Incredible Edible Egg in Food Service

the Inc Edible Egg for thousands of years the world's been fascinated by it the egg has been used for magic for rituals and even for fortune telling it's been painted dyed and decorated it's been a prized gift of kings and commoners alike today it's really hard to find a more popular item on most any menu than the Incredible Edible Egg there are really quite a few reasons why first eggs are extremely nutritious their highest quality protein and rich in a number of important vitamins and minerals eggs are also easy to prepare and they're available year round and last but not least eggs are extremely versatile they can be prepared hundreds of different ways for breakfast lunch and dinner as well as for snacks eggs can be served in more ways than any other food when prepared properly there's no better looking better tasting menu item than the Incredible Edible Egg in the next few minutes and with the help of Bill here our cook I'm going to pass along some pointers on eggs how to handle and store them properly and the preparation and serving of egg dishes let's start by looking at the forms of eggs you're probably working with now there are shell eggs and there are further processed egg products s egg products are eggs that have been broken out of their shells and processed they come liquid dried or frozen there are also specialty egg products including long eggs frozen kiche omelets egg patties pre-peeled hard cooked eggs and others in the majority of kitchens the form of eggs used is determined by the menus and the setup of equipment in the kitchen itself you're probably most familiar with shell eggs shell color either white or brown is determined by the breed of the hen and doesn't affect the quality or cooking properties of the egg now shell eggs should be refrigerated immediately after delivery and they should come to you in refrigerated trucks never let them stand at room temperature here's why eggs kept at room temperature or above 68° F will lose more quality in one day than in one week under Refrigeration another important thing to remember is they should be kept in their case and away from foods with strong odors like like onions apples and cabbage liquid egg products usually come in cartons like this and like shell eggs should be kept refrigerated at all times Frozen egg products should be transferred to a refrigerator or freezer immediately upon delivery and they should be Frozen when you receive them when defrosting Frozen egg products never allow them to thaw at room temperature always thaw them in the refrigerator or under cold running water the reason for this is that falling at temperatures higher than 45° F can cause curdling and off flavors once you've defrosted Frozen egg products always try to use them quickly be sure to refrigerate after defrosting care should be taken with dried egg products too once you've opened the container seal it tightly for restorage in a cool place away from light preferably in a refrigerator a few words of caution eggs like other foods are susceptible to bacterial growth so use the same care with them as you would with other food products for example when preparing egg dishes use a clean sanitized utensil to break the yolks or lift a piece of shell from a mass of raw egg never use your fingers and always wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling raw shell eggs and egg products now we're ready to take a look at the preparation of some of the most popular egg dishes starting with scrambled eggs scrambled eggs can be made with fresh grade a shell eggs with liquid or Frozen whole eggs or special Blends for scrambling now of course the way you scramble your eggs will be determined by the equipment in your kitchen a griddle is all right for small quantities but if you're preparing larger amounts like Bill an oven or steamer is better don't stir too much only after 10 minutes of cooking and then again at the end just enough to form large soft masses of egg notice the loose moist tender rolls of yellow free from any trace of white or signs of Browning the best way to prepare scrambled eggs is to cook in small batches according to the rate you're serving them you can hold scrambled eggs successfully in a steam table by undercooking them slightly and holding them at a low setting between 140 and 180° F garnish with fresh parsley a tomato wedge or even a slice of fresh fruit you'll be surprised how just a small bit of color will add a Finishing Touch let's proceed to another popular dish soft cooked eggs like their hard-cooked counterparts they're cooked right in the Shell the difference between them is only a matter of timing soft cooked eggs can be prepared in a steam jacketed Kettle or in a steamer the egg white should be set but jellylike and opaque and the yolk should be set on the outside but not firm it's important to remember that even though the eggs are removed from the heat they can continue to cook in their shells so if you're going to hold soft cooked eggs before serving them it's best to slightly undercook them you can hold soft cooked eggs in a steam table pan with a small amount of water right