Principles of Egg Cookery

Eggs respond quickly to heat. Gentle, even cooking gives tender curds, smooth custards and stable sauces; excessive heat or extra time tightens the proteins and releases moisture.

Heat, custards and foams

Coagulation: Egg proteins unfold and join into a network that changes liquid egg into a tender solid or thickened mixture.

Carryover cooking: Retained heat continues cooking the egg after it leaves the pan or oven.

Heat guide: Gentle heat produces tender curds and smooth custards. High heat or extra time squeezes out moisture and makes eggs firm or rubbery.

Custards: Cook slowly and gently without boiling; overheating causes curdling.

Foams: Use a clean bowl with no yolk or fat. Soft peaks bend when the beater is lifted; firm peaks hold their shape. Stop before the foam becomes grainy and dry. A little acid can improve stability.

Free egg guides

• Eggs
• Hard-Cooked Eggs
• Emulsions

Optional member recipes and lessons

Membership is required for the complete recipes and protected lessons below. Recipe previews may be available.

• Scrambled Eggs — membership required
• Poached Eggs — membership required
• French Omelet — membership required
• Mayonnaise & Hollandaise — membership required
• Crème Anglaise — membership required

Learn the principles behind scrambling, poaching, baking and frying eggs: control heat, understand how proteins set, and recognize a well-beaten egg-white foam.

1. Eggs can be prepared with almost any cooking method.
   1. Dry Heat Methods
      1. Baked
         1. Quiche
         2. Shirred — membership required
         3. Soufflés
      2. Sautéed
         1. Scrambled — membership required
         2. Omelet — membership required
      3. Pan-frying
         1. Sunny-side up, over, etc.
         2. Basted
   2. Moist Heat Methods
      1. Poached — membership required (out of shell)
      2. Simmered (in shell)
2. Avoid high temperatures and long cooking times; Do not overcook.
   Overcooking eggs makes them tough, causes discoloration, and affects flavor.
3. Proteins Coagulate. Heating changes egg proteins so they join together and set, a process called coagulation. Whites, yolks and whole eggs set differently, and ingredients such as sugar, acid and added liquid affect the result. This explains why an omelet and a custard need different handling. Coagulation temperatures describe texture changes; they are not a substitute for safe cooking guidance. Read the American Egg Board’s explanation of egg coagulation.
4. Avoid Sulfide. When hardboiled eggs are overcooked, the sulfur in the whites reacts with the iron in the yolks to form iron sulfide. This is what gives an (overcooked) hardboiled egg its characteristic green ring and odor.  Overcooked scrambled eggs can also turn green and develop that odor of rotten eggs.
5. Understand the Formation of Egg White Foams. Whipped egg whites are used to aerate and give lift to soufflés and cakes. To make an egg white foam:
   1. Any traces of fat (or yolk) will inhibit the whipping of whites to a foam.
   2. Mild acids like lemon juice or cream of tartar give egg white foams volume and stability.
   3. Egg whites foam better at room temperature.
   4. Do not overbeat.  Beaten egg whites should look moist and shiny. Overbeaten eggs look dry and curdled and lose their lifting ability.
   5. Sugar makes foams more stable.

Put egg cookery into practice

Explore our scrambled egg recipe preview — membership required and French omelet recipe preview — membership required, or visit the culinary glossary for more technique explanations. Membership unlocks the full member recipes.