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When and why did humans begin consuming eggs?
When? Since the beginning of human time.
"It is likely that female game birds were, at some time in the early history of man, perceived as a
source both of meat and of eggs. Men discovered that by removing from the nest eggs that they
did not wish to have hatch (or that they simply wished to eat), they could induce the female jungle
fowl to lay additional eggs and, indeed, to continue to lay eggs throught an extended laying
season."
---The Chicken Book, Page Smith and Charles Daniel [University of Georgia
Press:Athens] 1975 (p. 11-12)
"Eggs have been known to, and enjoyed by, humans for many centuries. Jungle fowl were
domesticated in India by 3200 B.C.E. Record from China and Egypt show that fowl were
domesticated and laying eggs for human consumption around 1400 B.C.E., and there is
archaeoligical evidence for egg consumption dating back to the Neolithic age. The Romans found
egg-laying hens in England, Gaul, and among the Germans. The first domesticated fowl reached
North America with the second voyage of Columbus in 1493."
Where did the English word egg originate?
How many different kind of eggs are there?
"Eggs from many species of fowl (birds) have doubtless been consumed since the very beginning of humankind's stay on earth. In historical times, ancient Romans ate
peafowl eggs, and the Chinese were fond of pigeon eggs. Ostrich eggs have been eaten since the day sof the Phoenicians, whereas quail eggs, as hard-cooked,
shelf-stable, packaged prdoucts, are now featured on many gourmet food counters in the United States and Japan. Other eggs consumed by various ethnic groups
include those from plovers, partridges, gulls, turkeys, pelicans, ducks, and geese. Turtle eggs have been highly prized, and in starvation situations, any eggs, even those
of alligators, have been relied upon."
When did people start using eggs in baking and why?
Culinary evidence confirms breads and cakes using eggs were made by Ancient Egyptian and
Roman
peoples. The reason most often sited was the recognition that eggs worked as binding
(thickening) agents.
How did that begin? The food historians to not venture into this territory.
Possibly it was a discovery based on trial and error. Many foods and cooking methods (leavened
bread,
roasted meats, yogurt) were "invented" this way.
"It is clear that Egyptians enjoyed their food. Nobles and priests were particularly well served,
with at least
forty different kinds of bread and pastries, some raised, some flat, some round, some conical,
some plaited.
There were some varieties made with honey, others with milk, still others with eggs."
"Farming the prolific chicken has allowed us to make eggs a part of our diet without harming its
reproductive cycle. However, the very few ancient Greek recipes to mention eggs date from after
the time of
Pericles, when the chicken was introduced to Africa. It took some times for the habit of using
eggs in
cooking to catch on. We do hear of thagomata, made from egg whites, and various stuffings using
egg
yolks. On the other hand the classic cake offered as a sacrifice by the Romans, the libum, called
for one
egg to a pound of flour. In the Roman period pastry cooks made much use of eggs for desserts as
well as
cakes. Apicius (25 BC) invented baked custard: milk, honey and eggs beaten and cooked in an
eartheware
dish on gentle heat. Eggs really made their way into the kitchen with Apicius, who mentioned
them
frequently in the Ars Magirica. Beaten eggs were used as a thickening and to bind sauces and
ragouts;
hardboiled eggs became an ingredient of various dishes, sometimes with cheese, but here is no
evidence
that eggs were eaten just as they were, as a dish in themselves. This does not mean that they were
not so
eaten; it could simply indicate that they were not thought interesting enough for special
mention."
Ancient Roman
libum recipe (ancient translation & modern version)
These sources are good starting points for an
understanding of the topic:
Humans have been consuming eggs since the dawn of human time. The history is complicated and
diverse; the culinary applications are innumerable. When, where, and why have people been
eating eggs?
Where? Wherever eggs could be obtained. Differerent kinds of eggs were/still are eaten
in
different parts of the world. Ostrich and chicken are the most common.
Why? Because eggs are relatively easy to obtain, excellent protein sources, adaptable to
many
different types of recipes (from simply boiled, fried, or stuffed to complicated quiche, custards or
meringue), and fit the bill for meatless fasting days required by some religions. In this last role?
Eggs have been the object of much socio-religious symbolism and tradition. Over time, some
groups have encouraged the consumption/decoration of eggs in celebration of certain events.
Others have decided eggs are filthy food which must avoided. None of this is arbitrary.
---Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, Solomon H. Katz, editor, William Woys Weaver,
associate editor [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York] 2003, Volume 1 (p. 558)
"The egg...tracks it name back to a prehistoric Indo-European source related to words for 'bird'...The Old English term was oeg, which survived in Middle English as ey (plural eyren)....But in the fourteenth century the related egg was borrowed from Old Norse. For a time the two forms competed with each other (William Caxton, in the prologue to his Book of Eneydos (1490), asked 'What should a man in these day now write, eggs or eyren, certainly it is hard to please every man'), and the Norse form did not finally emerge as the winner until the late sixteenth century."
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxrod] 2002 (p. 117)
Birds and reptiles lay eggs. Of these, some are consumed by humans. Preferences vary according to place, taste and economic conditions.
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One (p. 499)
Food historians tell us the practice was ancient but they do not venture an exact place, date, or
reason. The
domestication of fowl (esp. chicken) greatly increased the availabiltiy of eggs to ancient peoples.
This is
thought by some to have begun in China in 6,000BC. About
chicken.
---Food in History, Reay Tannahill [Three Rivers Press:New York] 1988 (p. 53)
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes &
Noble
Books:New York] 1992 (p. 356)
Need facts, trivia & science? The American Egg Board is the
place to go!
---includes extensive bibliography for further study; use the index to locate information on other
types of eggs
---uses & customs, including Easter traditions
---as they relate to English cookery
---rituals, customs & myths
"Because eggs embody the essence of life, people from ancient times to the modern day have surrounded them with magical beliefs, endowing them with the power
not only to create life but to prophesy the future. Eggs symbolize birth and are believed to ensure fertility. They aslo symbolize rebirth, and thus long life and
even immortality. Eggs represent life in its various stages of development, encompassing the mystery and magic of creation. Creation myths commonly describe how the
universe was hatched from an egg, often laid by some mythical water bird swimming in the primordial waters...Early mythmakers viewed both the sun and the egg as the source
of all life; the round, yellow yolk even symbolized the sun. Clearly, eggs had great symbolic potential...In Europe of pagan and Christian times, eggs symbolized life and
resurrection. Human being have long consumed eggs of all sorts--of hens, ducks, geese, partridges, pigeons, pheasants, ostriches, peacocks, and other bird
species. In legends, fairies consumed eggs of mythical birds such as the phoenix. People ate eggs for a variety of reasons. Some sought to absorb their magical
properties by eating them. Others ate them to ensure fertility. In the Slavonic and Germanic lands, people also smeared their hoes with eggs, in the hope of
transferring the eggs' fertility to the soil...In Iran, brides and grooms exchange eggs. In seventeeth-century France, a bride broke an egg when she first entered her
new nome...The perception of eggs a symbols of fertility and embodiments of life force compelled people of certain cultures not only to shun them as food but to
avoild destroying them at all costs...Some people avoided eating eggs laid by their tribal totems; certain groups of aborigines in Australia...believed they descended
from the emu, so they placed strict taboos on eating eggs of these ancestral birds...Though people frequently forbade the eating of eggs, eggs were often used for
divining purposes. Their widespread use in divination likely stemmed from the belief that they symbolized life--particularly life in the future. The Chinese and certain tribal
groups in souther Asia used the eggs of chickens or ducks to divine the future. One method involed painting the eggs, boiling them, and reading the patterns in
their cracks. Another method involved tossing the eggs, and divining the future with eggs, a process known as oomancy...The concept of eggs as life symbols went hand in
hand with the concept of eggs as emblems of immortality, and particularly the resurrection of Christ, who rose from a sealed tomb just as a bird breaks through an eggshell...
The Jews traditionally serve eggs at Passover as a symbol of sacrifice and rebirth."
