Fresh Eggs

Some prefer them simply hard-boiled, some are able to cook them à la coque, some fry them in a pan, and some enjoy making delicious omelets. However you prepare them or order them at a restaurant, perhaps scrambled, that is, scrambled eggs, as tourists often do when they are on vacation in Italy, eggs are an essential dish in traditional cuisine.
They offer numerous advantages: they are affordable, easy to find, but most importantly, they are quick to prepare!

Eggs: a brief history

The organoleptic properties of eggs have been appreciated since ancient times: if Greek doctors like Galen always recommended including a hen's egg in the diet of an elderly person, the ancient Egyptians, who were excellent poultry farmers, even invented an artificial egg incubation system, as historian Diodorus Siculus recounts in his description of a trip to Egypt, and Varro (116-24 BC) in his work Rerum rusticarum libri.

The Romans also ate hen eggs: in the morning for breakfast or in the evening as an appetizer (gustatio) for dinner along with bread, oil, and wine. They also used them to make sweets and sauces, habits probably adopted from the Etruscans.

The Carthaginians, as reported by Massimo Montanari in the History of Food, consumed ostrich eggs instead. Yes, because it’s not only about hen eggs, even though they are the most known and used. In fact, in common usage, the term "egg" without further specification refers to the hen egg. However, there are also eggs from other birds (quail, duck, goose, ostrich) and fish eggs (sturgeon roe, sea urchin roe, lumpfish roe), as well as eggs from turtles, mollusks, and even insects. The fact is that the hen egg is part of the dishes of world cuisines because of its direct consumability. This should not surprise us if we think that it was one of the pillars of the peasant diet!

Fresh eggs: properties and many noble proteins

Proteins in every way "noble" and of high biological value, as they contain all essential amino acids, fresh eggs deserve to be re-evaluated as a food that provides essential nutrients for our body.
They indeed provide considerable amounts of numerous vitamins, including vitamin A, choline, and riboflavin, as well as important minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium.
Moreover, the egg is one of the few foods that contain vitamin D, although the latter is physiologically produced in humans when the skin is exposed to sunlight. The preventive action of vitamin D is supported by vitamin K2, present in fresh eggs, to strengthen bones, reinforcing lean mass, while B vitamins, including B12, play a significant role in the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose and in the metabolism of fats and proteins.

Eggs and cholesterol: who can eat eggs?

It is true that eggs have a high amount of cholesterol, but it is equally true that they contain lecithins, substances that facilitate the transport of cholesterol from the arteries to the liver, thus enhancing the action of our "good cholesterol". Therefore, it is an outdated belief that they are bad for the liver or predispose to circulatory diseases! After all, given that the amount of cholesterol produced by our body is very high, it cannot be the quantity present in the egg that significantly influences blood cholesterol levels unless consumed in excess (more than 3-4 eggs per week). It follows, therefore, that egg consumption cannot be the cause of significant increases in human cholesterol levels.
More precisely, about 80% of the cholesterol present in our blood is physiologically generated by the body, and only 20% depends on our diet. Therefore, except for people who need to be particularly careful, all other "healthy" individuals can safely eat two to three eggs a week or slightly more, perhaps with a pinch of salt, as the illustrious Dante Alighieri advised, according to whom eggs were "the best food in the world".

How many eggs per week? There is no definitive answer

How many eggs per week? It depends on the overall diet and the total amount of protein consumed during the day. Generally, two or three eggs a week are fine for almost everyone as long as one does not suffer from hypercholesterolemia, gallstones, or allergies.
Typically, up to a maximum of four if following a low-calorie diet; if you are a regular athlete, the number of eggs can increase as regular exercise burns a lot of calories.
Note that an egg contains an average of 70-80 kilocalories, so it is a relatively low-calorie food but rich in nutrients for our health.

In the past, it undeservedly earned a bad reputation: many people, terrified by its fat and cholesterol content, completely eliminated it from their diet. Certainly, it has a distinctive content, but in reality, except for some specific situations, it does not justify excluding such a unique food. Let’s remember that the average egg contains only about two grams of fat, a very limited amount compared to other animal protein sources!

The egg is a masterpiece of nature, a symbol of origin, life, and abundance in all the world's religions. It is an important nutrient for children (after the first year of age) due to its richness in lipids for proper nervous system development; for active people and pregnant women, thanks to the abundance of choline, a substance that reduces the risk of neural tube defects in the fetus.

So let’s stop demonizing eggs, always ready instead to beautify and brighten our tables! Let’s consume them consciously, without anxiety or fear.

Fresh eggs: how to tell? Here are some tricks

To check if the eggs are fresh, just place them in a glass of cold water (100 ml) and dissolve 10 g of salt. Fresh eggs will settle at the bottom, while older eggs will gradually rise to the surface as they age. To be precise: if they sink to the bottom, they are very fresh; if they settle vertically in the middle, they are less than a week old; if they float horizontally, they should be discarded.

The second trick, called the candling method, consists of holding the egg up to a light: it should have the yolk visible as a shadow without an apparent outline, be well centered in the albumen even after rotation, and have no foreign bodies.

