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2. Hold the egg in front of a bright light and look through it. If it looks clear it is fresh, if it is opaque it is not fresh. This is called candling and is the test used by dealers before eggs are packed in cold storage.

Effects of Heat on Albumin.

The word albumin comes from Albus, meaning white. Albumin hardens and turns white on being heated. Experiments.

Have two saucepans of boiling water. Break an egg carefully into a saucer, remove one saucepan from the fire, slip the egg into the water. Cover the pan and set aside for eight minutes. Break another egg into the other saucepan of boiling water. Keep the water boiling for three minutes.

Examine the two eggs and see which is more tender.

Test the temperature of the water in each saucepan.

Albumin becomes firm and jelly-like at 160° F., and gets hard and tough, therefore less digestible, at 212° F., or the temperature of boiling water. If an egg is cooked below boiling temperature long enough (from 45 to 60 min.) the yolk will be dry and mealy and the white will be tender. The old way of boiling an egg ten minutes to have it "hard boiled" produced an egg in which the yolk was dark and the white tough and indigestible.

Practical Hints.

The shell of a fresh egg is rough, not smooth and shiny. Eggs should be kept in a cool, dry place.

Eggs should always be washed before being used.

When using several eggs, break them singly into a cup to be sure they are fresh.

Cover an unbroken egg yolk with water and put it in the ice box and it will keep for several days.

Rinse all egg dishes with cold water before washing them. Hot water hardens the albumin.

The clean shells from uncooked eggs may be used to settle coffee.

EGGS