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Home » Articles » The Kitchen
Chronic in the Kitchen: The good egg
by Jennifer Hess
I’m willing to bet that most of you have a carton of eggs tucked away in a corner of your refrigerator, and that you probably don’t give them much thought. Eggs are one of those foods that we often take for granted, a staple food like milk or bread that many of us always have on hand. They may seem ordinary or uninspiring, but in reality they’re one of the most versatile foods around, great on their own or as a component part of a variety of sweet or savory dishes.
As the Web site Local Harvest points out, hens which are allowed to roam free—eating grasses, grubs and bugs as nature intended—produce eggs that contain up to 20% higher levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids in their yolks than those which come from factory-farmed hens.
Be cautious when buying eggs in supermarkets, because the labels can be confusing. "Cage-free" or "free-range" does not mean that the hens were allowed to range on grass, and "certified organic" eggs may still come from a factory farm. (Note: You can enter your state or zip code on the Local Harvest website to find a source of pastured eggs near you.)
From shades of brown to white to pale blues and speckled greens, eggs come in a beautiful array of colors. Shell color is determined by the breed of hen that laid the egg, and it doesn't make a substantial difference in their flavor or nutritional value. Where you will see the difference in quality right away is when you crack open a pastured egg—their firm yolks are a deep golden hue, sometimes almost orange, and their flavor is as rich as their color. There’s something about the structure of the proteins in these eggs that will make your cakes lighter and your scrambled eggs fluffier—they're a real revelation. Once you've had a taste of eggs produced the way nature intended, you"ll look at them in a whole new light.
Foolproof Hard-Boiled Eggs
Provencal Baked Eggs
This dish is simple to prepare and is delicious any time of the day— for brunch, lunch or a light dinner with a green salad on the side.
- 1/3 cup canned chopped or crushed tomatoes
- Kosher or sea salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence (a dried herb blend which commonly contains rosemary, thyme, lavender, tarragon and marjoram—Penzey’s Spices is a good resource for purchase)
- 1-2 oz. crumbled feta or soft goat cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub butter or olive oil all around the inside of an individual baking dish. Spoon the tomatoes into the bottom of the baking dish and season with a pinch of salt.
Crack the eggs into the baking dish and sprinkle the Herbes de Provence over them. Scatter the cheese all over the top, place the baking dish onto a sheet pan and bake, uncovered, for 15-17 minutes for soft yolks, up to 20 for fully cooked yolks.
Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven and allow it to sit for a minute or two before serving.
Posted: 8/22/2007 in The Kitchen
