mind. The roosters went on to be oven stuffer roasters in another venue. Jenny, my sister, was into it for the eggs.

I think I was about seven at the time we had those birds. I learned a few things about them. They are not cuddly beings. If a bird is on a nest at egg gathering time, you may get pecked. I cracked and broke a lot of eggs trying to get one out from under an old biddy. It was a peck and jerk reflex. They are also stupid. I bring the food and water and they never seemed grateful about that. You can see that these birds did become part of my responsibility, too. That's how it is in family life.

If you've read my article on 'Amateur in the Kitchen', you will know that I started cooking at an early age. Seven, actually, with a mishap in making whoopee pies. So, with this early start in baking, I got used to really fresh eggs. I have a few things to impart to you about them.

According to the article, I mentioned earlier, eggs will last for three to four weeks. Then, if they smell bad, well, they are bad and throw them out. I think that was kind of obvious. But after years of chickens and eggs, knowing which one to use for fried eggs and which to use in baked goods is handy. A really fresh egg has a white that is cloudy. As it ages, the white clears. A really fresh yolk is deep yellow and sometimes more orange than yellow. When popped into a hot skillet for fried eggs, that yolk will stand up with a well-rounded dome. A yolk that lays down flat in the pan has aged. Each egg when laid has an air sack at the pointed end of the egg. As the egg ages, the air sack becomes larger. It becomes so large that the egg will float in a glass of water. Yes. This does affect the taste of that breakfast egg. No. It is fine for baking. I make a lot of deviled eggs. An air sack that is large will change the shape of that deviled egg and make presentation awkward.

If you want to smell your egg to see if it is bad, do so cautiously. A bad egg will reek of sulfur dioxide. Think catalytic converter odor, or someone with really bad gas. It is unmistakable. You do not have to stick your nose into the dish to get a whiff. You'll know immediately.

I had real experience with bad eggs. A childhood friend's grandparents owned a chicken and egg ranch next door. When they retired and sent the last of the chickens to market, the barn was left empty for several months. This friend and I explored the ranch and came upon several eggs that were never gathered. It was August and it was a hot one. We gathered those eggs, hid behind a huge oak tree and threw eggs at passing cars. We were caught of course and punished accordingly. But the smell of those rotten eggs permeated the neighborhood for a long time.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Some years ago I spent some time at a culinary school in Italy. And you're correct they do not refrigerate their eggs in Europe.

The chicken eggs in Italy are not infected with salmonella. Food regulations in Italy mandate salmonella inoculation and testing of hens used in egg production. The eggs in Italy are actually stamped with a seal to indicate they are from hens that have tested negative for salmonella.

Salmonella infects the ovaries of the hen; so the infection is in the yolk. That's why egg whites can be left on the counter for several days in the production of macarons without the risk of salmonella. Nonetheless, I still will not leave egg whites out on the counter any longer than necessary to bring to the temperature I need for baking.

Since we do not vaccinate chickens for salmonella in the United States, our hens and eggs have a high rate of salmonella infection. Consequently, some countries, like Italy, strictly prohibits the import of all American eggs and chickens into their country. According to the Center for Diease Control, 53% of salmonella infections reported in the United States are attributed to our eggs.

Another issue is the washing of the eggs. Americans, Japanese, Australians, and Scandinavians wash the eggs as soon as they are collected. The washing removes a very thin protective layer over the egg shell. That natural protective layer inhibits bacteria from penetrating the porous eggshell and infecting the chick. So once the egg is washed and that protective layer is removed the egg is susceptible to bacterial infection through the shell. To reduce the risk of bacterial invasion through the eggshell, we apply a thin layer of oil on the egg, then place it in a refrigerator.

There certainly is a marked difference in the flavor and look of a fresh egg opposed to a commercially produced egg. If given the choice I will take that fresh egg every time.

 

[ChesterV]

Interesting.........


I was led to believe that American eggs need to stay cold, because we buy things in bulk. Europeans buy things as they need them, they don't stock things up like Americans do.

