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Stuffed
eggs are called “deviled eggs” because where they were first introduced they
were covered with pepper so hot that one bite brought to mind the fires of hell.
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You can spin a hard-boiled egg -
you can't spin an uncooked one.
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In Morocco, women wouldn't eat
eggs while their husbands observed because it was improper.
Jewish women once attempted to cure sterility by eating double-yolked
eggs. When a child was thought to
be bewitched (this was a serious "problem" about 300 years ago), an
egg was thrown into a lake or pond. If
the egg sank, the child had been bewitched.
In the recent past, Russian peasants made offerings to their dead
ancestors by hurling fried eggs over their shoulders.
Araucana chicken's eggs have
blue-green shells. In the 1970's
they were advertised as containing no cholesterol.
However, such claims were proven wrong when the cholesterol content was
tested. They contain about the same
amount of cholesterol as a comparable sized hen egg.
Here's a rule of thumb for
telling old eggs from fresh ones: The shells of old eggs tend to become shiny
and smooth; fresh eggs have a rough, chalky appearance.
Eggs should be stored upright
(with larger end up). It helps to
retard spoilage because it maximizes the distance between the yolk and the eggs
natural air pocket.
Egg Saturday is the Saturday
before Shrove Tuesday.
Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable says that it was also
called Egg Feast, especially in Oxfordshire.
The following day was also known as Egg Sunday.
The weekend offered a final chance to eat plenty of eggs, since they were
formerly forbidden during Lent.
Eggs were colored, blessed,
exchanged, and eaten as part of the rites of spring long before Christian times.
Even the earliest civilizations held springtime festivals to welcome the
sun's rising from its long winter sleep. They
thought of the sun's return from darkness as an annual miracle and regarded the
egg as a natural wonder and a proof of the renewal of life. As Christianity spread, the egg was adopted as a symbol of
Christ's Resurrection from the tomb. For
centuries, eggs were among the foods forbidden by the church during Lent, so it
was a special treat to have them again at Easter.
Store eggs pointed end down away
from foods with strong odors. Egg
shells are very porous and absorb odors.
The difference between grade A
and grade AA eggs --- Most freshly-laid eggs are graded AA.
Those with more air inside are graded A.
Left at room temperature, grade AA eggs will lose moisture within a few
days. However, refrigerated,
they'll retain AA quality for weeks. There's
no taste difference between the two, but AA egg yolks stand higher and the
whites don't spread as thin.
If the difference in price
between medium eggs and large eggs is less than 8 cents per dozen, the large
eggs are a better deal.
What's better for burns than
Aloe Vera or cold water? Egg yolk
oil. This Chinese remedy really
works; eggs have cooling and moistening properties, and are used to clear heat
and lubricate dryness. Just keep an
extra egg in the refrigerator at all times.
Crack the egg open and toss the yolk back and forth between the halved
shells to drain off the white. Transfer
the yolk to a small bowl or wide mouth jar, whisk gently and spread some over
the burn. Keep coating the affected
area until the burn cools off. Your
skin will have a thick yellow egg coating for a while, but it's worth it.
Later you can gently wash off the egg with cold water, or just let it
fall off.
In 1957, chemists gave awards to
a 14 year-old girl for speeding up the three-minute egg.
By adding glycerin to water, she found that a three-minute egg could be
boiled in exactly half the time. It
was noteworthy that no honors were given to the scientist who, in the same year,
discovered that slowly boiled eggs are more digestible than those rapidly
cooked. It seems that anything in
the twentieth century that speeds up nature is considered progress.
My favorite - The hymn Onward
Christian Soldiers, sung to the right tune and in a not-too-brisk tempo,
makes a very good egg timer. If you
put the egg into boiling water and sing all five verses and chorus, the egg will
be just right when you come to Amen.
A misshapen egg was also called
a cockney in England.
Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was
the most famous magician and escape artist of all time and frequently had a
chaotic schedule of performances. To save time, Houdini would stir a dozen eggs into a quart of
milk to drink quickly instead of stopping for meals.
A dozen "jumbo" eggs
must have a minimum weight of 30 ounces. A
dozen extra large must be 27 ounces. Medium
must be 21 ounces and small 18 ounces.
From the Treasury of American
Superstitutions by Claudia De Lys (1945):
It
is unlucky to bring in or take out eggs after sunset.
If
two different persons beat the whites of eggs they will not remain firm.
Dream
of eggs and you will quarrel with friends.
Eggs
laid on Friday will cure stomachaches.
George Washington was unaware of
the risk of cholesterol when he enjoyed one of his favorite meals, which
consisted of four omelets of four eggs each, served overlapping on a single
dish, one made with apples, the second with asparagus or sorrel, the third with fines
herbes, and the fourth au naturel.
Eggs that are stored uncovered
in the refrigerator lose moisture and can absorb odors from other foods.
Keep covered and use within 5 weeks of purchase.
Egg white omelets are fat-free.
Breaking an egg gently into a narrow-necked funnel will allow the white
to slip through and trap the fatty, cholesterol-rich yolk.
Hard-boil an egg, cut it in
half, discard the yolk, and fill the egg halves with salt.
Sit on something you have never sat on before, eat the egg and walk to
bed backward. You will dream of
your future mate.
A pound of eggs is about 12
small eggs. Today eggs are
classified by weight rather than by size or quality.
Other than the color of the
shell, there is no difference between a brown and a white egg except that white
eggs often cost more.
In 1938, Slot machines
dispensing hard-boiled eggs for a nickel apiece were installed in restaurants
and taverns throughout Pennsylvania to help farmers dispose of an egg surplus.
You can feed twenty-four people
with one ostrich egg.
Eggs can be frozen for up to 9
months with no detriment to their quality.
When freezing raw eggs, be sure to put them in a container that will
allow 1/2 an inch or more around each egg as it expands.
Turkey eggs simply don't taste
good. They don't have as much water
as chicken eggs. If exposed to high
heat they turn rubbery.
If you wished to honor guests
you offered him an omelet soufflé with an elaborate sauce.
If you were indifferent, an omelet with mushrooms or fines herbes would
do. However, if you wanted to be
insulting you made fried eggs.
James W. Laughton's The
General Receipt Book, c. 1845 gave the following instructions to preserve
eggs: Apply with a brush a solution of gum-arabic to the shells, or immerse the
eggs therein, let them dry, and afterwards pack them in dry charcoal dust.
This prevents their being affected by any alterations of temperature.
The
Persians, and later the ancient Egyptians, exchanged colored eggs to celebrate
the return of spring and as tokens of good will. The eggs were often colored bright red to signify blood and
the life force. Later the Greeks
adopted the custom and used colored eggs during their spring festivals as a sign
of fertility and the regenerative power of nature. During Cleopatra's reign, around 50 B.C., Egyptians the
Romans colored eggs as part of their spring festival.
The custom was waning in Europe when the Pennsylvania Dutch brought it to
the New World in the 1700's. By
1880, they and the Ukrainians, were about the only ethnic groups in this country
who still observed the quaint festivity.
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