EGG COOKERY

Introduction to Egg Cookery

An egg is a nutritious alternative source of protein to ovavagens. It is packed with a lot of protein and other energy-giving nutrients.

Initially, eggs were treated as non-vegetarian in nature, but today science has proved that unfertilised egg can be treated as vegetarian.

Egg cookery is very vast by itself. Eggs are used for cooking, baking, poaching, etc. be it in Indian style of cooking or continental, it plays a vital role. Eggs of hens, ducks, geese, quails, ostrich, and emu are used frequently nowadays.

The most popular and widely used eggs are of hens in India, although eggs of turkeys, guinea fowls, ducks, and geese are also used.

Colour
The colour of eggshells and egg yolks varies with the breed of hen and the food they eat, but this makes no difference to the food value.

Temperature
The ideal storage temperature for eggs is 2-5 degree Celsius.

Significance
Eggs are essential to all kinds of cooking, not only in the preparation but as food in their own right. They produce meals that are economical in price, and with a minimum of waste and time. By the term egg we mean those of the domestic hen, but these are not the only edible eggs. There are those of ducks, geese, turkeys, also of wild birds such as plovers and gulls.

An egg has been described as a “Complete Food” because they are highly nutritious and used in a range of recipes. Yolks and eggs are used separately.

In all culinary preparations, eggs are used for binding, colouring, enriching, increasing volume, coating, etc.

COMMODITIES: SHORTENING (FATS & OILS)

Fats are solid at room temperature and melt when heated. Those used in cooking include butter, margarine, lard, suet, and hydrogenated fat.

Oils are liquid at normal temperatures but solidify at lower temperatures. Those commonly used in cooking are peanut (groundnut/arachide) oil, coconut oil, mustard seed oil, sesame (till) oil, olive oil, and safflower oil.

Shortenings of fats that are used in the baking industry and confectionery.

Hydrogenation Of Oils
The conversion of oil into fat is known as hydrogenation. The process changes the physical properties of the oil.
Hydrogenation consists of treating oil under suitable pressure and temperature with hydrogen, in the presence of a catalyst, usually Nickle (Ni). Under these conditions, the unsaturated fatty acids present in the oil combines with the hydrogen. This chemical process brings about a physical change and the liquid oil change into solid fat. The unsaturated fatty acids are chiefly those of the oleic type and are converted into solid stearic acid. The varying consistencies available in fats is due to the process of hydrogenation being stopped at various stages.

Shortenings
Fats can be used as shortenings or as a cooking medium. In confectionery, fats impart their characteristic flavor as well as shortening qualities. Their effect is to coat and break down the gluten strands, so that instead of being hard and tough to eat, foods containing shortening break off short and melt readily in the mouth.

Factors to look for in Shortenings:

Creaming Value
This affects the volume of the item eg: cakes. The amount of air incorporated during creaming increases the volume of the item.

Shortening value
The shortness gives to the end product. Shortness is a quality essential in products such as biscuits & cookies.

Stability
Refers to keeping quality and shelf life.

Consistency
Hardness or Softness depending on the purpose. Hardness for puff pastry and softness for cakes.
Water absorption will also affect the emulsification value of the shortening.

Power
As for shortening agents, fats add to the nutritional and satiety values of flour mixtures like doughs and batters. They also contribute to the taste and flavor. The type of fat and the way it is incorporated will affect the texture (eg: shortcrust pastry and flaky pastry). Baking must be done at correct temperatures. As the fat melts during baking, it must be absorbed by the flour. If the heat is insufficient, the melted fat will run out and result in a hard product. Fat which has been broken up into small particles during creaming will be more easily absorbed than fat left in large pieces.

Fat as a frying medium

Fat as a frying medium function in three ways:

• It serves to transmit heat to the articles of food to be fried.
• It adds to the nutritive value (calories).
• It contributes to the flavor and taste and texture of the food.

Fat used as a frying medium must have:

• High smoke point
• Low congealing point
• Low moisture content
• High stability
• The acceptable flavor which is neutral

THICKENING AGENTS

Thickening agents give body, consistency, and palatable when used. They also improve the nutritive value of the sauce. Flavoured liquids are thickened and converted into soups, sauces, gravies, and curries, etc. In other words, binding agents are used to transforming the stocks into sauces.

There are various types of thickening agents, which are used in modern day cookery. They are as follows:

• Starches
• Flour
• Roux
• Beurre Manie
• Fruit and Vegetable Puree
• Egg yolk
• Cream
• Butter
• Blood

Starches

Starches derived from roots and vegetables are among the oldest and the most versatile thickener for sauces. They are efficient and inexpensive and that they can be used without imparting flavour of their own.

Starches should be combined with liquid and heated to almost boiling temperature to be effective. Some starches are purer than others. Cornstarch, arrowroot starch, and potato starch are almost pure starches and produces shiny sauces, whereas flour contains protein, which gives a mat appearance to the sauces.

Cornstarch

Of the purified starches, cornstarch is the most familiar. They should be used at the last minute for the thickening of the sauces and the cooking liquid that are being served. When it is cooked for long time then it looses its thickening power. Cornstarch is first mixed in water and then used to thicken the sauces and soups.

Arrowroot

Arrowroot is the best of the purified starches because it remains stable even after prolonged cooking. It is used the same way as cornstarch.

Potato Starch

Although potato starch is one of the first starches to be used in French cooking, it has never been popular as a sauce thickener. It is used the same way as the cornstarch and like cornstarch it tends to break down after prolonged exposure to heat.

Flour

In western cooking, flour has long been the most popular thickener for the sauces. It can be used in several ways. Although flour has largely been replaced in recent years by other thickeners. It is still the appropriate choice for many country style and regional dishes. Liquid in which flour is to be added must be degrease before the flour is incorporated. Flour binds with lamb and holds it in suspension throughout the liquid, making it difficult to skim. Result is a greasy, indigestible sauce with a muddy texture and flavour.