---Nectar and Ambrosia: An Encyclopedia of Food in World Mythology, Tamra Andrews [ABC-CLIO:Santa Barbara CA] 2000 (p. 86-7)
"Eggs were not really part of the diet until poultry-farming became common, and, when they did, those most usually consumed were hen's eggs...Was there some
taboo...on eating the eggs of the earlier domestic fowls? It depends on thes ense in which the trm is used. Not necessarily a religious taboo, but more of an
economic interdiction, since 'the egg is in the chicken, and the chicken is in the egg'. The Mossi of Burkina Faso in Africa have never troubled themselves with
such philosophical reflections, but simply emply common sense. They will not let their children eat eggs for fear they will become thieves. The idea is not that...he who
steals an egg will steal an ox...but because he who steals an egg is stealing a chicken. Poultry lives at large in the villages of Africa, laying eggs anywhere.
Children must therefore be prevented from eating future broods, which would be community property,...An egg unnecessarily stolen and eaten will never become a
chicken...Morever, and even more seriously, the spirits will be offended, for all the poultry the Mossi eat has first been sacrificed to the local tutelary spirits...The
Mossi are a special example. All over the world, form the dawn of time, eggs have been collected from birds' nests in times of need...In the Far East the egg is not so important
an item of diet as in Europe,...It is a luxury for the rich, with all the symbolic and philosphical connotations that might be expected...The dyed or painted egg...is an
Easter tradition of the Christian West which has proved particularly tenacious in Central Europe...The tradition of easter eggs coincides,...with a self-explanatory
universal symbol, in this case creation, rebirth and spring..."
---History of Food, Maugelonne Toussaint-Samat, translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes and Noble Books:New York] 1992 (p. 355-362)
"Considering the strange biological history of the egg, it is not surpring that its symbolic power is rivaled only by that of the cock. In Egypt eggs were hung in the
temples to encourage fertility, and everywhere, of course, they have been associated with birth and renewal. The Hindu description of the beginning of the world saw
it as a cosmic egg. First hrere was nonbeing and then that nonbeing became existent and turned into an enourmous egg, which incubated for a year and then split
open, with one part silver and the other gold. The silver half became the earth; the gold, the sky; the outer membrane, mountains; the inner, mist and clouds; the
veins were rivers, and the fluid part of the egg was the ocean, and from all of these came in turn the sun. In certain other religions the egg was equated with the sun
and the yolk was seen as a kind of mixture of earth and water..."
---The Chicken Book, Page Smith & Charles Daniel [University of Georgia Press:Athens GA] 2000 (p. 184)
Food historians confirm people have been eating eggs from prehistoric times forward. Cooking methods and recipes vary according to period, place and taste. Boiling is thought to have been developed after roasting and baking, as it required both receptacles capable of holding water and a method for heating that water to 212 degrees F. (100 C).
About boiling
The science of egg boiling
EARLY REFERENCES TO BOILED EGGS
Ancient Egypt
"The Egyptians ate eggs of all birds...The Eighteenth Dynasty tomb of Haremhed at Thebes has an illustration of a pelican and a basket of eggs. Eggs were easily obtained and were recommended as wholesome food, being consumed hard- or soft-boiled, fried, poached, and used as a binding agent in cookery, especially in souffles and sauces...Goose eggs had to be lightly boiled; otherwise they were indigestible...Anthimus noted approvingly that a person could eat as many eggs as he or she wanted, but the correct way to prepare eggs was to place them in cold water and cook them over a low flame...Hard-boiled eggs were regarded as a more substantial food."
Classical Greece
"Quails, and later domestic hens, were kept partly for their eggs, oion. These, hard- or soft-boiled, were served among desserts; egg yolk and egg white were ingredients in certain dishes."
Ancient Rome
"From Apicius' cookery book we learn that [the Romans] sometimes boiled their eggs and served them with simple sauces."
Medieval Europe
"No foodstuff was more commonly consumed in the Middle Ages than chicken eggs--with the single exception of bread...Eggs in particular were vitally important in the cookery of the time in part simply because they were common and relatively cheap. A second reason for the universal popularity of eggs in late-medieval cookery was probably that which accounts for their continuing popularity today...versatility...In our recipe collections plain eggs are boiled, fried, scrambled...roasted...and poached. And eggs, liquid and hard-boiled, yolks and whites together or separated, entered into mixture for a very large number of prepared dishes."
"The most usual way of dressing eggs at the end of the Middle Ages were to roast them in embers, to poach them in hot water or broth, or to fry them...By the later sixteenth century the boiling of eggs in their shells in water had become a common practice. Prepared thus they were more digestible than roasted eggs; but less so than poached eggs, which always earned the highest praise form the medical men...Hard-boiled chopped eggs were still put into pies of mixed ingredients."
Renaissance Italy
"Italians in the sixteenth century used hard-boiled eggs to garnish salads...Aldrovandi assures us that the practice was a common one throughout Europe."
18th Century France
"Louis XV ate boiled eggs every Sunday...Parisians some in whole families to admirer their sovereign's dexterity with an egg. In an almost religious hush, he would knock the small end off the egg with a single stroke of his fork, while an officer of the table called for attention, announcing, 'The King is about to eat his egg!'"
A SURVEY OF BOILED EGGS THROUGH TIME
[Ancient Rome]
"Boiled Eggs with Rue and Tuna or Anchovies
"Soft-Boiled Eggs in Pine Nut Sauce
"Soft-Boiled Eggs in Vinegar (Oribasius 4.11.14)]
"1295. Oeufs Durs--Hard-boiled Eggs
The origin of deviled eggs can't be attributed to one specific person, company, date or town. It is
a culinary amalgam of history and taste. The concept of deviled eggs begins with Ancient Rome.
Spicy stuffed eggs were known in 13th century Andalusia. The name is an 18th century invention. Not long after the Ancient Greeks and Romans
domesticated fowl, egg dishes of all kinds figured prominently in cookery texts. Eggs were eaten
on their own (omelets, scrambled) and employed as congealing agents (custard, flan, souffles).
The ancestor of deviled eggs? Ancient Roman recipes for boiled eggs (to various degrees) eggs
were generaly served with saucy spices poured on top.
The first recipes for stuffed, hard-boiled were printed in medieval European texts.
These cooks stuffed their eggs with raisins, cheese and sweet
spices.
Platina's
The Making of Stuffed Eggs, An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th
Century, translated by Charles Perry
The practice of hard boiling eggs was popular in Tudor England:
"By the later sixteenth century the boiling of eggs in their shells in water had become a common
practice. Prepared thus they were more digestible that roasted eggs; but less so than poached
eggs, which always earned the highest praise form the medical men." According to historic cookbooks, the practice of boiling eggs, extracting the yolks and
combining them with savory spices (mustard, cayenne pepper) and refilling the eggs with the
mixture was common in latter years of the 16th century and was the "norm" by the 17th.
"The Second Way
"Eggs in Mustard Sauce
According to the food historians the practice of "devilling" food "officially" began sometime
during the 18th century in England. Why? Because that was when the term "deviled," as it relates
to food, first shows up in print. The earliest use of this culinary term was typically associated with
kidneys & other meats, not stuffed eggs:
"Devil...A name for various highly-seasoned broiled or fried dishes, also for hot ingredients. 1786,
Craig "Lounger NO. 86 'Make punch, brew negus, and season a devil.'"
"Devil--a culinary term which...first appeared as a noun in the 18th century, and then in the early
19th century as a verb meaning to cook something with fiery hot spices or condiments...The term
was presumably adopted because of the connection between the devil and the excessive heat in
Hell...Boswell, Dr Johnson's biographer, frequently refers to partaking of a dish of "devilled
bones" for supper, which suggests an earlier use."
"Deviled...Any variety of dishes prepared with hot seasonings, such as cayenne or mustard. The
word derives from the association with the demon who dwells in hell. In culinary context the
word first appears in print in 1786; by 1820 Washington Irving has used the word in his
Sketchbook to describe a highly seasoned dish similar to a curry. Deviled dishes were very
popular throughout the nineteenth and into the twentieth centuries, especially for seafood
preparations and some appetizers."
