Just Cook It! Everything has a month — including the incredible, edible egg
This may come as a shock to you, but May is National Egg Month. I know what you’re thinking – “I just finished all of my various colored hard-boiled eggs from Easter, so why would I want to celebrate National Egg Month?”
The answer is simply because eggs are awesome.
First I’ll address the question of why National Egg Month is celebrated in the month that usually follows Easter. The reason that we celebrate (or should be participating in the celebration of) National Egg Month in May is because egg sales tend to slow at that time.
Egg sales boom during the Easter season and then slow down immediately following it. Making National Egg Month be the month of May is the egg industry’s way of trying to curtail the reduction in egg sales. It’s not really a complicated or highly scientific reason, but it is the reason nonetheless.
In any case, eggs are one of the most remarkable foods around. We still don’t understand everything about eggs, but we do know that they are quite delicious and quite versatile.
Some of the most common egg preparation methods are scrambled, fried (commonly referred to as dippy in this area), hard-boiled, soft-boiled, poached, omelettes, and pickled.
An interesting fact about cooked versus raw eggs – The protein in raw eggs is only 51 percent bioavailable, whereas that of a cooked egg is nearly 91 percent bioavailable. This means that the protein of cooked eggs is nearly twice as absorbable as the protein from raw eggs.
So if you still want to be like Rocky just to be like Rocky then go ahead and keep drinking your raw eggs for breakfast. But if you want your body to use more protein and build more muscle then cooking your eggs is the better way to go.
Scrambled eggs are a favorite among both children and adults alike. If you prefer to increase the protein and decrease the fat in your scrambled eggs, you can always scramble only the whites.
You can even scramble one or two whole eggs and add additional egg whites from other eggs to bulk up the protein.
I prefer my scrambled eggs to be soft and even a bit runny. This doesn’t mean that they are undercooked; this means that I cook them slightly different to achieve this result.
First, I add a touch of water to my eggs before scrambling them. Water won’t contribute any fat or flavor to your eggs, but it will help yield a tenderer final product than adding milk or cream.
After adding the water, I season my eggs with a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of fresh cracked black pepper and then whish them aggressively. I either use a whisk for this job or sometimes I’ll scramble my eggs in a blender. Whipping more air into the eggs will mean more volume and a lighter scrambled egg.
The trick is to pour the eggs immediately after scrambling them into a buttered pan (I usually use a small sauce pot) over low heat. I’ll typically use one-half tablespoon of butter per egg. I’ll put half of the butter in the pan and allow it to melt over low heat before pouring the eggs into the pan.
At this point I will continuously stir my eggs with a rubber spatula and watch them very closely the entire time they cook. The eggs will slowly begin to thicken as they are stirred. This is a time consuming process, but patience is a virtue and you will be rewarded for yours if you successfully cook your scrambled eggs in this manner.
If your pan becomes too hot and your eggs begin cooking too quickly or forming large lumps, remove the pan from the heat, continue stirring, and then place it back onto the heat after it cools a bit.
When the eggs reach the consistency that’s slightly thicker than pudding, they are almost finished. At this point I like to add the other half of the butter and allow it to melt into the eggs as I continue to stir.
The cooking term for this method is “mounting with butter.” Many sauces are traditionally finished this way and it adds a richness and creamy mouth feel which I also enjoy for my scrambled eggs.
When the butter is melted, you can then transfer the scrambled eggs to a serving bowl and adjust the seasoning. I like to finish my scrambled eggs with a pinch of fresh snipped chives for good measure and bright green color.
Celebrate National Egg Month by making your scrambled eggs this way the next time you make breakfast. It’s my favorite way to enjoy them and might turn into being your favorite way too.
Eggs are a fun and delicious food that can be prepared in more ways than you are aware. Use National Egg Month to learn some new ways of making eggs. Get in the kitchen, crack some eggs, and — Just Cook It!
Mario J. Porreca of Belle Vernon is a food personality, author, and the host of Just Cook It on WMBS Radio 590 AM. He can be reached via his website at: www.JustCookIt.net. Twitter: @MarioPorreca