While eggs are nutritious and valuable as food they should not be used too freely, as they are a highly concentrated form of food. The albumen (white) of egg is one of the most valuable tissue builders. Much depends upon the manner in which they are cooked. Eggs fried in fat or hard boiled are very indigestible. Do not use an egg until it has been laid some hours, as the white does not become thick till then and cannot be beaten stiff. Eggs should be kept in a cool dark place, and handled carefully in order to avoid mixing the white and yolk, which causes the egg to spoil quickly.

Have the water boiling in a saucepan. Put in the eggs and move to the back of the stove where the water will keep hot, about 175 or 180 F., for from 8 to 10 minutes. If the back of the stove is too hot, move to the hearth. The white should be of a soft, jelly-like consistency, the yolks soft but not liquid. An egg to be cooked soft should never be cooked in boiling water.

Cook eggs for 20 minutes in water just below the boiling point. The yolk of an egg cooked 10 minutes is tough and indigestible; 20 minutes will make it dry and mealy, when it is more easily penetrated by the gastric fluid.

Have a clean, shallow pan nearly full of salted and boiling water. Remove the scum and let the water just simmer. Break each egg carefully into a saucer and slip it gently into the water. Dip the water over it with the end of the spoon, and when a film has formed over the yolk and the white is like a soft jelly, take up with a skimmer and place on a piece of neatly trimmed toast. This is the most wholesome way of cooking eggs for serving with ham or bacon.

Beat the yolks of two eggs, add two tbsps. of milk, 1 ssp. of salt and 1/4 of a ssp. of pepper. Beat the whites till stiff and dry. Cut and fold them into the yolks till just covered. Have a clean, smooth omelet pan (or spider). When hot, rub well with a teaspoonful of butter; see that the butter is all over the pan, turn in the omelet and spread evenly on the pan. Cook until slightly browned underneath, being careful not to let it burn; set in a hot oven until dry on top. When dry throughout, run a knife round the edge, tip the pan to one side, fold the omelet and turn out on a hot platter. This may be made by beating the whites and yolks together for a plain omelet. A little chopped parsley, a little fine grated onion, a tbsp. or two of chopped ham, veal or chicken may be spread on the omelet before folding.

• 1 pt. of milk.
• 1/4 cup of sugar.
• 2 eggs.
• 1/2 ssp. grated nutmeg.

Beat the eggs until light, then add the sugar; beat again, add the milk and nutmeg, stir until the sugar is dissolved. Pour into custard cups, stand the cups in a pan of boiling water and then put the pan in the oven. Bake until the custards are set, or until a knife may be slipped into the centre without anything adhering to it. When done, take them out of the water and stand away to cool. (This custard may be poured into a baking dish and baked in a quick oven until firm in the centre.)

• 1 pt. of milk.
• 2 tbsps. sugar.
• 2 eggs.
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla.

Put the milk on in the double boiler, beat the sugar and yolks of eggs together until light, then stir them into the boiling milk; stir until it begins to thicken, then take it from the fire; add the vanilla and stand aside to cool. When cool, pour into a glass dish. Beat the whites until stiff, add three tbsps. of powdered sugar gradually. Heap them on a dinner plate and stand in the oven a moment until slightly brown, then loosen from the plate, slip off gently on top of the custard; serve very cold.

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