A thousand ways to eat eggs

| Eggs are a very interesting food. At the nutritional level, egg protein is considered to be very complete and of high biological value. It is also a great product due to its properties within food technology, it has emulsifying, adhesive, coagulant, foaming capabilities, etc.

There are many foods that we can eat in different ways: cold, hot, in savory dishes, in sweet desserts, as a main food, as a side dish ... but of all of them, if we had to highlight one due to its versatility, it would undoubtedly be the egg.

at the nutritional level, so much so that the FAO considers it the reference protein. It also stands out for its properties such as emulsifier and coagulant that make it a very interesting ingredient for the food industry. At a domestic level, we can use it in multiple ways, although it is not recommended to take it raw.

Let's review how many different ways we have to enjoy egg!

11 ways to cook an egg

Tortilla The omelette is the elaboration par excellence when it comes to cooking eggs, at least in Spain. Its preparation consists of beating the eggs that are going to be part of the omelette to later toss them on a frying pan and let them set and acquire the appropriate texture. As we know, in addition to the popular French omelette, to which nothing is classically added, we can prepare tortillas with different ingredients such as vegetables, potatoes, mushrooms, cheese, ham shavings, etc. Nutritionally, the preparation of vegetable tortillas is very interesting, especially if it is used for children or other people to find vegetables presented in this way more palatable.

Scrambled The scrambled eggs are cooked without the shell by throwing them into the pan, ensuring that the yolk does not break, first we hope that set the white and at that moment we begin to stir the yolks, letting the whole set cook until the desired point is reached. Scrambled eggs, like tortillas, can be made using a multitude of foods such as scrambled eggs with asparagus, garlic, mushrooms, artichoke, etc.

Boiled egg or hard-boiled egg A boiled egg or hard-boiled egg is cooked in its own shell, boiling it at least for a few 10-12 minutes if we want to achieve a hard-boiled egg, that is, fully cooked, both white and yolk.

Mollet egg Mollet eggs are also cooked in their own shell boiling them about half the time than boiled egg, that is, about 5 to 7 minutes. In this way we are going to achieve that when opening them the white is curdled and the yolk liquid.

Poached or poached egg The poached egg is cooked in water boiling but out of its shellFor this, different techniques are used, but the use of kitchen films is common. Cooking is even shorter than in mollet egg, since in just about 3 minutes it is considered to be in the optimal state of poached.

Boiled The soft-boiled egg has a level of cooking similar to the poached egg, as it is ready in about three minutes, but in this case the cooking is done inside the shell of the egg. With this type of cooking we obtain the liquid yolk and the clear curd slightly.

Fried egg To make a fried egg you must add on a frying pan It must contain plenty of very hot oil and it is fried until the white is white but the yolk maintains its fluidity, always trying not to break, because when moved it will behave "shaking" like a flan.

Eggs on the plate or in cocotte or baked In this type of preparation, the eggs are added to already cooked preparations and they are just cooked for about 5-10 minutes, ensuring that do not break the yolk and making the clear coagulate and the yolk is still juicy.

Raw egg Really consumption is not recommended of raw egg, due to the risks it entails at the microbiological level, due to the possible presence of microorganisms, especially the known one, but also because raw egg white contains an antinutritive substance. It is the glycoprotein avidin that prevents the absorption of biotin (Vitamin B7) in the intestine, therefore it is preferable that the egg white is consumed perfectly cooked, since the avidin is denatured by cooking and loses its antinutrient function.

Sauces A common ingredient in making sauces is eggs. The egg has very interesting properties from the point of view of food technology, and one of these properties is the emulsifying capacity that precisely interests us when it comes to making sauces. The egg has the ability to "bind" mayonnaise or aioli, which are egg-based sauces and achieve the perfect mixture and emulsion fusion of the different ingredients thanks to the egg.

Cake shop In confectionery we are interested in emulsion, but also ability to curdle and to confer adherence. This is the reason why many pastry recipes contain eggs: cake bases, mousses ... And let alone the magic of snowy whites that provide a fluffier texture in a large number of preparations. This is due to the surfactant properties of some proteins in egg white.

Bachelor of Food Science and Technology Diploma in Human Nutrition and Dietetics