Because Americans are pretty much hoarders in all areas of life, we will buy eggs for the next few weeks, not just today. Europeans buy eggs for that day, or the next couple of days, but rarely for more than a week. Hence the fact that European kitchens are small and don't have large fridges and freezers like American kitchens do.


Or so I've been told...........

 

[ChesterV]

MY favorite kind of egg product...........

 

[Norcalbaker59]

MY favorite kind of egg product...........

Oh yes! Deviled Eggs are hip again too! I live in the middle of wine country. There's several places in the valley where deviled eggs are alive and well on the menu. It's good to see a classic among all that fou fou food

 

[ChesterV]

Oh yes! Deviled Eggs are hip again too! I live in the middle of wine country. There's several places in the valley where deviled eggs are alive and well on the menu. It's good to see a classic among all that fou fou food

Close to Napa huh? I was stuck in CA for 4 years in the early 2000's. I have to say, I did not like CA at all.
Although I met two good friends there.

I wasn't able to afford to visit all the places I wanted to visit, but I did go to Napa a couple of times...there was a neat little bakery downtown I liked. They had mini cakes. Decorated like regular cakes, but miniature! I wondered how she made the little round cake layers, I thought she might have gotten hold of some specialty pans.......but no.......

One day I stopped in there and she had the kitchen door open so you saw the work table in the back. She had a large sheet cake laid on the table and was cutting out small round cake layers with a soup can!!!!!


It made me appreciate her work all that much more, being ingenious like that and not wasting cans, but using them as cutters!!! Just like my granny did with biscuits!!!

I was very happy to finally get out of CA, but I sure miss that little bakery!!!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Close to Napa huh? I was stuck in CA for 4 years in the early 2000's. I have to say, I did not like CA at all.
Although I met two good friends there.

I wasn't able to afford to visit all the places I wanted to visit, but I did go to Napa a couple of times...there was a neat little bakery downtown I liked. They had mini cakes. Decorated like regular cakes, but miniature! I wondered how she made the little round cake layers, I thought she might have gotten hold of some specialty pans.......but no.......

One day I stopped in there and she had the kitchen door open so you saw the work table in the back. She had a large sheet cake laid on the table and was cutting out small round cake layers with a soup can!!!!!


It made me appreciate her work all that much more, being ingenious like that and not wasting cans, but using them as cutters!!! Just like my granny did with biscuits!!!

I was very happy to finally get out of CA, but I sure miss that little bakery!!!

Yes, California isn't for everyone.

I'm about a 30 minute drive from Napa, just outside a town called St. Helena.

But I frequently go to Napa. There are two bakeries in downtown Napa. I'm thinking it was probably Sweetie Pies. I know one of the bakers there. Aside from their shop, they sell their mini cakes and goods in specialty stores and shops in the area.

They make a gluten-free chocolate Swiss roll cake. But it's too sweet for my palate. My brother's family really likes their pies. So I've gifted pies to him from Sweetie Pies.

For a few years there was an excellent all gluten free bakery in Napa. But closed last year. I wasn't surprised as the final year saw a significant drop in quality.

I love Northern California, but not a fan of the Southern part of the state. Loved Virginia, but not the winters. Loved Florida, but not the summers. Northern California seems to have the weather I like best. I didn't care for Houston much when I lived there either. I mentioned my son and daughter-in-law live in the suburbs Dallas. I much prefer the Dallas area to Houston. But if I were going to choose any city to live in in Texas it would be Austin.

My daughter-in-law went to school there. She kept telling me I needed to visit Austin and I thought what could be so great about a town overrun with a bunch of college kids. Then I've visited. Wow, what a great city. Everything from the beautiful state capital building to the quirky evening flight of the bats makes the city a pleasure to visit.

 

[ChesterV]

Yes, California isn't for everyone.

I'm about a 30 minute drive from Napa, just outside a town called St. Helena.

But I frequently go to Napa. There are two bakeries in downtown Napa. I'm thinking it was probably Sweetie Pies. I know one of the bakers there. Aside from their shop, they sell their mini cakes and goods in specialty stores and shops in the area.