---The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (pages 110-111)
"Around 1868, Underwood's sons began experimenting with a new product created from ground
ham blended with special seasonings. The process they dubbed "deviling," for cooking and
preparing the ham, was new. But best of all, the taste was unique. Soon thereafter, the
"Underwood devil" was born."
Many early 19th century devilling recipes were for meat and other items:
"Devilling, Or broiling with cayenne, is also a good expident to coax the palate when you have
relics of poultry of game. Fish can likewise be "devilled," or egged and fried with a small piece of
butter and bread crumbs, mixed with a little dried tyme, marjoram, and fresh parsley crumbled and
chopped very fine."
Recipes for deviled eggs have changed with time, probably a result of culinary fads and ingredient
availabilty. Compare the following:
"Eggs, Devilled
Gravy a la Diable
"Devilled Eggs
"Deviled Eggs
Deep-fried deviled eggs
When it comes to the origin of Eggs Benedict, food historians tell us there two stories and that we
will never know which one is true. Both versions take place in 1893/94 in posh New York
restaurants and attribute the name to wealthy people named Benedict.
"The original Eggs Benedict dates back to 1894 when, it's said, a hungover Wall Streeter named
Lemuel Bendict made his way along the buffet table at the newly opened Waldorf-Astoria (Fifth
Avenue and Thirty-foruth Street), slapping bacon and poached eggs on buttered toast, then
topping the lot with Hollandaise. Later, the Waldorf's formidable maitre d'hotel, Oscar Tschirky,
fine-tuned the recipe, substituting English muffins for toast and Canadian bacon for ham. A
second legend attributes Eggs Benedict to Delmonico's and Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, a regular
there. Finding nothing to her liking one day, Mrs. Benedict huddled with the maitre d'hotel, who
concocted the combo now known as Eggs Benedict. Which story is true? No one knows. But by
1912 Eggs Benedict had become so famous Underwood Deviled Ham built an ad campaign
around its own unorthodox version."
Similar versions are reported in The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F.
Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 121). According to the article "Eggs Benedict,"
Restaurant Hospitality, Nov.
1995 (p. 68) this dish is mentioned in Charles Ranhofer's The epicurean in 1893. (Chef
Ranhofer was in charge of Delmonico's menu). Your librarian can get you a copy if this
book/article if you want to do further research.
All of this information is neatly summed up in this Web site (which was referenced in a recent
New York Times article).
What is an omelette?
"Omelette...a sweet of savoury dish made from beaten whole eggs, cooked in a frying pan, and
served plain or with various additions....Omelettes were
known during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century one of the most famous omelettes was
omelette du cure, containing soft carp roes and tuna fish, which Brillat-Savarin [a food writer]
much admired."
Why are they called omelettes?
"The notion of cooking beaten eggs in butter in a pan is an ancient one...but omelette does not enter the English language until the early seventeenth century. It is first
described by Randle Cotgrave in his Dictionary of the French and English Tongues (1611): Haumelette, an Omelet, or Panckae of egges.' Omelettes had then been made
in France for two or three hundred years, and it is from French that we get their name. It has a complex history: it probably started out as lamella, a diminutive of lamina
'thin plate'; this was borrowed into French, but by a misanalysis of la lemele...it became alemelle or alumelle. It seems this must at some point have had the common
suffix -ette substituted for -elle, and the resulting alemette then had its first two consonants transposed...to give amelette. The word has had a variety of spellings in
English, including amulet in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and emlett in the seventeenth century, and there iss till some variation: omelette is now the
generally preferred form in British English, but the Oxford English Dictionary gave omelet precedence in 1902, and this is still the main American spelling."
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 232)
The Oxford English Dictionary (Online version) adds:
"The word comes from the French "lamelle" (thin strip)
because of its flat shape; previously it was known as alumelle and then alumette, and finally
amelette. (Some authorities claim that the word has a Latin origin, ova mellita, a classic
Roman dish consisting of beaten eggs cooked on a flat clay dish with honey.)..."
"The etymology of the world omelette (homelaicte in Rabelais) is also very obscure, although the
dish itself goes back as far as the Romans. It is thought to derive ultimately from lamella, a thin
plate, referring to the long, flat shape of the omelette, and to represent a gradual corruption of
[the word] allumelle first to allumelette, then to alomelette. Le cuisinier francois [a
cookbook] of
1651 has aumelette. Jean-Jacques Rousseau...had the dexterity and precision required to turn his
beaten eggs by tossing them in the air, like a pancake...
The Cuisine bougeoise [another cookbook] of 1784 uses the modern form of the word,
omelette, carefully distinguishing between it and scrambled eggs, a new recipe of the time..."
Must omelettes contain dairy products?
A buffet of simple omelettes through time
Ancient Rome
1685
1769
1826
1845
1875
1884
1890s
1896
1903
1919
1941
1966
1972
2001
What can we tell you about "scrambled" eggs?
We know that Ancient Romans scrambled eggs (ie, broke the yolks and mixed them with the
albumen), mixed them up with vegetables and spices, and baked them. These were the first
omelettes.
Recipes and methods vary according to time, place and cook's taste. There is no one "official" recipe; but a plethora of
culinary choices. Eggs can be mixed together before cooking, extra ingredients (cream, water, butter, cheese, diced vegetables) may be introduced
at any time. Some cooks scramble at the end when the eggs are almost cooked; others prefer constant agitation. Should the final
product be yellow or white and yellow? One thing is for certain: on Western European and Americn tables, scrambled eggs were meant to be accompanied by hot buttered toast!
Scrambled eggs are perfect for breakfast, lunch (Western Sandwich), main course (Egg Foo Young) and
midnight snack (24 hour diner fare).
This 14th century Italian text references "scrambled eggs"
15th century Italian cookbooks offer a variety of egg dishes. One can discover the similarity to
contemporary "scrambled" eggs by reading the method. These were not called "scrambled eggs,"
nor can we tell exactly what the finished product would have looked like. This recipe does not
mention the egg yolk at all...was it beaten in? Or omitted altogether...leaving the finished product
white?
Martino [Napoli,15th century] offers a recipe for scrambled eggs and cheese, which Terence
Scully, noted culinary historian and translator states "is unknown elsewhere. The qualification "in
the German fashion: is interesting--but not helpful." [recipe 143]
[16th Century England]
[1685: England]
[1792: USA]
[1857: USA]
[1874: England]
"Eggs, Scrambled [American].
[1884: USA]
[1907: Paris]
Method of Preparation: Gently heat 50 g (2 oz) butter in a heavy small pan, add 6 beaten eggs seasoned with salt and pepper,
place over a moderate heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon taking care that the heat remains even; too quick cooking will
cause lumps to form which is contrary to the description of the term scrambled. When the eggs have attained the correct smooth,
creamy consistency, remove form the fire, mix in 50 g (2 oz) butter in small pieces and, if ruqeired, 1/2 dl ( 2 fl oz or 1/4 U.S. cup)
cream. A whisk should not be used unless absolutely necessary."
[1919: USA]
According to the food historians, modern souffles (both sweet and savoury) were a product of
18th century French cuisine. The method is related to that of meringue.
"Souffle
"Patrons of La Grande Taverne de Londres, which opened in Paris in the 1780s, were perhaps the
first to enjoy this dessert souffle. It comes from the repertoire of Beauvilliers, who, wrote,
Brillat-Savarin, "was for more than fifteen years the most famous restauranteur in Paris"..."
Why does a souffle fall if there is a loud noise?
"Though many a cook has blamed the collapse of a souffle on the spouse who slammed the kitchen door, the force of the shock waves from that deed is too weak
to pop more than a few air bubbles, if any at all. The culpable party, if truth be told, is the cook who made one or more culinary errors in the science of souffle
making."
