Eggs

• Vitamins and Minerals


  Nutrients found in eggs
• Vitamins in eggs


  • Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K)
  • Vitamin B12
  • Vitamin B2
  • Biotin
  • Folate
  • Pantothenic acid
• Minerals in eggs


  • Selenium
  • Iodine
  • Zinc
  • Iron
  • Copper
• Iron in eggs are not absorb thoroughly in the intestine as it binds to phosvitin, an egg protein that inhibits absorption
• Functions of eggs in foods

  • Flavor
  • Color
  • Emulsify
  • Thicken
  • Bind
  • Foam
  • Interfere
  • Clarify
• Emulsifying


  Egg yolks contain lecithin, a natural emulsifying agent. Eggs thus help keep fat and water or other liquid compounds from separating, so they are often used to thicken and stabilize foods such as salad dressings, mayonnaise, Ice cream, cream puffs, and certain cakes
• Binding


  During cooking, heat coagulates the eggs' protein, which then acts as an adhesive, binding the other ingredients to the surfaces of the cooked material
• Foaming


  The capacity of egg whites to be beaten into a foarn that increases to six or eight times its original volume is invaluable in food preparation. Egg white foams are used to aerate and leaven a number of food products, such as puffy omelets, soufflés, angel food cake, sponge cake, and meringues
• Various egg products


  • Fried eggs
  • Scrambled eggs
  • Omelets
  • Shirred eggs
  • Meringue
  • Soufflés
  • Hard or soft boiled
  • Quiche
  • Frittata
  • Poached eggs
• Shell color


  Indicates the breed of the hen and not its nutrient content or taste of the egg
• Brown eggs


  • Produced by larger hens
  • More expensive as they produce fewer eggs and require more food to survive
• Egg classes


  • Classified by the Department of Trade and Industry through the Bureau of Agriculture Fisheries Product Standards (BAFPS) of the Department of Agriculture
• Egg classification based on weight

  • Shown in a table
• Candling


  The original method of grading eggs by holding an egg up to the light of a candle to view its contents
• Candling


  1. Eggs are now mechanically rotated over lights by the use of rollers

  2. Principle is that eggs start to deteriorate after being laid and this change can be seen through an egg held against a light
• Fresh, high-quality egg


  • Yolk is suspended tightly by the chalazae, seen in candling only as a slight shadow
• Older eggs


  • Yolks are surrounded by thinning, clearer egg whites and deteriorating chalazae
• Egg


  • 5 major components: yolk, albumin (egg white), shell membranes, air cell, and shell
• Yolk


  Sunny yellow yolk situated in the center of the egg, dense in nutrients, serves to nourish the chick
• Albumen


  Egg white, accounts for almost 3/5 (58%) of an egg's weight, made up largely of water and protein, constructed of layers differing in viscosity, alternating from thick to thin
• Chalazae


  Anchor the egg yolk in the thick egg white surrounding it, secure the yolk to its vitelline membrane so it stays neatly centered in the middle of the egg
• Shell membranes


  Inner and outer shell membrane, press up against the shell and protect the egg against bacterial invasion
• Air cell


  Pocket of air between the two shell membranes at the larger end of the egg, ensures that eggs remains intact
• Shell


  Natural protection of the delicate internal contents of an egg, made up of calcium carbonate