Roux

The most common method of thickening liquids with flour is to prepare a roux, by cooking the flour with an equal weight of butter. This enhances the flavour of the flour and eliminates the lumps. Because flour contains proteins and other compounds that imparts flavor, sauces thickened with roux are usually skimmed for thirty minutes once they have been brought to simmer to eliminate the impurities. Although the stock is skimmed before the roux is added, further the sauce is skimmed to eliminate the butter, impurities in the flour.

There are three types of roux:

1. White roux
2. Blonde roux
3. Brown roux
4. White roux

It is prepared by cooking flour and clarified butter for approx. 5 minutes over slow heat and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. It is used for Béchamel sauce and thick soups.

Blond roux

Is made from fresh butter and flour. The preparation of butter and flour are the same as for white roux. It is made more rapidly and should be made at the last before using. Its colour should be pale gold. It is used for volute sauce and for some soups.

Brown roux

cooking flour in bouillon fat in the oven, gently and for a long time, removing from time to time to stir, makes it. This roux should be of light brown colour. It is used for brown sauce and demiglace.

How to combine roux and liquid

When you have a hot roux, combining it with a liquid is a two-step process. In step 1, you add part of your liquid, cold to the hot roux, blending it in with a whisk. In step 2 you blend in the rest of the liquid hot.

When you have cold roux, you can combine it with hot liquid, over heat, by blending it in with a whisk a little at a time.

Do not try to combine hot roux with hot liquid and cold roux with cold liquid.

Beurre manie

Like roux, beurre manie contains equal part by weight of butter and flour. It differs from roux because it is not cooked and is usually added at the end of the sauce’s cooking rather than at the beginning. It is most often used to thicken stews at the end of the cooking when the braising liquid is too thin.

The beurre manie should be added little by little in boiling stock whisking continuously so that lumps do not form.  Unlike roux the beurre manie should not be cooked once the sauce is thickened otherwise the sauce will a floury taste. One of the peculiarities of flour is that develops a strong floury taste after two minutes of coking that begins to disappear as the cooking progresses.

Fruit and vegetable puree

Some times fruit and vegetable puree are used in thickening sauces and soups. The puree soups are the best example of the same.

Egg Yolk

Because they thicken sauces in several ways, egg yolks are versatile liaison. They provide base for emulsified sauces, such as mayonnaise and hollandaise, and are used in conjunction with cream to finish the cooking liquid of poached meats and fish.  Not only form emulsion of fat and liquid but also combines with air so that they be used for sabayon sauce.

Sauces containing yolk should not be boiled unless they contain flour, which stabilises them. When combining egg yolk with liquids, be sure to combine some of the liquid separately before returning the mixture to the saucepan. If the egg yolks are added directly into the hot liquid then they are liable to coagulate as soon as they get in contact with the heat.

Cream

In recent years thickened cream has replaced roux as the thickener, becoming base for white sauces.

Precaution should be taken in reducing cream. Quick whisk should be given to the cream otherwise they become granular and may break. Always use large saucepan, three times the volume of the cream otherwise flames from the sides can discolour the cream.

Whenever cream is used, as a thickener in a wine based sauce, are sure to reduce the wine otherwise they giving an unpleasant flavor. The cream used in conjunction with egg yolk, butter, and flour gives a better result.

Butter

When butter is whisked into a hot liquid, it forms an emulsion, similar to the action of egg yolk. The milk solids and proteins contained in the butter acts as emulsifier and give butter sauce their sheen and consistency. Because the milk solids in the butter are what maintain the emulsion, sauces and cooking liquids cannot be thickened with clarified butter. In fact cold butter is proffered to hot butter in thickening of the sauces.

Blood

Blood has long been used in cooking to finish sauces for a braised or roasted game, poultry, or rabbit. Blood not only deepens the sauce’s flavor but also acts as a thickener. The blood must be mixed with a little amount of vinegar to avoid coagulation.

• Sugar is not only added to food for taste, but also for functional reasons.
• Sugar alternatives or low sugar foods may not be healthier.
• Removing sugar can be technically challenging.

Important roles of sugar

Aside from making some foods more palatable and providing kilo joules, sugar has a number of important properties that contribute uniquely to a food’s appearance, texture, and shelf-life. It’s, therefore, an important ingredient in both the foods we make at home and the manufactured foods on our supermarket shelves. Reducing or removing sugar from a product often requires replacement with a number of substitute ingredients to achieve the same quality, taste and texture profile.

Let’s see some major roles:

As a bulking agent

Sugar contributes to the texture of food, such as in meringue and biscuits. This is an important role of sugar in most baking applications.

As a preservative

Sugar helps to prevent or slow the growth of bacteria, molds, and yeast in jams and other preserves. It also helps to prolong the shelf life of many foods on our supermarket shelves by acting as a humectant – maintaining and stabilising the water content in foods.

Enhancing flavor

Adding a little sugar to nutritious foods such as sour fruits (frozen berries or rhubarb), or porridge, helps to make them more palatable. Sugar also enhances fruit flavors in foods.

For colour

On heating, sugar breaks down to produce the colour and desirable flavor that characterises many cooked foods. This is caused by sugars reacting with proteins as they break down in the cooking process, called the Maillard reaction. A sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon on top of fruit muffins makes for a browned crunchy topping and gives a nice texture.

Adds viscosity

Sugar provides body in drinks and semi-liquid foods like syrups, chutneys, and sweet sauces.

As an anticoagulant

When it’s heated, sugar delays the coagulation of proteins (change in liquid form to solid or semi-solid form), such as in baked custards and other desserts.