"Souffles--savory and sweet mixes lightened with an egg-white foam, then dramatically inflated above their dish by oven heat--have the reputation for being difficult
preparations...In fact, souffles are reliable and resilient...If you manage to get any air into the mix, an inexorable law of nature will raise it in the oven, and opening
the door for a few seconds won't do it any harm. The inevitable post-oven deflation can be minimized by your choice of ingredients and cooking method...The physical law that animates the souffle was discovered a few decades after its invention by--appropriately--a French scientist and balloonist,
J.A.C. Charles. Charles's law is this: all else equal, the volume occupied by a given weight of gas is proportional to its temperature. Heat an inflated balloon and the
sir will take up more space, so the balloon expands. Similarly, put a souffle in the oven and its air bubbles heat up and swell, so the mix expands in the only
direction it can: out the top of the dish. Charles's law is part of the story, but not the whole story--it accounts for about a quarter of the typical souffle rise. The rest
comes from the continuous evaporation of water from the bubble walls into the bubbles. As portions of the souffle approach the boiling point, more liquid water
becomes water vapor and adds to the quantity of gas molecules in the bubbles, which increases the pressure on the bubble walls, which causes the walls to stretch
and the bubbles to expand...Charles's law also means that what must go up in the oven must come down at the table...As the souffle bubbles cool, the air they
contain contracts in volume, and the vapor that come from liquid water in the mix condenses back into liquid...A thick souffle mix can't rise as easily, but it also
won't fall as easily...Don't worry about opening the oven door. The mix can't fall unless it actually begins to cool down, and even if that did happen, it will rise again
when it heats up again."
Souffle recipes through time
"No. 1. --Souffle of Potatoes with Lemon.
"No. 2.--Souffle of Orange Flower.
"No. 4.--Souffle of Bread.
"No. 6.--Souffle of Chocolate.
"Omelette Souffle."
[1869]
"Cheese souffle
Omelet souffle with lemon
[1903]
Souffles.
[1941]
"Vanilla omelette souffle
About culinary research & about copyright.
"Although the accidental discovery of roasting would have been perfectly feasible in the primitive world, boiling was a more sophisticated proposition. According to conventional wisdom, prehistoric man went to a good deal of trouble for his boiled dinner. First he dug a large pit in the ground and lined it with flat, overlapping stones to prevent seepage. Then he poured in large quantities of water, presumably transported in skin bags. Other stones were heated in the campfire and manhandled by some unspecified means...into the water to bring it to a simmer. The food was then added and, while it was cooking, more hot stones were tipped in from time to time to keep the water at the desired temperature....in terms of discovery, it makes sense only if the idea evolved, imitatively, in some isolated part or parts of the world blessed with hot springs--as in New Zealand's North Island. Hot water being a rare natural phenomenon, both idea and method would subsequently have to be disseminated by migrating tribes--which could explain why there is no indication of the technique being used before 5000BC. One reason for the anthropological popularity of the pit-boiling theory is the belief that until the advent of pottery, cooking potential was severely restricted; that, lacking containers that were both heat-proof and waterproof, boiling was impossible except by the pit method. But this is not the case. Several perfectly viable alternative containers had been available for thousands of years, and the idea of boiling could well have been suggested by the fact that when meat or vegetables with a high water content were crammed into one of these containers over the fire, they sweated out an appetizing liquid. In many parts of the world large mollusc or reptile shells were used for cooking in...In Asia the versatile bamboo supplied hollow sections of stem that could be stoppered with clay at one end, filled with chopped-up raw ingredients and a little liquid, then stoppered again at the other...In the Tehuacan Valley of Central America, in about 7000BC, the people who lived in rock shelters and gathered wild maize for their food had already begun to use stone cooking pots...With the advent of cooking, the notion of simmering the contents of the stomach in the stomach-bag itself would emerge quite naturally, and the same container ultimately came to be used for less esoteric foods...By about 13,000BC leatherworking techniques had improved so much that skins had come to replace many of the older containers. After skins came pottery, which was succeeded by bronze and then iron, from which most cooking pots continued to be made until the twentieth century."
---Food in History, Reay Tannahill [Three Rives Press:New York] 1988 (p. 14-16)
Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, revised edition [2004] p. 87-89 is the best source for learning how this works. Your local public librarian will help you find this book.
Food historians confirm boiled eggs were enjoyed by many cultures and cuisines. The difference between soft and hard boiled eggs is a matter of cooking time. Boiled eggs could be
enjoyed on their own; dressed (deviled eggs, egg salad) or incorporated into other recipes (sauces, stuffings). Versatile and cheap, nutritious and delicious, boiled eggs stand the test of time!
---Food in the Ancient World, Joan P. Alcock [Greenwood Press:Westport CT] 2006 (p. 75)
---Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece, Andrew Dalby [Routledge::London] 1997 (p. 65)
---Food & Drink in Britain: From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago IL] 1991 (p. 138)
---Early French Cookery: Sources, History, Original Recipes and Modern Adaptations, D. Eleanor Scully and Terence Scully [University of Michigan Press:Ann Arbor] 1995 (p. 230)
---Food & Drink in Britain (p. 144, 146)
---The Chicken Book, Page Smith and Charles Daniel [University of Georgia Press:Athens GA] 2000 (p. 367)
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes & Noble Books:New York] 1992 (p. 359)
"Boiled Eggs.
[Medieval France]
Ova elixa: liquamine, oleo, mero vel ex liquamine, pipere, lasere.
Bolied eggs: garum, oil wine or liquamen, pepper and laser. (Apicius 329)
[Modern interpretation] Prick a hole in each egg to let out the air, which might break the egg during boiling. Put the eggs into cold water. Bring to the boil and cook for about 5 minutes, then leave to cool. Peel the eggs and cut them in half. For 5 eggs, finely crush 1 clove of garlic with some pepper and 5 anchovies. Add the egg yolks and pound smooth. Add a little olive oil and a little wine and stir well. Pile the mixture into the egg whites."
Mox vetus et tenui maior cordyla lacerto, sed quam cum rutae frondibus ova tegebant.
The salted tunas, larger than a cordyla (a type of fish) were served, covering eggs with stalks of rue....
In ovus hapalis; piper, ligustcom, nucleos infousos. Suffundes mel, acetum; liquamine temperabis.
For soft-boiled eggs: pepper, soaked pine nuts. Add honey and vinegar and mix with garum. (Apicius 329)"
---Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome, Patrick Faas [Palgrave MacMillan:New York] 2003 (p. 315-316)
One should boil eggs in water whilst stirring them without pause; for when stirred they do not congeal or thicken; they are better boiled in vinegar; for then they stay still more moist...This recipe reads oddly; it makes sense only if the eggs are warmed in the shell rather than truly boiled. The constantly jostling in the shell will minimize coagulation, although given enough time, the eggs will firm up. The instruction that eggs are moistened boiled in vinegar may refer to the fact that if an eggshell contains a crack, the egg can leach out and solidify. If the egg is cooked in water containing vinegar, the vinegar will coagulate the escaping egg faster, sealing most of the egg in the shell."
---Cooking in Ancient Civilizations, Cathy K. Kaufman [Greenwood Press:Westport CT] 2006 (p. 165)
"There is no doubt that the menagier made great use of [eggs]. We are first given clear instructions about cooking eggs, and these are as valid today as they were six centuries ago.If you wet eggs and put them in boiling liquid, the yolk will not harden, but if you put them in without having wetted them first, they can become hard. If you want to hard-boil eggs, put them in simmering water and draw the pan to the side. Whether you want them hard- or soft-boiled, plunge them in cold water as soon as they are cooked and they will peel easily."
[19th Century France]
---Living and Dining in Medieval Paris: The Household of a Fourteenth Century Knight, Nicole Crossley-Holland [University of Wales Press:Cardiff] 1996 (p. 153)
"Boiled eggs.
[19th Century England]
Take 6 new-laid eggs; put 3 pints of water in a 2-quart stewpan; when the water boils, put in the eggs; cover the stewpan; boil for one minute; take off the fire, and let the eggs remain in the water for five minutes; take them out of the water; and serve them in a napkin."