They make a gluten-free chocolate Swiss roll cake. But it's too sweet for my palate. My brother's family really likes their pies. So I've gifted pies to him from Sweetie Pies.

For a few years there was an excellent all gluten free bakery in Napa. But closed last year. I wasn't surprised as the final year saw a significant drop in quality.

I love Northern California, but not a fan of the Southern part of the state. Loved Virginia, but not the winters. Loved Florida, but not the summers. Northern California seems to have the weather I like best. I didn't care for Houston much when I lived there either. I mentioned my son and daughter-in-law live in the suburbs Dallas. I much prefer the Dallas area to Houston. But if I were going to choose any city to live in in Texas it would be Austin.

My daughter-in-law went to school there. She kept telling me I needed to visit Austin and I thought what could be so great about a town overrun with a bunch of college kids. Then I've visited. Wow, what a great city. Everything from the beautiful state capital building to the quirky evening flight of the bats makes the city a pleasure to visit.

I did not have any good experiences in CA, other than FINALLY making it to Carmel in hopes of catching a glimpse of Doris Day!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Doris Day!!!!!!!!!!!!

I REALLY wanted to go see the Sequoia's and visit that haunted hotel thats in the middle of a forest there (a river runs through it). I passed through Monterrey and its sister town going to Carmel. Passed through San Jose on the way back.

I lived in Fairfield, halfway between San Fran and Sac. Sac freaked me out a bit.....it was SOOOO much like Dallas, minus the huge downtown area. San Fran was interesting, but it stank bad, and was pretty awful, other than a few of the sites I saw there. I really wanted to see the Victorian homes there, but had no idea where they were or how to get to them.

The ONLY place I really did like was Walnut Creek. I even tried to find a job there and a place to live, but it was during the recession and nobody was hiring admin's.

I've been to Miami, which was nice. It was actually the Miami/Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale area. LOVED Fort Lauderdale (out of college season). Nice, clean, quiet......even tried to find a job there, but no luck.

Where ever I've gone, I've always ended up back in the DFW area. For all its horrors, it still ends up being better than the other places I visit.

Although, if I had the money, I'd love to retire to Montana.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I did not have any good experiences in CA, other than FINALLY making it to Carmel in hopes of catching a glimpse of Doris Day!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Doris Day!!!!!!!!!!!!

I REALLY wanted to go see the Sequoia's and visit that haunted hotel thats in the middle of a forest there (a river runs through it). I passed through Monterrey and its sister town going to Carmel. Passed through San Jose on the way back.

I lived in Fairfield, halfway between San Fran and Sac. Sac freaked me out a bit.....it was SOOOO much like Dallas, minus the huge downtown area. San Fran was interesting, but it stank bad, and was pretty awful, other than a few of the sites I saw there. I really wanted to see the Victorian homes there, but had no idea where they were or how to get to them.

The ONLY place I really did like was Walnut Creek. I even tried to find a job there and a place to live, but it was during the recession and nobody was hiring admin's.

I've been to Miami, which was nice. It was actually the Miami/Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale area. LOVED Fort Lauderdale (out of college season). Nice, clean, quiet......even tried to find a job there, but no luck.

Where ever I've gone, I've always ended up back in the DFW area. For all its horrors, it still ends up being better than the other places I visit.

Although, if I had the money, I'd love to retire to Montana.

Ohhhhh, you poor woman. No wonder you hated California! Fairfield is not a nice place at all.

Walnut Creek is lovely. I lived there in the late 90's. But it's too crowded for me now. I still go there to shop. The downtown is really nice. Napa suffered a bad earthquake a couple of years ago. Most of the buildings downtown were badly damaged. So the downtown is being rebuilt to be an open mall style like Walnut Creek. There's pros and cons. The pros are we won't have to drive to Walnut Creek or Santa Rosa or out to Marin County to shop for clothing. There's no mall in Napa County. It's all vineyards. So having some national retail stores will be a nice addition to downtown Napa. But then the independent shops get displaced.

