Chicken eggs are one of the most eaten foods on the planet, as well as one of the most versatile. They can be baked, poached, hard boiled, soft boiled, scrambled and processed, both cooked and raw, in thousands of recipes. They are used in many of the things we eat, from pastries to pasta and mayonnaise, and they are delicious and nutritious. But we bet there were some things you didn't know about the incredibly versatile egg.
You exceed the recommended daily cholesterol limit if you eat two eggs a day
Each large egg contains about 186 milligrams of cholesterol and we should limit our cholesterol intake to 300 milligrams per day.
Fresh eggs have a cloudy white
The whites of fresh eggs are cloudy, those of old eggs are clear. Fresh eggs are also more difficult to peel than older eggs because the "air cell" around the inside of the shell expands over time. While eggs can still be used within three weeks of the sell-by date on the carton, we recommend using fresher eggs for poached and fried eggs and older eggs for scrambled eggs and omelets because the older an egg, the more it 'spreads out'.
They are full of vitamins and minerals While they can be high in cholesterol, eggs are much more than just that and protein. They also contain antioxidants that aid in eye health, vitamins A, B12, D, riboflavin, folate and phosphorus, and an essential nutrient called choline that aids in brain function.
That white string is called the Chalaza
If you crack open an egg there is, the white, the yolk and a strange white thread. It's actually called the chalaza, and its job is to hold the yolk in place in the center of the white. It is completely edible, but is sometimes removed during baking for aesthetic reasons.
There is an easy way to know if an egg is hard-boiled or not
If you roll an egg and it comes easy, it's hard-boiled. If it wobbles, it's raw.
There is an easy way to clean a fallen egg Cleaning a detached egg from the floor can be a tedious, messy task. To make the job a lot easier, throw salt on it.
Protein is just about perfect
The proteins in eggs contain an almost perfect mix of amino acids needed to build muscle. The only thing that works better is breast milk!
Why are some eggs bigger than others?
The older the chicken, the bigger the egg.
Brown eggs come from brown chickens If you ever come across a brown egg, it's because it was laid by a brown or red hen. White eggs are laid by white chickens.
They have a really long shelf life
Eggs can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a month after the expiration date on the carton. If you're not sure if an egg is safe to use or not, just open it. If it smells bad, throw it away!
There's a good reason they don't come true
In order for an egg to hatch, it must be fertilized by a male rooster. The chickens in the egg farm are not busy with roosters!
They are the least expensive source of high-quality protein
An egg costs about 15 cents on average.
Double yolk eggs are quite common
There are two reasons why you sometimes break an egg to discover two yolks:it could have been laid by a very young hen (whose egg production cycle is not yet synchronized) or a very old hen (which produces very large eggs) .
