One cannot deny the versatility of eggs in our world today. Egg is a wonderful food on its own and it is also a major ingredient in numerous baked goods and cuisines. The health benefits of egg are second to none because it is the food with the highest protein content. Eggs are classified as super foods as a result of the health benefits they confer. Such benefits include;
- Highly nutritious
- Reduce risk of heart disease
- Beneficial to the eyes
- High in quality protein
- Promote weight loss
Eggs are always the ‘go to food’ when you want to prepare a quick breakfast. There are so many quick, inexpensive and interesting ways to cook egg and still produce a food with a solid source of protein. Some interesting ways to cook eggs are;
- Hardboiled
This is one of the simplest and common ways to cook eggs. A hardboiled egg is cooked with its shell in boiling water. The cooking method is very simple; just fill a pot with enough water that can cover at least 2 inches of the egg. Boil the water and gently drop the egg into the pot and leave it to cook for 10-12 minutes. For ease in peeling, immediately place the egg in an ice water bath after boiling then tap and roll them gently on a flat surface. You can eat hard boiled eggs with a sprinkle of kosher salt or chop them into salads.
- Hard Scrambled
Hard scrambled eggs are eggs which are cooked by mixing the egg white and yolk and then cooking over some heat. When making hard scrambled eggs, there is no need to grease the pan, you just cook them through. Most restaurants cook them as a default preparation for scrambled eggs. Hard scrambled eggs can be eaten with toast and a cup of milk of hot chocolate.
- Soft Scrambled
The texture of soft scrambled eggs is better than that of hard scrambled eggs and it accommodates the use of ingredients. When cooking this type of egg, you have to be mindful of time because eggs cook quickly. To make soft scrambled eggs; whisk the egg into a separate bowl, heat your pan over medium heat, grease the pan with little oil and pour the egg into it. Using a spatula, turn and fold the eggs repeatedly until they cook. You can keep folding and turning the eggs until they no longer look runny but still look wet. When it is ready, remove the eggs from the pan immediately. You can eat soft scrambled eggs with buttered toast seasoned with salt and pepper.
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- Omelets and Frittatas
An omelet or frittata is a scrambled egg that is cooked until it stabilizes into a useable form. Unlike scrambled eggs, omelets are poured into the pan after whisking and left to cook without turning it. After cooking, omelets are topped with other ingredients like cheese, vegetables or meats. An omelet differs slightly from a frittata in the sense that an omelet is folded into half while a frittata is typically open-faced.
- Sunny Side Up
This type of egg is cooked to make the egg yolk look like a bright morning sun. When making a sunny side up egg, the raw egg is cracked directly into the greased pan then left to fry until the edges turn brown. Don not flip this type of egg, just fry till the edges turn brown then using a spatula, dish it into a plate.
- Over Easy
Over easy eggs are very similar to sunny side up but the difference is the fact that; over easy eggs are flipped while sunny side up are not flipped. Over easy eggs are flipped and cooked just long enough to make a film on top of the yolk. Sometimes they are served with the yolk and some of the whites still runny.
- Poached
Cooking poached egg similar to boiling egg but without the shells. When cooking poached egg, the eggs are cooked over a medium heat without having any contact with the pan. The white of the egg is cooked through and the yolk is left warm and runny. The strainer method is employed in cooking poached eggs. In this method; water is heated and vinegar is added to the heated water. After that, the raw egg is cracked into a mesh strainer to allow most of the watery portion of the egg white to drop out. After this, the egg in the strainer is decanted and added into the heated water then left to cook for about 5 minutes.
- Baked
Baked eggs are eggs which are cracked and baked in a dish. The raw egg is mixed with ingredients like; tomato, cream, cheese and herbs. The white of the egg mixes in and gets cooked thoroughly while the yolk is runny. This method of cooking allows the ingredients to blend thoroughly with the eggs.
These different methods of cooking eggs are easy and quick to learn. The versatility of this methods leaves you with different textured and flavoured eggs. Try out a new method today and enjoy your eggs better.