They completed a renovation of the riverfront about two years ago. It was for flood control, but they also wanted to make it aesthetically beautiful and usable space. So the riverfront is just a beautiful now. It's turning into quite a restaurant center, so lots of tourists. We have a love/hate thing with the tourists. It's great for the local economy, but they clog the roads and drive the cost of everything up. I was in the local kitchen wares store a while back. One of the owners there was talking about how she can't even take her grandchildren out for lunch in Napa anymore. A friggin sandwich costs $12 or more. And the kids have developed a sophisticated palates. Her grandkids are 10 and 12. When she said she would make lunch at home, they asked for grilled a salmon panini. Whatever happened to mac & cheese?

 

[ChesterV]

Ohhhhh, you poor woman. No wonder you hated California! Fairfield is not a nice place at all.

Walnut Creek is lovely. I lived there in the late 90's. But it's too crowded for me now. I still go there to shop. The downtown is really nice. Napa suffered a bad earthquake a couple of years ago. Most of the buildings downtown were badly damaged. So the downtown is being rebuilt to be an open mall style like Walnut Creek. There's pros and cons. The pros are we won't have to drive to Walnut Creek or Santa Rosa or out to Marin County to shop for clothing. There's no mall in Napa County. It's all vineyards. So having some national retail stores will be a nice addition to downtown Napa. But then the independent shops get displaced.

They completed a renovation of the riverfront about two years ago. It was for flood control, but they also wanted to make it aesthetically beautiful and usable space. So the riverfront is just a beautiful now. It's turning into quite a restaurant center, so lots of tourists. We have a love/hate thing with the tourists. It's great for the local economy, but they clog the roads and drive the cost of everything up. I was in the local kitchen wares store a while back. One of the owners there was talking about how she can't even take her grandchildren out for lunch in Napa anymore. A friggin sandwich costs $12 or more. And the kids have developed a sophisticated palates. Her grandkids are 10 and 12. When she said she would make lunch at home, they asked for grilled a salmon panini. Whatever happened to mac & cheese?

Woman? Uhhhhhhhmmmmmmm............
Well, don't know how you got that from "Chester", but ok. LMAO


Honestly, the people there were contemptuous, mean, violent, corrupt, and abusive.
The company I worked for while I was stuck there, stole money out of employees paychecks.
I mean, right out in the open too! We had proof in writing and on our time sheets. The government did NOTHING. The state did NOTHING. No lawyer would even talk to us about it. I was screwed out of at least $5,000 while I worked there. My friend was screwed out of considerably a lot more, since she was there longer.

Rent and mortgages are astronomical, and there is OPEN LAND for as far as you can see!!! Most of that state is undeveloped land!!! And yet they cram pack houses and building together and charge quadruple what should be charged! And there is no reason for it!

The thing that made me most upset, besides the corrupt businesses and government offices there, was the fact that there is only ONE or TWO roads going anywhere! I'm so used to having 100 different ways to get someplace, in all the other states I've lived in, but in CA, you have one or two choices, thats ALL you have!!!!
I mean, really.......that state is just beyond inept and corrupt....Websters needs to develop a new word just for them!

Yes, there were a FEW nice people there I met, but the percentage of the nice people were about 5 nice to 50,000 violent and mean.

Seriously, I thought I would hate Florida and love California the way people talked about those places. But it was completely opposite for me!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Woman? Uhhhhhhhmmmmmmm............
Well, don't know how you got that from "Chester", but ok. LMAO


Honestly, the people there were contemptuous, mean, violent, corrupt, and abusive.
The company I worked for while I was stuck there, stole money out of employees paychecks.
I mean, right out in the open too! We had proof in writing and on our time sheets. The government did NOTHING. The state did NOTHING. No lawyer would even talk to us about it. I was screwed out of at least $5,000 while I worked there. My friend was screwed out of considerably a lot more, since she was there longer.

Rent and mortgages are astronomical, and there is OPEN LAND for as far as you can see!!! Most of that state is undeveloped land!!! And yet they cram pack houses and building together and charge quadruple what should be charged! And there is no reason for it!