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low, Son and Marston:London] 1869 (p. 177)
"The usual time allotted for boiling eggs in the shell is 3 to 3 3/4 minutes: less time than than in boiling water will not be sufficient to solidify the white, and more will make the yolk hard and less digestible; it is very hard to guess accurately as to the time. Great care should be employed in putting them into the water, to prevent cracking the shell, which inevitably causes a portion of the white to exude, and lets water into the egg."
[19th Century USA]
---Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, Isabella Beeton, 1861, edited with an introduction and notes by Nicola Humble [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2000 (p. 321-322)
"To Boil Eggs for Breakfast
[20th Century France]
The fresher they are the longer time they will require for boiling. If you wish them quite soft, put theminto a suacepan of water that is boiling hard at the moment, and let them remain in it
five minutes. The longer they boil the harder they will be. In ten minutes' fast boiling they will be hard enough for salad. If you use one of the tin egg-boilers that are placed on the table, see
that the water is boiling hard at the time you put in the eggs. When they have been in about four or five minutes, take them out, pour off the water, and replace it by some more that is boiling
hard; as, from the coldness of the eggs having chilled the first water, they will not otherwise be done enough. The boiler may then be placed on the talbe, (keeping the lid closed,) and in a few minuntes
more the will be sufficiently cooked to be wholesome."
---Directions for Cookery in its Various Branches, Miss [Eliza] Leslie [Carey & Hart:Philadelphia] 1849 (p. 207)
"1291...Method of Preparing Soft Boiled Eggs:
Place the eggs into boiling water and allow 6 minutes from the time the water reboils; cool in cold water and immediately shell them, reheat in hot water as for poached eggs. The
Dressing and Serving of...Soft-Boiled Eggs: Before being used the eggs must be well drained on a clean cloth. They are usually dressed in one of the following ways
1) On plain or decorated Croutons of bread fried in clarified butter--oval shape for poached eggs and round for soft-boiled eggs.
2) on shapes of cooked puff pastry--round for soft-boiled eggs.
3) in a border of forcemeat of other similar mixture according to the requirements of the recipe. These borders are made with a piping bag and tube or moulded on buttered dishes; these
can be round or oval, and plain or decorated...
4) in pale baked tartlet cases filled with a garnish according to the particular recipe being used..."
Although the cooking of hard-boiled eggs may seem to be an insignificant operation the correct timing of the cooking is essential. It is of no use to cook them for longer than the exact time because overcooking will toughen the white and disclour the yolk. To ensure a uniform cooking time for a number of eggs, place them into a basket or receptacle with large holes and immerse completely in a pan of boiling water; when it reboils allow 8 minutes for medium eggs and 10 minutes for large ones. As soon as they are cooked, remove and plunge them immediately into cold water; shell the eggs without breaking them."
---Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, [1907] translated by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann [John Wiley & Sons:New York] 1979 (p. 155-156)
Deviled eggs
"28. Stuffed eggs
Make fresh eggs hard by cooking for a long time. Then, when the shells are removed, cut the eggs
through the middle so that the white is not damaged. When the yolks are removed, pound part
with raisins and good cheese, some fresh and some aged. Reserve part to color the mixture, and
also add a little finely cut parsley, marjoram, and mint. Some put in two or more egg whites
withspices. When the whites of the eggs have been stuffed with this mixture and closed, fry them
over slow fire in oil. When they have been fried, add a sauce made from the rest of the egg yolks
pounded with raisins and moistened with verjuice and must. Put in ginger, cloves, and cinnamon
and heat them a little while with the eggs themselves. This has more harm than good in it."
---Platina: on the Right Pleasure and Good Health, Critical edition and translation of
De Honesta Voluptate et Valetudine, Mary Ella Milham [Medival & Renaissance Texts &
Studies:Tempe AZ] 1998
---Food and Drink in Britain, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago Publishers:Chicago]
1991 (p. 144)
"To Farce Eggs
Where the devil?
Take eight or ten eggs and boil them hard. Peel off the shells and cut every egg in the middle; then
out the yolks. Make your farcing stuff as you do for flesh, saving only you must put butter into it
instead of suet, and that a little. So done, fill your eggs where the yolks were, and then bring them
and seethe them a little. And so serve them to the table."
---The Good Housewife's Jewel, Thomas Dawson, with an introduction by Maggie Black
[London 1596] (p. 86)
Fry some parsley, some minced leeks, and young onions, when you have fried them pour them
into a dish season them with salt and pepper, and put to them hard eggs cut in halves, put some
mustard to them, and dish the eggs, mix the sauce well together, and pour it hot on the
eggs."
---The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May [London, 5th edition 1685] (p. 435)
[NOTE: Robert May's text lists six ways "To dress hard eggs divers ways." Though none
of these recipes are specifically called "deviled" they are strikingly similar to the deviled eggs we
are served today.
Sodde Egges: Seeth your Egges almost harde, then peele them and cut them in quarters, then
take a little Butter in a frying panne and melt it a little broune, then put to it in to the panne, a
little Vinegar, Mustarde, Pepper and Salte, and then put it into a platter upon your Egges."
---A Taste of History: 10,000 Years of Food in Britain, Tudor Britain, Peter Brears
[British Museum Press:London] 1997 (p.162)
---Oxford English Dictionary (the 1786 reference is the first use of this word in print.
Words are often part of the oral language long before they appear in print).
---The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford]
1999 (pages 247-248).
[James Boswell lived from 1740-1795, Dr. Johnson's biography was published in 1791]
History of the Underwood
Company
Devilled Biscuits...Butter some biscuits on both sides, and pepper them well, make a paste of
either chopped anchovies, or fine cheese, and spread it on the biscuit, with mustard and cayenne
pepper, and grill them."
---The Jewish Manual, by A Lady [London:1846] (p. 98)
---The Dinner Question, or How to Dine Well and Economically, Tabitha Tickletooth,
[London:1860] (p. 51)
"Devilled Eggs
Boil six or eight eggs hard; leave in cold water until they are cold; cut in halves, slicing a bit of the
bottoms to make them stand upright, a la Columbus. Extract the yolks, and rub to a smooth paste
with a very little melted butter, some cayenne pepper, a touch of mustard, and just a dash of
vinegar. Fill the hollowed whites with this, and send to table upon a bed of chopped cresses,
seasoned with pepper, salt, vinegar, and a little sugar. The salad should be two inches thick, and
an egg be served with a heaping tablespoonful of it. You may use lettuce or white cabbage instead
of cresses."
---Common Sense in the Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery, Marion
Harland [Scribner:New York] 1882 (p. 246).
If to be served hot, boil the eggs hard, and quarter or slice them, then lay them in a stewpan with
enough gravy to cover them. Gravy a la Diable will be found excellent; but a plainer one can be
made on the same principle by using a cheaper stock. A few drops of anchovy sauce is an
improvement. Serve as soon as the eggs are hot throught, sith strips of dry toast, or put croutons
round the dish.(p. 594)
Required: half a pint of clear brown stock...half an ounce of arrowroot, a tablespoonful of claret,
a teaspoonful of French mustard, a dessertspoonful of Worcester sauce, and a little soluble
cayenne, with salt to taste, and a few drops of soy. Mix the thickening with the claret, and the rest
of the ingredients, and boil for a few minutes. Serve with kidneys, steaks, &etc., or with grilled
fish. For a hotter sauce, increaes the Worcester sauce, or boil a few capsicum seeds in the gravy."
(p. 85)
---Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book, Lizzie Heritage [Cassell and
Company:London] 1894.
