Back to basics with boiled eggs

Every culture has its own version of street snacks, or so I am led to believe.

I’d like to do a lot more travelling and learn about street food firsthand, but I have been lucky enough to see a little of the world. While visiting Ghana, West Africa, I saw enterprising vendors on the hot streets in the capital Accra selling hard boiled eggs to hungry travellers. Different from Canadian hot dog carts and chip wagons!

We are cautious about keeping eggs chilled in Canada and don’t sell them on the streets, but hard cooked eggs have a place in our food customs, too. We add them to the potato salad that’s an important menu item at picnics, lobster dinners and barbecues, and, when a plate of old-fashioned devilled eggs appears at one of these events, it isn’t long until the plate is cleaned off.

Boiled eggs can have a prominent place in everyday meals too. Hard cooked eggs add a quick hit of satisfying protein to breakfast. They are also lunch-time favourites, whether eaten out of hand, sliced into green salads or chopped and used to fill egg salad sandwiches.

Is it hard cooked eggs or hard boiled eggs? You’ll hear both, and I don’t have a preference for one over the other, but some sticklers for accuracy insist on the former, saying that it’s more descriptive of how the eggs are prepared.

There are several ways to make hard cooked, or hard boiled eggs. I used to just put them in a pan of already boiling water, leave them for awhile, and hope for the best. The results were inconsistent. Now I take more care and get more palatable results.

The method that works best for me is to place the eggs into a saucepan and add enough cold water to completely cover them. Cover the pan, place over high heat, and bring to a full boil. Then remove the pan from the heat, keeping it covered, and set a timer for 20 minutes. Don’t overcook or the outer edge of the yolks will turn dingy grey.

At the end of 20 minutes, chill the eggs immediately by immersing it in cold water or holding under cold running water. This makes it easier to peel off the shells.

Here is one case when less fresh eggs are more desirable, for fresher ones are much more difficult to peel when boiled. The thin membrane inside the shell clings more tightly to the white of a very fresh egg, rather than sliding easily off as it does with older eggs. If you have two cartons of eggs in the fridge, use the older ones for boiling, and the newer ones, which will hold their shape better, for frying or poaching.

Hard cooked eggs can be kept in the fridge, in their shells, for up to a week. It’s best to label the container, but if you lose track of which eggs are hard cooked and which are uncooked, spin them to find out. A hard-cooked egg will spin longer than a raw egg, because the liquid centre in a raw egg prevents it from building up enough momentum to keep turning.

You can modify this recipe for Basic Devilled Eggs by adding minced onion or chives, a little curry powder, hot sauce or whatever other seasoning you fancy.

Basic Devilled Eggs

From www.eggs.ca

12 hard cooked eggs, peeled

60 mL (1/4 cup) light mayonnaise or salad dressing

10 mL (2 tsp) Dijon mustard

1 mL (1/4 tsp) salt

1 mL (1/4 tsp) pepper

pinch paprika (optional)

Cut eggs in half lengthwise.

Remove yolks and place in medium bowl; set egg whites aside.

Mash yolks with a fork; stir in mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper.

Spoon or pipe yolk mixture into egg white halves.

Sprinkle paprika over top, if desired.

Serve immediately or cover and store in refrigerator. Serve within 2 days.

Notes

To take devilled eggs to a picnic, put cooked egg white halves in a container with a tight-fitting cover, and the devilled yolk filling in a plastic bag. Place both in the cooler. When it’s time to serve, cut off one corner of the plastic bag and pipe filling into the egg white halves.

Margaret Prouse, a home economist, can be reached by writing her at RR#2, North Wiltshire, P.E.I., C0A 1Y0, or by email at margaret@islandgusto.com.

Source: Theguardian.pe.ca

By: Margaret Prouse

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