Since the egg is similar to milk in composition, both containing water, fat, and protein, without starch, and as there are many simple dishes in which milk and eggs are combined, it is natural that that should be our next topic.

The egg may seem a small article to have much space devoted to it, but there is no other food so indispensable to the art of cooking. A French chef has compared the office of eggs in cooking to the usefulness of the, an, and a, in conversation, both would be difficult without them.

Aside from its great food value, and there is no egg of bird that may not be eaten, the egg is a general harmonizer in the kitchen; it serves to© thicken custards and sauces; to clarify soups and jellies; to make a coating of crumbs adhere to chops or croquettes; it puffs up souffles; it leavens a whole group of cakes; it garnishes salads and emulsifies oil into a smooth, rich dressing for them, and combined with odd bits of fish or meat, it makes many a savory dish of what would otherwise be lost.

Usefulness of Eggs

The composition of eggs varies with the kind of fowl and its food. The edible portion of the average hen's egg is nearly 75 per cent, water, 12 per cent, protein, 12 per cent, fat, and 1 per cent, ash or mineral matter.

Since carbohydrates are lacking, we naturally combine eggs with starches and sugar which supply the class of substance missing.

Like milk, eggs may be eaten either raw or cooked, and the ways of cooking eggs, however elaborate they seem, may be reduced to a few simple processes.

We shall have the key to all cookery of eggs if we study some eggs cooked by moderate and some by intense heat.

To see how the egg is affected by different degrees of heat, we may poach several eggs, or drop them from their shells into water at different temperatures. When an egg is dropped into a saucepan with cold water, and heat applied, before the egg begins to cook, the egg and water mingle somewhat, showing that a portion of the raw egg is soluble in cold water. As the water is heated, this soluble egg becomes cooked and rises in a thick froth on top, and if the cooking is continued longer, this froth may contract and settle. This point is turned to the cook's advantage in clearing jellies, soup stocks, and coffee. Thus even the little portion of the egg white adhering to the shell is sometimes utilized for clearing coffee.

Effect of Heat on Eggs

When an egg is dropped directly into boiling water, the outer portions of it are hardened by the heat. This cooked egg does not appear to be soluble itself and, moreover, protects the under portion until that also is penetrated by the heat.

Experiment. - Boil one egg rapidly; put another into the boiling water, remove from the stove, and let stand for fifteen minutes or more. Compare temperatures with a thermometer. See which egg is more tender, and presumably, more easy of digestion.

The white and yolk of eggs cook at different temperatures, and these appear to vary slightly with the freshness of the egg. For general use it is sufficient to remember that 1500 to 1800 F is ample heat for dishes composed mainly of eggs and milk. When starch is used, a higher temperature is required, and whenever possible, this should be obtained before combination with the eggs. Having learned this, we have the key to the successful cooking of all custards and the like. A custard that has curdled, or wheyed, or settled in the center, has cooked too long, or in too hot an oven. The custom of setting a custard in a pan of water in the oven is wise, for the moisture lowers the temperature of the oven. Excessive beating of eggs may aid the curdling of the custard; it certainly is a waste of effort here, however it may be in cake making.

Average custards are made with three to six eggs to a quart of milk; naturally the larger number makes a firmer custard, but the other is quite palatable. Often gelatine or corn starch is used to assist in thickening milk when eggs are expensive, but these combinations are not real custards.

There is a long list of puddings where a custard or egg and milk are combined with starchy materials. In such cases as have already been stated, it is wise to have the starch, whether in the form of rice, tapioca, sago, or corn starch, cooked in the milk before the egg is added. Bread or cracker crumbs may be combined directly with the milk, for then the starch has already been cooked.

A single dropped egg may show that water need not boil in order to cook an egg. Even if a thermometer is not available, it can be seen that the white of the egg instantly changes in appearance when it comes in contact with water far below the boiling point. A muffin ring placed in the water assists in keeping the egg in good shape. A little salt and lemon juice or vinegar in the water makes the egg harden quickly on the outside instead of mingling with the water.

Since we reckon the cost of other foods by the pound, for easy comparison we must estimate the value of eggs on the same basis. It will be found that the average hen's egg weighs about two ounces, and that eight good sized eggs in their shells, or nine or ten shelled eggs, weigh one pound. The fuel required, the labor of preparation, and the waste are much less with eggs than for most other foods.

Some experiments recorded in "Eggs and Their Uses as Food" (Farmers' Bulletin No. 128, U. S. Dept. AgL), show that it cost more than twice as much to serve and satisfy at breakfast a family of over one hundred women in a college boarding hall with mutton chops or beefsteak at less than 20c.. per pound, than with eggs at 25c. a dozen.

Commercially, there are many grades of eggs, dependent upon their age. Cold storage has done away with most other methods of preserving eggs. Anything that will exclude air, without bringing ill flavor to the egg, will aid in preserving it. Eggs are available almost everywhere at all seasons and even at their highest prices, are not more expensive than the choicer cuts of meat.

An inferior egg injures all other materials with which it is combined, therefore it is never economy to buy poor eggs. When eggs are high do without them, making dishes which require few, if any; then when they are again plenty they will be all the more appetizing. With proper conditions for keeping eggs, it may be economy for some housekeepers to buy a large quantity in the fall and pack them carefully in an upright position, but many find it better to give the grocer a few cents more than to take the time and risk of loss.

Poached Eggs On Fish Balls