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Cooking of True Proteids Continued: Eggs: Poached

Poached Eggs, and Eggs Removed from the Shell and Cooked with White and Yolk Distinct and Separate POACHED EGGS ON TOAST Rub over the bottom of the frying pan with a bit of butter, and pour in about a pint of boiling water; add half a teaspoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of vinegar. Let this stand where the water will keep hot, but not boil. Break in two eggs, being careful to strike the shell only enough to crack it without disturbing the yolk. Let stand, until the eggs are set on the bottom, then loosen the egg from the pan, by carefully pushing beneath it a spatula or griddle-cake turner, to avoid too much cooking on the bottom, then let stand until delicately cooked throughout. Have ready two slices of bread, toasted to a golden brown. Wet the edge of each slice in salted, boiling water, set these upon the plates, made warm, dot with bits of butter, and with a skimmer remove the eggs from the pan to the toast. Add a bit of parsley or cress, and if desired a dash of black pepper to each, and place at once upon the table. EGGS POACHED IN CREAM Set a small frying pan containing a scant cup of thin cream into a dish of boiling water. When the cream shows tiny bubbles at the edge, add one-fourth a teaspoonful of salt and break in two fresh eggs. When the white becomes set a little, separate the eggs from the pan with a spatula, and when they are set throughout (this can be told by noting the condition of the eggs when the pan is gently shaken), remove them to two rounds of toast; pour the cream over the whole, and set at once upon the table.

EGGS "POACHED" IN FAT OR FRIED When we remember the low temperature at which the albumin in egg is coagulated, it is evident that the fat in which an egg is to be cooked need not be very hot. Most housekeepers, whether young or old, fry eggs in too hot fat. Fat that sputters, when an egg is broken into it, is much too hot for the purpose. Olive oil, as it does not burn until heated to a very high temperature, is the best possible medium for frying purposes. Care must be exercised in its use, for there is no change in its appearance even when hot enough to brown any article put into it. Fat tried out, at a low degree of heat, from bacon, ham or salt pork, carefully poured from the sediment in the pan, is a particularly good medium for frying eggs. Break the eggs into the fat, and cook in the same manner as when poaching in water. If the fat does not cover the eggs, dip it over them with a tablespoon. If the fat used in this cooking be at the proper temperature and has never been raised to too high a degree of heat, the eggs will be discolored no more than when poached in water. Serve fried eggs with bacon, ham, spinach, etc. Eggs Cooked with White and Yolk Mixed Scrambled. Omelet (French, Puffy) SCRAMBLED EGGS, REFORMED STYLE Turn four tablespoonfuls of milk or thin cream into an agate frying pan, and add half a teaspoonful of salt. Beat four eggs with a silver fork just enough to break the yolk thoroughly. Then turn the egg into the hot milk. Cook over a gentle fire, stirring as the egg thickens, and adding, now and then, a bit of butter, until two tablespoonfuls have been used. When lightly set turn on to a hot serving dish and serve at once.

SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH VARIATIONS Cooked ingredients, as chicken, ham, smoked tongue, sardines or anchovies, chopped or cut in bits, peas, asparagus tips, green or red peppers, parsley (the two latter chopped fine), small cubes of fried bread, and small cubes of hot bacon, may be added to eggs before scrambling. Peppers are usually cooked in butter until softened, before being added to the eggs. GENERAL VARIETIES OF OMELET Of omelets there are two general varieties--French and puffy -- these are distinguished by the manipulation of the eggs, both in beating and in cooking. In the French omelet, the eggs are beaten simply to mix well the whites and yolks, no attempt being made to secure lightness; in the puffy omelet, all the air possible is beaten into the eggs, and the cooking is conducted in a manner to retain the air if possible to the moment of eating. For a particularly tender omelet use a greater number of yolks than of whites. FRENCH OMELET In making a French omelet, much depends on the condition of the pan. The inner surface needs be so smooth that, when the pan is shaken over the fire, the cooked mixture will slide upon it (forming creases where it doubles upon itself), thus letting the uncooked portion down upon the hot surface. A steel pan is preferable, and should be kept for this purpose alone. After using, rinse out thoroughly with hot water, and dry and polish with fine, soft tissue paper. Small omelets are handled more easily than large ones. Beat two eggs and the yolks of two more with a kitchen spoon or silver fork, until a full spoonful can be taken up. Add one-fourth a teaspoonful of salt, three tablespoonfuls of water, and a dash of pepper, if desired. Mix thoroughly, then strain into a bowl. Have a tablespoonful of butter melted in the omelet-pan. Bring this forward to a hot part of the range, let stand a minute, then turn in the egg mixture. Shake the pan back and forth with one hand, and, with a spatula or thin knife in the other, separate the cooked egg from the pan at the edge, so that in shaking, the uncooked egg may at this point run down on to the hot pan. Raise the side of the pan next the handle, in shaking forward, and lower it, when the pan is brought back. When nearly creamy throughout, roll the omelet, let stand a moment to color a little, then turn on to a hot servingdish. A bit of butter, added at the last moment, will aid in giving color to the omelet.