Boil eggs twenty minutes and when cool shell. Cut into halves crosswise and remove the yolks
without breaking the whites. Put the whites of the same egg together, that they need not get
separated. The yolks may be put in the bowl. Whe all are cut, rub the yolks to a c ream with
melted butter, add a little made mustard or sauce from the chow chow bottle a little pickle or
pilces and salt and paprika to season. Fill the mixture into the whites, put the halves together as
they belong, and as if preparing them for the picnic basket fasten together with a couple of little
Japanese wooden tooth picks before wrapping in waxed paper. The picks serve as handles in
eating. If they are to be put on the home table press the halves together and arrange on a bed of
cress or lettuce. For a change, finely minced meat highly seasoned is often added to the yolks. The
devilled mixture that will be left over makes a spicy filling for sandwiches. Another way of using
devilled eggs is to spread the yolk mixture left over on a shallow baking dish, place the eggs on it
and cover with a thin cream sauce, veal or chicken gravy. Sprinkle with buttered crumbs and bake
until the crumbs are delicate brown. A grating of cheese may be incorporated with the crumbs, if
desired."
--- New York Evening Telegram Cook Book, Emma Paddock Telford [New York
Evening Telegram:New York] 1908 (p. 28-9).
Prepare: Hard-cooked eggs
Shell the eggs, cut them in halves, remove the yolks. Crush the yolks with a fork and work them
into a smooth paste with:
Mayonnaise, French dressing, cream or butter
Season the paste with:
Salt
Paprika
A little dry mustard (optional)
Fill the egg whites whith the paste and garnish the eggs with:
Chopped parsley or chives
Sliced olives, anchovies, capers, etc.
Paprika."
---The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs-Merrill:Indianapolis] 1946 (p. 92).
This departure from the usual is fun to do and fine to serve. After you have prepared your deviled
eggs, dip them in fork-beaten egg, then roll in fine bread crumbs. (And this can all be done in the
morning.) When cooking time comes, place the eggs in a frying basket (this is essential), and deep
fry at 365 degrees farenheit until brown. Serve at once."
---Martha Deane's Cooking for Compliments, Marian Young Taylor [M.Barrows:New
York] 1954 (p. 133).
Eggs benedict
---American Century Cookbook, Jean Anderson (p. 344)
Omelettes
According Alan Davidson's Oxford Companion to Food [Oxford University Press:Oxford]
1999
(p. 550, 553), the word omelette" is of French origin and came into use during the mid-16th
century. Somewhat similar egg dishes were known to and ancient medieval cooks. Mr. Davidson
traces the origins of the omelette to ancient Persia. We know the Ancient Romans often combined
eggs and dairy products into patinae, custards and a variety of other sweet and savory dishes. C.
Anne Wilson comments: "The precursor to the omlette in Britain was known as a herbolace and
in the late fourteenth century was a mixture of eggs and shredded herbs, baked in a buttered dish.
A contemporary French recipe under the same name is much more detailed, and gives instructions
for heating oil, butter or fat thoroughly in a frying pan before pouring in eight well-beaten eggs
(of medieval size) mixed with brayed herbs and ginger. The French version was finished off with
grated cheese on top, and appears to have been quite close to the modern concept of an
omelette."
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century
[Academy Chicago Press:Chicago] 1991 ( p. 142).
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely revised and updated edition [Clarkson
Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 808)
"Forms: FPRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT={alpha}" . 16 ormlet, 16-17 omlet, 16- omelet, 17 omalade, 17-18 omlette, 18 omellette (irreg.), 18- omelette. . 16 ammulet, 16 emlett, 16-17 amelet, 16-17 amulet, 17 amlet. [< Middle French, French omelette (1561; also as aumelette (1611 in Cotgrave)), alteration (see note) of Middle French, French amelette (1480; now regional), app. a variant (with metathesis) of an unattested Middle French form *alemette (cf. alumette (c1400), alumecte (first half of the 15th cent.)), itself in turn a variant (with suffix substitution) of alemelle, alumelle thin plate, blade of a sword or knife (second half of the 12th cent. in Old French as alemele, alumele; late 14th cent. as alumelle in sense ‘sweet fritter, perh. omelette’), ult. a variant (with metanalysis of the definite article) of lemelle blade (second half of the 12th cent. in Old French as lemele; French lamelle (early 15th cent. in Middle French)) < classical Latin lamella (see LAMELLA n.).
The change in the initial vowel from a to o prob. occurred in southern French under the influence of forms of ufmollette (1576), French ufmelete (1607), ufmeslete (1615).] "
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely revised and updated edition [Clarkson
Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 808)
---The History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat [Barnes & Noble:New York] 1992
(p. 359)
With regards to the question on the use of dairy products as an integral part of an omlette's egg
mixture, we surveyed several centuries of cookbooks authored by top American/English chefs and
culinary experts. We do not own many historic French cookbooks, which would be
required to make this a truly balanced study. This is what we found: 17th, 18th, and 19th
century sometimes contained dairy products (perhaps a holdover from ancient egg recipes), 20th
century recipes typically do not.
Apicius
includes several recipes for eggs in his cookbook, including one for "ova [eggs] sfongia ex
lactem", eggs mixed with milk, oil, honey and pepper fried like a pancake. Recipe here.
The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May, London, Prospect Books, 2000, (p. 430-1)
"To make omlets divers ways. The first way. Break six, eight, or ten eggs more of less, beat them
together in a dish, and put salt to them; then put some butter a melting in a frying pan, fry it more
or less, according to your discretion, only on one side of bottom. You may sometimes make it
green with juyce of spinage and sorrel beat with the eggs, or serve it with green sauce, a little
vinegar and sugar boil'd together, and served up on a dish with the Omlet."
"The sixth way. Beat the eggs, and put to them a little cream, a little grated bread, a little
preserved lemon-peel minced or grated very small..."
The Experience English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald , London, Southover Press,
1997, (p. 148)
"To make an Omelette. Put a quarter of a pound of butter into a frying pan. Break six eggs and
beat them a little, strain them through a hair sieve. Put them in when your butter is hot and strew
in a little shred parsley and boiled ham scraped fine with nutmeg, pepper and salt..."
Physiologie du Gout, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin [Paris]
L'Omlette du Cure
Modern Cookery for Private Families, Eliza Acton, London, Southover Press 2002 (p.
321)
"A Common Omlet. Six eggs are sufficient for an omlet of moderate size. Let them be very fresh;
break them singly and carefully...when they are sufficiently whisked pour them through a sieve,
and resume the beating until they are very light. Add to them from half to a whole teaspoonful of
salt, and a seasoning of pepper..."
Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery, London (p. 466)
"Omlete, Plain. The following recipe is by the often-quoted M. Soyer: "break four eggs into a
basin, add half a tea-spoonful of salt, and a quarter of a tea-spoonful of pepper, and beat them
well up with a fork...Two table-spoonfuls of milk...may be added."
Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D. A. Lincoln, Boston (p. 200)
"Beat the yolks of two eggs till light-colored and thick; add two tablespoonfuls of milk, one
saltspoonful of salt, and one fourth of a saltspoonful of pepper."
Francatelli's Modern Cook, Charles Elme Francatelli, London (p. 395)
"Omelet, with fine-herbs. Break six eggs in a basin, to these add half a gill of cream, a small pat of
butter broken in small pieces, a spoonful of chopped parsley, some pepper and salt..."
The Cook Book by "Oscar" of the Waldforf, Oscar Tschirky, New York (p. 585)
"Plain omelets. Beat six eggs well in a basin and season with pepper and salt and a little water.
Melt a large piece of butter in a frying pan, pour the beaten eggs in and stand it at the side but not
on the fire, turning it often. When the edges are done gather them together and roll over and over,
and serve them very hot."
---"Parsley omelet. Break two eggs in a basin, put one tablespoonful of milk with them and beat
up, mixing thoroughly but not making too light; add a little salt and a tablespoonful of
finely-chopped parsley while beating..."
The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, A. Escoffier, English translation by
H. L.Cracknell & R. J. Kaufmann [John Wiley & Sons:New York] 1997 (p. 174)
"Omelettes. The theory of the preparation of an omelette is both simple and at the same time very
complicated for the simple reason that people's tastes for this type of dish are very different--one
likes his omelette very well cooked, another likes it to be just done, and there are others who only
like their omelette when it is extremely soft and underdone. The important thing is to know and
understand the preference of the guest...In a few words, what is an omelette? It is really a special
type of scrambled egg enclosed in a coating or envelope of coagulated egg and nothing else. The
following recipes are for an omelette of 3 eggs each, of which the seasoning comprises a small
pinch of fine salt and a touch of pepper, and which requires 15g (1/2 oz) of butter for its
preparation."