Another method to recognize fresh eggs is to look at them directly from the inside. After cracking them on a surface, the yolk should remain high and firm, while the white should stay compact around it and more fluid on the outside. When the red swelling easily crumbles and mixes with the white, those eggs can no longer be considered fresh. They will remain edible but difficult to whip and less suitable for certain culinary preparations.

One last trick to know if the eggs are fresh is the sound they make: if shaking them produces a sound similar to "tick-tock", it means that the beaten yolk is no longer fresh or well compacted with the white. In that case, it is better to prepare a soufflé or an omelet rather than partially cooking it.

Fresh or extra fresh eggs

The freshness of eggs is a criterion of preference that, in the case of packaged products, indicates the time elapsed from laying to packaging. In terms of freshness, eggs can be:

• Extra or Extra Fresh, if packaged within 3 days of laying. After 7 days from packaging, they lose this status. No longer extra, but simply fresh.
• Fresh, if packaged within 10 days of laying.

They are divided into two categories:

• Category A: intended for retail sale;
• Category B: intended for food processing industries (pasta manufacturers, sauce and pastry producers), with mandatory pasteurization required by law.

Within Category A, eggs are then calibrated by weight and divided into:

• XL, very large (equal to or greater than 73 grams);
• L, large (equal to or greater than 63 g and less than 73 g);
• M, medium (equal to or greater than 53 g and less than 63 g);
• S, small (less than 53 g).

How to cook eggs? Easy and quick egg recipes

How to cook eggs? No problem, there are many egg recipes. It is quite simple for all of us to cook them, but making them tasty and delicious is an art.
We can boil them in water or cook them in a pan, and why not, fry them or beat them to create a delicious omelet. However, even a simple operation like preparing hard-boiled eggs requires attention and a few tips worth following. One of all is the water, which should never be in full boil, but simmer gently and delicately.

Many also underestimate the speed and precision required in making a perfect French omelet, which we remind you is different from the common frittata as it is cooked only on one side and then folded.

Even poached eggs or eggs poached (known as eggs in a shirt), ideal as a main dish or to try as an ingredient in a sandwich, require some tricks: the white that wraps the yolk must be soft and well set, not overcooked. By doing so, the yellow part will be soft and creamy! The challenges of preparing poached eggs are numerous, making it one of the most difficult ways to cook an egg.
In summary, the recipe involves dropping a raw egg into hot water and creating a whirlpool that makes the white wrap the yolk like a shirt.
But how many things can go wrong? The egg may break prematurely, the white may be too raw, or the yolk too cooked! If we are not expert cooks, for this type of recipe, let’s be guided and advised by high-end cuisine.

And then there’s the soft-boiled egg for those who have never heard of it. It is simply a hard-boiled egg with a shorter cooking time (5 minutes instead of the 8 needed for a hard-boiled egg). By cooking up to a maximum of seven minutes, the white will be perfectly cooked, while the yolk will remain soft.
Many people enjoy creating an energetic protein-rich sauce by mixing this particular runny yolk of the soft-boiled egg with the other ingredients of a summer salad.

And what about the characteristics of a perfect fried egg or egg in the pan, also known as bull’s-eye egg? First, grease the pan, heat it well, and cook the egg without burning it, using a drop of oil or a bit of butter. Excellent for a quick lunch or brunch, the fried egg pairs well with cheeses and fine cured meats, making us proud to serve a dish of overall quality.

It would be unforgivable to forget the recipe for scrambled eggs (the addition of bacon is almost mandatory), typical of international English and American breakfasts. In particular, scrambled eggs and crispy bacon with toast are the fundamental elements of the traditional Anglo-Saxon breakfast.
The dish is simple: to make it, beat the eggs in a bowl with milk, salt, and pepper, cook them in a pan, and finally... scramble them. As soon as they start to set, turn off the heat. They should not be too stringy or dry. Quick cooking and remember, never stir with a spoon, just keep moving the pan, which must be non-stick and slightly buttered hot. 

Finally, for eggs Benedict, the most popular variation comes with the Hollandaise sauce, not to be confused with classic mayonnaise, while the typical stuffed eggs of Italian cuisine delight us with tasty and delicious ideas.
To prepare these homemade eggs, cook the eggs in boiling water for 10 minutes maximum, then cut them in half, remove the yolk, and mix it with other ingredients to create a tasty and delicious filling. The stuffed eggs should then be filled and served at room temperature as an appetizer. Success with friends and family at a dinner is guaranteed, all with extreme simplicity!
Dare yourselves, prepare stuffed eggs, and long live the recipes of the motherland!

How to replace eggs? Here are some ideas

In some desserts, eggs can be replaced with banana puree in the proportion of one small banana for each egg required. Even cornstarch, with its neutral flavor, can be used for cake preparation or to thicken a filling: one tablespoon is sufficient for each egg required. However, the dough must be softened with milk, orange juice, or vegetable broth, depending on the type of preparation.
The same applies to good old potato starch, while chickpea or soy flour (always one tablespoon for each egg required) can be chosen when you want to prepare a special bread or savory pie.
For vegans, on the other hand, there are substitute products such as starch and tapioca flour blends or freeze-dried white powder extracts obtained from the roots of Japanese plants; when dissolved in water, they take on a gelatinous consistency, acting as authentic binders in sweet and savory recipes.