in the pan or in a steamtable pan with a small amount of water in the bottom pan always serve soft cooked eggs in an egg cup a ramkin or an attractive small bowl that way they'll always look their most appetizing hard cooked eggs are another popular item in the Food Service kitchen preparing them is simple you can use a steam jacketed Kettle or a [Music] steamer when finished cool the eggs quickly to help prevent a green ring from forming around the yolk this will also make peeling the eggs easier hard cooked eggs should look like this whites firm but tender with the yolks firm but not rubbery and there should be no discoloration where the yolks and white meet commercially prepared pre-peeled hard-cooked eggs are an alternative to cooking and peeling your own hard-cooked eggs can be served either as breakfast or snack items as ingredients or garnishes here's another important Food Service item Poached Eggs unlike the other egg items we've SE they can be prepared in advance and reheated when necessary when poaching eggs it's important that you use fresh grade A eggs directly from the refrigerator eggs which are not fresh or which are at room temperature will spread too much when placed in the hot water also the yolks may break the pan you use should be shallow but with a large surface area both a compartment or a high speed steamer can be used to prepare Poached Eggs you'll know that the eggs are poached properly when the white is set but appears jelly-like and opaque the yolk should be slightly set and lightly covered with egg white when the eggs are ready to be removed from the pan you'll find that a slotted spoon works best a tilting Skillet is also ideal for preparing poached eggs and it can be used to reheat them too now to prepare Poached Eggs up to 24 hours in advance slightly undercook them cover with cold water and refrigerate to reheat place the post eggs in simmering water until they're hot poached eggs are most appetizing when served in a soup cup or on top of a crisp piece of toast or a toasted English muffin and of course few dishes can top eggs benedict for Elegance at any [Music] meal another item that's sure to add variety to your menu are baked eggs and they're easy to prepare and require little handling or watching a deck oven is really the best piece of equipment with which to prepare baked eggs a convection oven will dry them out remember to always bake the eggs with another food uh on a bed of hash spinach Spanish rice hash browns or in toast cups these foods act as insulators and prevent the whites from toughening remember too to heat the other ingredients before adding the eggs baked eggs are at their best when the whites are firm but not crisp or rubber the yolk should be set but not firm baked eggs are an easy way to take just the ingredients you have in your kitchen and add a unique touch to your menu omelets are another really great way to use eggs it'd be hard to think of another egg dish that's as versatile omelets are right at home on the breakfast menu they're also ideal for lunch and dinner ENT trays you may already have your favorite way to prepare omelets but we found that a proper sized omelette p used directly on The Griddle works extremely well and of course there are many methods for moving the egg around in the pan to make an omelette the omelet is ready when it's firm but the top is still moist and creamy it's then that you add your filling if any next you roll the omelet over as Bill is doing or you just simply fold it and it's ready to serve some Cooks prefer to prepare large omelets in a baking pan in an oven when the mixture is set fill the omelette with cheese mushrooms Spanish sauce ham or even leftovers roll or fold and then slice into portions and [Music] serve you can also prepare large puffy omelets by baking them in steam table pans and serving individual portions with a sauce topping but no matter what your favorite way to prepare omelets is don't forget to garnish the plate before serving when it comes to a menu item that's practically foolproof few dishes can compete with kiche this Savory C Mustard Pie baked in a pastry shell has often been called the perfect light meal one of the real beauties of kiche is that for fillings anything goes cauliflower mushrooms cheeses tuna even nuts kich is a perfect way to use leftover vegetables and meats too the rule of thumb seems to be if it tastes good it is good kiche can be baked in a convection or deck oven the kiche is done when a knife inserted off center comes out clean a popular way to serve kiche is with a small green salad and a bit of fruit try it as a change of pace for either your luncheon or dinner menu when you think about it it's incredible the number of things you can do with eggs in the past few minutes we've shown you just a few of them but there are literally dozens more just waiting for you to try each of them a great looking great tasting dish that's a snap to prepare we hope the tips in this film will make make your job easier and will help you in preparing a bigger variety of appealing egg dishes so for an incredible way to brighten up your menu remember the Incredible Edible Egg