Egg farmer shares secrets to perfect preparation
No one knows eggs better than the Newcombe family in Port Williams.
For 10 generations, the Newcombes of Cornwallis Farms have farmed the land and have produced chickens, eggs and milk. They also make their own feed and grow most of their crops, including corn, wheat, soybeans, peas, used in the feed.
“We don't know if they had eggs in the early generations, but anything we have found written about the farm from the late 1800s always mentions eggs,” says Geneve Newcombe, whose primary responsibility is looking after the farm financials.
Although it's difficult to say what percentage egg production makes up of the total farm, Newcombe says it is definitely one of the farm's main components. Newcombe served on the Egg Farmers of Nova Scotia board for more than 10 years, serving as chairperson for six of them.
Last year, she was also the recipient of the first Minister's award of Excellence for Agriculture given by the Nova Scotia agricultural minister, as a public trust ambassador. So, when it comes to giving advice and tips regarding eggs, it would be hard to find a better expert than Newcombe herself.
HOW TO REMOVE EGGSHELL
Take the broken half of the leftover eggshell and use it to scoop out the bit of shell in your cracked egg. The jagged part of the eggshell acts as a sort of knife, breaking through the raw egg to get at the shell easily and without any mess.
CLEANING UP RAW EGG
Take regular table salt, pour it over the egg spill — enough to cover it completely — and wipe it up with paper towel. The salt leeches the moisture from the egg making it easy to wipe up.
CRACKING AN EGG
The most common way to crack an egg is on the rim of a bowl or pan. While this gets the job done, it can drive the shell into the egg, causing bits of eggshell to fall into the raw egg. To prevent this, the best way is to crack it on a flat surface.
It is also a good idea to crack your eggs into a smaller bowl before adding them to your main ingredients.
HARD-BOILED EGGS
The key trick to great hardboiled eggs is not over-cook them, which can leave a grey ring around the yolk and make their texture a bit rubbery.
Place your eggs in a single layer on the bottom of your pot and cover them with cold water. The water should be about an inch or so higher than the eggs. Cover the pot with a lid.
Over high heat, bring your eggs to a rolling boil.
Remove the pot from heat and cover with a lid. Let stand for three to five minutes for a traditional soft-boiled egg, which will have a set white and warm but runny egg yolk. Want a hard-boiled egg? Let it stand for 10 to 12 minutes.
Next, drain water and immediately
run cold water over eggs until cooled. Rapid cooling helps prevent a ring from forming around the yolks.
PEELING BOILED EGGS
The easiest peeling method is to use the eggs that have been in the refrigerator the longest. The less fresh the egg, the easier it will be to peel.
Newcombe says she learned this lesson early on when trying to peel hard-boiled eggs that were fresh from the barn.
To peel a hard-boiled egg,
crackle the shell all over by tapping the egg on a hard surface, then roll the egg between your hands to loosen the shell.
Begin peeling at the large end. Hold the egg under cold running water or dip it in a bowl of water to help remove the shell.
TELLING THE DIFFERENCE
To determine whether an egg is hard-boiled or raw,
spin it! When you try to stop the eggs from spinning by slightly touching them, the hard-boiled egg easily stops spinning, but the raw egg will keep turning a little bit. When you try to stop the raw egg, your touch stops the shell, but the fluid inside the egg continues to move, which causes the egg to remain spinning. Newcombe says she has often used this fun experiment when visiting classrooms.
OTHER USES FOR EGGS
Newcombe's Women in Egg mentorship program group provided more unique ways to use eggs:
• Mix egg with olive oil and honey to make a good hair mask. Massage the mix on your hair and let it sit for 30 minutes. Rinse, then shampoo.
• Combine egg whites and aloe vera to use as a face mask.
• Eggs shells ground up, can be added to the garden.
• Fill half a shell with soil to start seeds in it.
Go online: Eggs.ca has a wealth of information on how to cook eggs, as well as recipes.