The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 96

whites that will hold their shape much better during
poaching or frying, as well as yolks that will remain better
centered when boiled. Because of the way their proteins
break down, eggs become looser and looser as they age.
There’s another important change too: as eggs age, they
become more and more alkaline. This is particularly
importantinmeringue-baseddishes,asthepHofeggwhites
can greatly affect their foaming power. Egg whites foam
best in slightly acidic environments, which means that old
eggswillproducelooser,wetterfoams.Tocounteractthis,a
pinchofacidiccreamoftartarwillhelpyourmeringuesstay
stiffandweep-free.


Loosewhitesinoldereggs.
Q:I’veheardthatoldereggsarebetterforboiling
becausetheyareeasiertopeel.Isthistrue?Isthereany
culinaryadvantagetousingoldereggs?

Ibelievedthisforthelongesttime—untilIactuallytestedit
with a few cartons of eggs from different sources,
comparingthemwithsomeeggsIgotfrommyneighborin
Brooklyn’sbackyardthatwerelessthanaweekold.Guess
what?Whethertheeggswereaweekoldortwoandahalf
monthsold,theywerejustaslikelytohaveshellsthatstuck
to them when peeling. On top of that, with older eggs, the
yolks become uncentered, gravitating toward the egg wall,
making for unattractive slices. No matter how you plan on
cookingthem,fresheggsarebetterthanoldones.