Today's Tip comes from Sara at Our Best Bites. She always has great tips and recipes. Be sure to check out her page.
Room Temperature Eggs
Do you notice when a recipe calls for eggs at room temperature and then ignore it? I did that for years, not realizing that it actually IS important! Not everything needs room temperature eggs. Chocolate Chip Cookies for example, who cares. Just dump an egg or two in there straight from the fridge. Where room temperature makes a big difference is in cakes. Eggs beat to a higher volume at room temp so your cakes will bake up better. Another factor is that a cold egg won't incorporate with fat like butter or shortening. Have you ever gone to beat something up and you just get a lumpy mess? Chances are your eggs were chilly. If they are at room temp they'll melt right in the mix and become fully incorporated resulting in better baked goods all around.
Here's a great tip: When a recipe calls for room temperature eggs and you don't have time to let them sit around forever, just place them in a bowl of warm tap water for 10-15 minutes. I do this first and then start gathering all of the other ingredients. By the time I'm ready to start cooking, the eggs are at the perfect temperature.
Separating Eggs
1. Crack the egg against a surface like the edge of a bowl or the corner of your countertops. The crack needs to be big enough so that you can get both thumbs in the crack but not so big that either half of the shell has been completely demolished; you need both halves.
2. Gently use your thumbs to pull the two halves of the shell apart. If you're trying to preserve the yolk, go ahead and do this over the sink so the white runs out of the shell and into the sink.
You need to be very careful because a very thin membrane surrounds the yolk and if it's torn in any way, the yolk will leak out and you'll probably need a new egg. Using very fresh eggs helps with this; the older the egg, the more the membrane has deteriorated. Make sure the yolk is completely in one of the shell halves.
3. Transfer the yolk back and forth between the shell halves as the white runs off.
You can also just dump the whole egg into the palm of your hands and separate your fingers just slightly. Let the whites fall through and keep the yolk.
4. Either way, you will end up with a bowl full of egg whites or a naked little yolk!
Oh, and with the yolks, it's okay (and inevitable) that there will be a little egg white on it, but if you want the whites for beating (like for meringues), there absolutely can't be any speck of yolk or the whites won't fluff up when you beat them.
Freezing Eggs
Once you've separated eggs you often only use either the whites or the yolks. Instead of tossing the unused portion, you can freeze them.
Egg whites freeze really well. Use an ice cube try and place one egg white in each portion. After they're frozen transfer to a plastic bag or other container and you can grab one white at at time for easy measuring. Or, you can freeze them all together in a container. Just be sure to mark the container with the number of egg whites that are contained in it.
Egg Yolks can get lumpy when frozen. To avoid this problem, add either 1/8 tsp salt or 1 1/2 tsp sugar (depending on whether you're going to make something sweet or something savory with them) to every 4 yolks. Stir gently and then freeze. For both egg whites and egg yolks, if you freeze in bulk, just remember that about 1 T = one egg white or one egg yolk.
Hard Boiling Eggs
1. Place eggs in saucepan in a single layer.
2. Fill pan with cold water, covering eggs by 1 inch.
3. Place over medium-high heat. Cover; bring to a boil. When you see the water just starting to get tiny bubbles from the heat, add a spoonful of salt and place lid back on.
4. As soon as the eggs come to a rolling boil, turn off heat; let stand, covered (don't even think about peeking in there or you'll lose all of the heat), 12 minutes.
5. Transfer eggs to bowl of ice water.
Let stand for about 5 minutes, then remove. If you're having trouble getting the shells off nicely, know that the freshness of your eggs impacts that. The fresher the egg, the easier the shell will peel off. Slice or dice and use however you please!
Dry Eggs
It's a great staple to have on hand for those times when you're in the middle of a recipe and you go to the fridge only to find an empty carton. (Or maybe unlike me, when your eggs are out you actually toss the container instead of putting it back in the fridge...) Generally a Tablespoon or two of egg powder plus some water equals one whole egg. I've used them with great success in baked goods.
