Amazing Eggs

A little bit more than just boiled, scrambled or fried...

Unless you happen to be vegan, chances are you’ll have a box of eggs at home. It’s one those foods which is familiar to every household, as well as a core component in classic cuisine and one of the first ingredients we learn to cook with. This familiarity makes it easy to forget that eggs are a truly remarkable ingredient. Delicious and versatile even on their own, they are also used for binding, glazing, emulsifying, lightening and thickening. Things like meringues, soufflés and mousses would be much more difficult and much less interesting without them.

Home cooks tend not to exploit this amazing array of capabilities because of a perception that boiling, frying and scrambling are much easier to do than emulsifying, whisking or preserving, for example. This perception is false, and worth challenging. A perfectly boiled egg yolk, for instance, can be frustratingly elusive, and it takes practice and diligence to get it right every time. Creating an emulsion is no different, and at least you can see what you are doing.