The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book, Victor Hirtzler, San Francisco (p. 102)
---"Omlete with fine herbs. Mix equal parts of chopped parsley, chervil, and chives with the
beaten eggs, season well with salt and white pepper, and make the omelet in the usual manner."
Cooking a la Ritz, Louis Diat [J.B. Lippincott:New York] (p. 289)
"Omelette. Ordinary omelettes are made of three or four eggs as it is better to make them medium
sized rather than too big to insure their being well cooked. For 3 eggs, use 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1
tablespoon butter. Mix the eggs lightly with a fork and add the salt. Do not beat the eggs stiffly
thinking to make the omelette lighter. On the contrary, the omelette will become heavier and more
watery."
The New York Times Menu Cook Book, Craig Claiborne [Harper & Row:New York] (p.
324)
"Fresh herb omelet. 3 eggs, 1 tablespoon cold water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon butter, 2
teaspoons chopped chives, 1 teaspoon chopped parsley, 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon, 1
fresh parsley sprig."
The French Chef Cookbook, Julia Child [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] (p. 105)
"Omelette gratinee aux champignons...beat the eggs, a big pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper in
the mixing bowl with a fork until the yolks and whites are blended-20 to 30 seconds."
[NOTE: this recipe does call for cream sauce, but it is meant for the cheese & mushroom filling,
not mixed directly in the eggs.]
Larousse Gatronomique, compe (p. 809)
"Plain omlette. Beat 8 eggs lightly and season with salt and (if liked) freshly ground pepper; 2-3
tablespoons milk or 1 tablespoon single (light) cream can be added to the beaten eggs."
Scrambled eggs
"There is so much known about fried, roasted, and scrambled eggs that it is not necessary to
speak about them" (from the fourteenth-century Libro della cucina)."
---Italian Cuisine: A Cultural History, Alberto Capatti & Massimo Montanari [Columbia University
Press:New York] 2003 (p. 77)
[NOTE: This 14th century book is Zambrini, Il libro della cucina del sec. XIV, p. 73. We do not
have a copy of this book.]
"Eggs Like Fritters.
SOURCE: The Neapolitan Recipe Collection, Cuoco Napoletano, Terence Scully [University of
Michigan Press:An Arbor] 2000 (p. 154)
[NOTEs: this book also contains the original wording of the recipe (p. 74); Mr. Scully does not
include the history of scrambled eggs in this book.]
In England, "buttered eggs," scrambled eggs cooked with butter and cream, were known
by the 16th century. The term "scrambled" appeared a century later.
"Eggs served with butter were familiar fasting-day food in Tudor times. Buttered eggs,
later to be known as scrambled eggs, came into the cookery books in the seventeenth
century. They were laid upon buttered rounds of toasted manchet [bread], and the dish
was garnished with pepper and salt."
---Food and Drink in Britain: From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson
[Academy Chicago:Chicago] 1991 (p. 144)
[1596: England]
"To Make Buttered Eggs.
Take eight yolks of eggs and put them into a pint of cream. Beat them together and strain
them all into a posnet setting upon the fire and stirring it. Let it seethe until it quaile
(curdle), then take it and put it into a clean cloth, and let it hang so that the whey may
void from it. When it is gone, beat it into a dish of rosewater and sugar with a spoon. So
shall you have fine butter. This done, you may take the white of the same eggs, putting it
into another pint of cream, using it as the yolks were used. And thus you may have as fine
white butter as you have yellow butter."
---The Good Housewife's Jewel, Thomas Dawson, with an introduction by Maggie
Black [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1996 (p. 85)
"To butter Eggs upon toasts.
Take twenty eggs, beat them in a dish with some salt, and put butter to them; then have two large rouls or fine manchets, cut them
into toasts, & taost them against the fire with a pound of sweet butter; being finely buttered, lay the toasts in a fair clean
scowred dish, put the eggs on the toasts, and garnish the dish with pepper and salt."
---The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May, facsimile 1685 edition [Prospect Books:Devon] 2000 (p. 443-444)
"Eggs buttered, with a Toast
Cut a thin toast round a loaf butter it on both sides, and cut it in square pieces; break six eggs into a stew-pan, beat them up
well, put in a little pepper and salt, a quarter of a pound of butter, and a little cream, put them over a slow fire, and keep them
stirring till the butter is melted, but take care they are not done too much, and them put them on the toast. You may brown themat the top
with a hot iron or salamander if you please, or send them to table without."
---The New Art of Cookery According to the Present Practice, Richard Briggs [W. Spotswood, R. Campbell and B. Johnson:Philadelphia]
1792 (p. 296)
"Scrambled Eggs.--Make a mixture as for an omelet, but instead of frying put it into a saucepan, and when it has boiled five
minutes take it off, and chop and mix all the ingredients into confusion. Serve it up in a deep dish. It is eaten at breakfast,
and is by many preferred to a fried omelet. You may season it with grated ham, tongue, or sweet herbs."
---Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, Eliza Leslie [T.B. Peterson:Philadelphia] 1857 (p. 614)
"Eggs, Jumbled.
Break four eggs into a stewpan with two ounces of butter and a seasoning of salt and pepper; let them set over a clear fire, and
stir till the mixture becomes rather solid; then remove, and serve with or without a ragout of vegetables, celery, lettuce,
spinach, sorrel, or asparagus tops. If neither be liked, send to table upon slices of hot buttered toast. Time, five minutes. Probable
cost, without vegetables. 6d. Sufficient for three or four persons."
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cooking with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1874 (ibid (p. 200)
This dish differs very little in its mode of preparation from our 'mumbled' or 'jumbled' eggs. When the pan has been well oiled with good butter, put into it
as many eggs as it will hold separately, that each yolk may be entire. When the whites have become slightly hard, stir from the bottom
of the pan till done, adding a piece of butter, pepper, and salt. When done, the yolks should be separate from the whites although
stirred together. Serve on hot buttered toast with anchovy sauce, potted meat, cheese, or fish spread over it first. The eggs
should be of the consistency of butter. Time, five minutes."
---ibid (p. 202)
"Scrambled Eggs," Mrs. Lincoln, Boston Cook Book
"1296. Oeufs Rouilles--Scrambled Eggs
This method of preparing eggs is undoubtedly the best, always bearing in mind that they should not be overcooked but be kept
soft and creamy. They are usually served in a small deep silver dish but according to the recipe are also presented in small Croustades,
cases made of hollowed-out Brioche or tartlet cases. Formerly it was the custom to surround the dish of scrambled eggs with
small Croutons of various shapes or pieces of cooked pale baked puff pastry in the form of crescents, diamonds, rounds or palm
leaves, etc.; this way has much to recommend it and can always be followed. In the old classical kitchen scrambled eggs were always
cooked au Bain-marie as this guaranteed that they were cooked perfectly; but this was a time-consuming operation. They may be cooked
more quickly by sing direct by gentle heat as a gradual cooking process is essential for obtaining the desired soft, smooth
texture.
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, 1907, translated by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann
[John Wiley:New York] 1979 (p. 157)
"Scrambled Eggs [Japanese style]," &
"Chinese Scrambled Eggs,", Sara Bosse, Chinese-Japanese Cook Book
Souffle
A French word which literally means "puffed up," is a culinary term in both French and English
(and used in many other languages) for a light, frothy dish, just stiff enough to hold its shape, and
which may be savory or sweet, hot or cold.The basic hot souffle has as its starting point a roux--a
cooked mixture of flour and butter...This type of souffle was a French invention of the late 18th
century. Beauvilliers was making souffles possibly as early as 1782 (though he did not publish his
L'Art du cusinier until 1814). Recipes for various kinds appear in Louis Ude's The French
Cook of 1813, a work which promises a "new method of giving good and extremely cheap
fashionable suppers at routs and soirees. Later, in 1841, Careme's Patissier Royal Parisien
goes into great detail on the technique of making souffles, from which it is clear that cooks had
been having much trouble with souffles that collapsed. The dish acquired a reputation for
difficulty and proneness to accidents which it does not really deserve...There are some Ukranian
and Russian dishes of the hot souffle type, independently evolved and slightly different in
composition."
