Guide to eggs

From nutrition to cooking, freezing and more, Celia Plender finds out some eggcellent facts about eggs

Storing eggs

Eggs can either be stored in the fridge or in a cool dark place - it's best to leave them in the box as the porous shells can absorb other smells and flavours from the fridge. Check the shells of your eggs are undamaged before using and that the best before date stamped on to each egg. Make sure the shells are clean before using and if they're not wipe off any marks or feathers using a damp cloth. Ideally you should bring your eggs up to room temperature before cooking, so take them out of their storage spot 20 minutes before you want to use them.

How dangerous is raw egg?

If eggs are cooked thoroughly the bacteria in them is killed, if they are served raw, or lightly cooked, it's possible that they will still contain harmful bacteria. The Food Standards Agency advices that risk groups such as the elderly, children, pregnant women and sick people should only eat thoroughly cooked eggs. For everyone else, there is still a risk there, so if you're worried, you can opt for eggs from salmonella vaccinated hens such as Lion eggs, which carry a lower risk.

Getting the shell out of cracked eggs

No one wants to bite down on a bit of shell when they're tucking into a nice omelette or piece of cake, so crack eggs in a separate bowl before adding them to the other ingredients. That way you should also be able to spot rogue bits of shell more easily. Fish out the shell using a teaspoon, but if there's just too much shell to get out, you could put beaten eggs through a sieve - as long as you don't mind having to clean it afterwards.

How fresh is your egg?

In the shell: Test the freshness of whole eggs by putting them in cold water. If they sink, they're fresh, but if they float they're probably old. This is because eggs contain a tiny air pocket that gets bigger the older they get.

Cracked: If you crack an egg on to a plate or in to a frying pan, have a look how far the white spreads. In a fresh egg it will be quite compact with the yolk perched on top, as it gets older, the white will spread further and the yolk will be flatter too.

Eggs, nutrition and fat

Eggs are a good source of protein, vitamin D, A, B2, B12 and iodine, and according to the British Egg Information Service a medium egg only contains about 80 calories.

In the past it has been recommended that people with health issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart problems should restrict the number of eggs they eat. These restrictions have now been lifted though as, although they are high in saturated fat, medical bodies such as the British Heart Foundation believe that the cholesterol found in eggs doesn’t usually make a great contribution to blood cholesterol.

Freezing eggs

Once you've cracked open an egg, you can store it in the freezer for up to six months. While egg whites freeze really well, you may find that yolks are a little thicker and more glutinous when thawed. To avoid this, the British Egg Information Service recommend beating half a teaspoon of sugar or a teaspoon of salt into each whole egg to be frozen, or the same quantities for every two yolks to be frozen. Just make sure you label your containers with sweet or savoury so you know which dishes to use them in and note the number of eggs you've frozen so your recipes are still accurate. Defrost them in the fridge overnight before using.

How to avoid a dark ring around the yolk of hard-boiled eggs

That ominous grey ring inside your boiled egg is caused by sulphur dioxide from the egg white reacting with the iron in the egg yolk. It's not dangerous, but it's not too pretty either. Here are two tricks to avoid it:

Don't over boil your eggs.
If you're serving them cold, plunge them into cold water to cool them down as quickly as possible once they're cooked.

Watch 4Food's how to boil an egg video for more tips.

Cooking eggs in a microwave

Don't even think of putting whole eggs in the microwave, or you may have an explosion on your hands. You can cook scrambled or poached eggs in there though, and omelettes will just about work too. Have a look at the British Egg Information Service microguide for more egg microwaving tips.

Have a look at Heston Blumenthal's top tips for cooking eggs

Main image provided by the British Egg Information Service