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2torial #0704:
Learn2 Boil An Egg
Eggsellent choice!
Eggs are one of nature's almost perfect foods:
the only nutrient they lack is Vitamin C. Aside
from the convenience of long storage (they'll keep
for a month in a refrigerator), they can be
prepared tens, if not hundreds, of ways. Two quick
and simple ways are hard- and soft-boiling. When
done, hard-boiled eggs have firm, opaque whites and
solid, pale lemon-yellow yolks; soft-boiled eggs
have lightly congealed, opaque whites, and yolks
which are a deeper yellow--almost orange in some
cases--and are mostly liquid.
How you use your eggs is up to you (and perhaps
the subject of another 2torial). From the
traditional egg salad and soft-boiled-eggs-on-toast
favorites, the varieties are endless. Hard-boiled
eggs travel well, and are a great choice for an
energizing and nutritious snack for those without
much time to eat.
Health note: Salmonella is a bacteria that can
live in raw eggs. Once ingested, this bacteria
produces a nasty, occasionally fatal form of food
poisoning, and is best avoided. (So lay off those
raw egg drink recipes you've been dreaming of!)
Soft-boiled eggs that have no portions of clear egg
white remaining are safe to eat, since their
temperature rises above the death point of
salmonella bacteria: 140 degrees F/ 60 degrees C.
To be extra safe, those who have poor health, are
very old, or are pregnant, should avoid soft-boiled
eggs.
The most important detail to observe is the
temperature of the eggs. If you've just removed
them from a refrigerator, you cook them differently
than if the eggs have had a chance to warm up to
room temperature.
Another detail is the eggs themselves, with size
the most obvious consideration. The recipes below
list different times according to varying sizes. A
final consideration, perhaps less obvious, is the
way in which the eggs were produced. In many modern
chicken farms, a chicken lives a fairly miserable
life: it stays indoors in a warehouse-type of
building, in a small wire cage with several other
chickens, for virtually all of its life. Some
farms, however, only produce eggs laid only by
free-range chickens. These are chickens that are
free to roam about uncaged, and peck at the ground
for food (as their instinct tells them to) and in
some cases go outside, walk on grass and dirt and
see the sky. And it's certainly possible that a
happier chicken could lay a better tasting egg.
 Method
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