---Oxford Compantion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 735)
---Horizon Cookbook and Illustrated History of Eating and Drinking Through the Ages,
William Harlan Hale [American Heritage] 1968 (p. 713)
It doesn't. That nugget of culinary fakelore is not supported by science. The rise and (and the inevitable fall) of every souffle is a direct result of temperature. Heat
expands the air in the egg whites; coolness deflates it.
---Kitchen Science, Howard Hillman [Houghton Mifflin:Boston] 1989, revised edition (p. 285)
---On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of The Kitchen, Harold McGee [Scribner:New York] 2004, completely revised and updated edition, (p. 109-113)
[1828]
"Souffles for Entremets.
20th century American fads/popularity can be traced with cooking texts and magazine/newspaper
articles. The 1960s enjoyed a renaissance of everything French. Souffles included.
It will be sufficient to observe on the subject of souffles that they are all made in the same manner,
and that they vary only in the taste you give them. If sent up in proper time they are very good
eating, if not, they are no better than other puddings."
Bake a dozen potatoes in the oven; when they are well done, open them, scoop out the most
floury part, and mix it with half a pint of cream that has boiled, and in which you have infused the
peel of a lemon; to this add a little sugar, a large bit of butter, and a little salt; the taste of the
sugar, however, must predominate; yet observe, that the less sugar you use the lighter the souffles
are. Now break six eggs, throw th yolks of four only into the potatoes, breat the six whites, which
pour gently with the above preparation in to a souffle dish, and put it into the oven, which must
not be too hot. When the souffle is done enought, powder a little sugar over it, and use the
salamander; souffles must be served up the moment they are ready, for they are liable to sink."
Dilute a little flour with half cream and milk; set this pap on the fire to boil; when the flour is
hoen, put a littel salt, a little sugar, and a small quantitiy of pounded orange flower, mix well, and
then add a good bit of butter, the yolks of six eggs, and mix the whole well. Next beat the six
whites, and mix them with the rest: then bake the souffle as above, and when it is baked enough,
glaze it and send up."
Boil some milk with a little cream, to which give any taste you think proper. Threw into it the soft
part of two or three fresh rolls to soak, put the bread through a sieve, and proceed with the eggs,
butter, sugar, &c. as Nos. 1, 2, and 3."
Take a quarter of a pound of chocoalte, which cut as small as you can, and melt it on the fire in a
little water. When it is entirely melted, throw it into the souffle prepration, NO. 4, the same as all
others...and generally all otehr souffles, are prepared in the same manner. The question is, to
make the preparation well, and above all things to beat the whites of the eggs very well, for on
that alone depends the rising or falling of the souffle."
Break six eggs, put the whites into one pan, and the yolks into another; rasp a little lemon peel or
orange flowers, beat the yolks well, add a little sugar and salt, and next beat the whites well en
neige, and mix them with the yolks lightly. Then put a lump of butter into an omelette pan on
the fire; when the butter is melted, our the omelette into the pan; when it is firm enough on one
side to hold the liquid part, turn it over on the dish you send up; then bake it in an oven, or use the
Dutch oven. When it is well raised, glaze it, and sent it up immediately, for it would soon lower.
Mind, it must be convered hermetically with a large fire over it, otherwise it will not rise. To this
you many give whatever flavour you think proper; but the plainer the better, when served very
hot, and very high."
---The French Cook,Louis Eustache Ude, photoreprint of 1828 edition, [Arco
Publishing:New York] 1978 (p. 367-370)
Put 1 1/4 oz. of flour in a stewpan, wtih 1 1/2 pint of milk; season with salt, and pepper; stir over
the fire, till boiling,--and should there be any lumps, strain the souffle paste through a tammy
cloth; Add 7 oz of grated Parmesan cheese, and 7 yolks of egg; whip the whites till they are firm,
and add them to the mixture; fill some paper cases with it, and bake in the oven for fifteen
minutes. Observation.--All these souffles should be served immediately they are cooked." (p. 324)
Break 6 eggs; separate the whites form the yolks; put 3 yolks in a basin, with 3 oz. Of sugar,a nd
half a grated lemon peel; stir, with a wooden spoon, for five minutes; Put the 6 whites in a
whipping bowl, and whip them until they are very firm; then mix them lightly with the yolks;--this
should constitute a very solid paste; Butter a round dish slightly; throw in the whole of the paste
at once, as lightly as possible; smooth it over with a knife, and make an incision about 1 inch
deep, with the handle of a silver spoon, all round the side of the omelet; put it in the oven for ten
minutes, and serve immediately; Should omelet soufflee be kept for a few minutes after it is taken
out of the oven, it will be spoilt."(p. 189)
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low,
Son and Marston:London] 1869
Ingredients: 1 dl (3 1/2 fl oz or 1/2 U.S. cup) milk, 25 g (1 1/2oz) sugar, 1 tbs flour, 10 g (1/3 oz)
butter, 2 egg yolks and 3 stiffly beaten egg whites. Method: Bring the milk and sugar to the boil,
mix in the flour which has been diluted with a litte cold milk and cook on the stove for 2 minutes.
Remove form the stove, mix in the butter and egg yolks and then fold in the siffly beaten 2gg
whites."
4474. The Moulding and Cooking of Souffles
The souffle mixture is placed in a souffle mould or deep silver timbale or in a special
false-bottomed dish--in all cases these should be buttered and sugared inside. They are cooked in
a
moderately hot oven so that the heat may reach the centre of the mixutre by degrees. Two
mintues before removingthe souffle from the oven, dredge the surface wtih icing sugar which will
caramelize and form the required glaze when replaced in the oven. The decoration of souffles is
optional but in any case it should be ketp to a minimum."
---The Compete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, August Escoffier, first translation
into English by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann of Le Guide Culinaire:1903 [John
Wiley:New York] 1979
[NOTE: Escoffier provides recipes for these sweet dessert souffles: fruit puree, almond, hazelnut,
camargo, cherry, chocolate, curacao, Elizabeth (vanilla & Kirsch), strawberry, fruits en croustade,
Hilda (lemon, strawberries & raspberries), praline, vanilla, violet etc. Savory souffles are
distributed throughout the book, use the index it locate them.]
"Cheese souffle (serves four)
1/2 cup butter, 1 cup flour, 5 egg yolks beaten, 2 cups milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pinch pepper, a
little nutmeg, 1 cup grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese, 6 egg whites.
Mix the melted butter and flour and let become golden brown. Add the boiling milk, mix with a
whip and let boil for 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, stirring constantly, then
combine with the egg yolks. When the boiling point is reached, remove from the fire and add the
grated cheese. Beat egg whites still and fold into the mixture. Place in a souffle dish and bake in
hot oven for 20 minutes." (p. 399)
6 egg yolks, 1 cup sugar, 1 vanilla bean or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 6 egg whites, 2
tablespoons confectioner's sugar.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture has whitened and is a slight as a sponge cake mix.
Add the vanilla. Beat the egg whites stiff and gently fold into the first mixture. Spread on a long
buttered and sugared plate in the shape of an oval mound, saving a small quantity to decorate the
omelette. Smooth it all around with a spatula and decorate with the mixture set aside. (A pastry
piping bag or paper coronet may be used.) Bake in a moderate oven for 10 minutes. About 2
minutes before removing from the oven, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar to form a brilliant coat
when melted. Serve with Vanilla or Rum Sauce." (p. 395)
---Cooking a la Ritz, Louis Diat [J.B. Lippincott:New York] 1941
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