The thing that made me most upset, besides the corrupt businesses and government offices there, was the fact that there is only ONE or TWO roads going anywhere! I'm so used to having 100 different ways to get someplace, in all the other states I've lived in, but in CA, you have one or two choices, thats ALL you have!!!!
I mean, really.......that state is just beyond inept and corrupt....Websters needs to develop a new word just for them!

Yes, there were a FEW nice people there I met, but the percentage of the nice people were about 5 nice to 50,000 violent and mean.

Seriously, I thought I would hate Florida and love California the way people talked about those places. But it was completely opposite for me!

HAHAHA...OMG, I'm so sorry. I had a senior moment. Margo wrote about the coffee pot and mentioned the husband is gone and the kids are grown. For some reason I confused her post with you. I guess because I talk to you more than anyone else on this forum.

Then you talked about your friend Sylvia, how you finish each other's sentences, I thought, "oh, that's such a nice girlfriend thang."

Strange I would make that assumption given over the years my closest friends have always been males. I was very athletic and had little interest in hanging out at the mall. It seemed the only friends willing to go hiking, cycling, running, and skiing were guys. So I ended up hanging out with the guys.

I just thought the name Chester V was the cat from your high school, that your profile pic and screen name was a tribute to that cat.

Yes the prices in California for housing is ridiculous. But property taxes in Texas are astronomical. When the real estate agent quoted the annual estimated property tax for our house she handed me the number on the sheet, I looked at her, looked at the sheet again, I looked at her and she said, "No it's not an error, it's that much. Everyone that moves to Texas from another state always thinks it's an error. It's not, it's that much." The bill that they sent us every year from the local school district based on the value of our home, in which we had to write a check directly to the school district there in Texas, was over $8000! Our total property taxes were over $15,000 per year! That was on a house that was half the price of the house we purchased in California. In California our house was twice as much money but our taxes were just over $3500 a year.

So you can't win… They're going to get you no matter where you live

 

[ChesterV]

HAHAHA...OMG, I'm so sorry. I had a senior moment. Margo wrote about the coffee pot and mentioned the husband is gone and the kids are grown. For some reason I confused her post with you. I guess because I talk to you more than anyone else on this forum.

Then you talked about your friend Sylvia, how you finish each other's sentences, I thought, "oh, that's such a nice girlfriend thang."

Strange I would make that assumption given over the years my closest friends have always been males. I was very athletic and had little interest in hanging out at the mall. It seemed the only friends willing to go hiking, cycling, running, and skiing were guys. So I ended up hanging out with the guys.

I just thought the name Chester V was the cat from your high school, that your profile pic and screen name was a tribute to that cat.

Yes the prices in California for housing is ridiculous. But property taxes in Texas are astronomical. When the real estate agent quoted the annual estimated property tax for our house she handed me the number on the sheet, I looked at her, looked at the sheet again, I looked at her and she said, "No it's not an error, it's that much. Everyone that moves to Texas from another state always thinks it's an error. It's not, it's that much." The bill that they sent us every year from the local school district based on the value of our home, in which we had to write a check directly to the school district there in Texas, was over $8000! Our total property taxes were over $15,000 per year! That was on a house that was half the price of the house we purchased in California. In California our house was twice as much money but our taxes were just over $3500 a year.

So you can't win… They're going to get you no matter where you live

Yeah, they gonna get you......either way.

But Texas wasn't like that until the "yankee companies" started moving down here in the late 80's, messing everything up. Then all the whiners and complainers moved here from California, and it just all went to pot.
Got worse when the Governors started mimicking New York and California in how to screw people over for as much as they can get. And Texas just became another sucky state after that.

As the saying goes............Can't win for losing.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Yu

Yeah, they gonna get you......either way.

But Texas wasn't like that until the "yankee companies" started moving down here in the late 80's, messing everything up. Then all the whiners and complainers moved here from California, and it just all went to pot.
Got worse when the Governors started mimicking New York and California in how to screw people over for as much as they can get. And Texas just became another sucky state after that.

As the saying goes............Can't win for losing.

Yup, only guarantees in life are taxes and death.