Eggs are one of the most important food products in most cultures of the world. Moreover, the recipes of many dishes can not be imagined without eggs - the main binding desserts, dough, pancakes, sauces, side dishes, omelet, bread.
And who can imagine life without eggs? It seems that no! And this is despite the fact that eggs are one of the most allergenic foods. The structure of eggs is quite simple: shell, protein and yolk. But do we all know about these components? Let's try to figure it out!
1. Most people in Europe do not wash or cool eggs, while producers in the US, Australia and Japan thoroughly wash the top layer of eggs and then cool them.
Eggs have a thin top coat that is washed off during cleaning, so the shell must be cooled. Other countries do not remove this protective layer, so they do not need to cool eggs. In fact, both methods are ways to combat salmonella, which actually work.
2. Blood and eggs are in some ways similar to each other, and coagulated blood can replace eggs during baking.
And before you say, "Phew, what a crap!", Remember one thing. When people engaged in farming and themselves grew all the necessary products, they used whole carcasses of animals to meet their needs. For example, the stomachs of bulls or deer were used as containers for water.
3. Many people on the planet are experiencing a serious shortage of vitamin D, which, as you know, comes into the body with sunlight.
There are a number of products that contain this vitamin, including egg yolk.
4. As we said above, eggs are a necessary ingredient for many dishes, containing a large number of useful substances.
Most importantly, most of these substances are absorbed by the body in the prepared state. When you eat a raw egg, then only part of the protein contained in it comes into your body. Also, scrambled eggs or omelets are delicious and simple dishes on the planet.
5. On average, each person eats from 250-700 eggs per year.
The Americans least eat eggs (if we consider the consumption of eggs as a separate dish, excluding the addition of desserts and cakes).
6. Presumably, the first discoverers of the omelet were the Romans.
It was made from eggs, sweetened with honey and called "ommele".
7. Eggs are the most universal ingredient for cooking.
According to legend, once the chef's hood consisted of 100 folds, indicating the number of recipes for cooking ordinary eggs.
8. One of the most famous copies of eggs is the Chocolate Easter Egg.
Regardless of religious affiliation, everyone can appreciate the traditional confectionery delicacy. Such chocolate eggs appeared in Germany and France in the early 19th century.
9. Speaking about Easter, it is worth noting that the egg was traditionally considered a pagan spring symbol of fertility (later the Christian church accepted it, as well as the Christmas tree).
Also, people used "old" eggs to celebrate religious holidays.
10. The color of the egg yolk is an indicator of the chicken feed.
For example, the darker color of the yolk indicates that the chicken was fed green vegetables or added special food additives. The main thing is that the color of the yolk is not too pale.
11. Most likely, you ever come across an egg with a small clot of blood in the yolk.
It's just a rupture of small blood vessels, but not a fertilized egg with an unborn chicken that is not safe to eat.
12. Each chicken takes an average of 250-270 eggs per year on average. Now imagine, if women gave birth as many times? Or had endless periods?
13. In 2008, researchers from Canada published a response to the eternal question: "What was the first - a chicken or an egg?".
The answer will amaze even the scholars. In the beginning there was an egg. Dinosaurs laid eggs, which later evolved to birds.
14. In most countries of the world, only unfertilized eggs are used.
But this does not apply to Asian countries (Thailand, Cambodia, China, Vietnam), where they regularly use "balut". Balut is a duck egg with a partially developed duck embryo. Asian chefs boil such eggs until the duckling dies and then is served.
15. Forget about the fact that eggs raise the level of cholesterol in the blood and promote the development of cardiovascular diseases.
Recent research has proven that eggs contain a large amount of antioxidants beneficial to your body. Also, eggs help to lower blood pressure.
16. In fact, eggs have a long shelf life.
Most often on the boxes in stores indicate the date of the "selling" expiry date. That is, this does not mean that such eggs are spoiled. Simply it is believed that eggs are best used in the first time after their production. If you want to make sure eggs are fresh, then gently break the egg into a bowl and smell it. Rancid eggs have a specific smell of sulfur, which is difficult to confuse with anything.
17. Each egg is required from 24-36 hours to fully form before the chicken demolishes it.
Every day in the ovary a yolk is formed in the chicken, then ovulation takes place, where the protein forms on the way to the uterus. There is only one day for fertilization.
18. Eggs are considered a fairly cheap product that anyone can afford to buy.
The cost depends on the category of eggs in size. Naturally, the selected eggs (the largest) are of better quality.
19. Some countries produce a huge number of eggs a year.
For example, Iowa alone produces more than any other state in the US.
20. Many common vaccines use eggs.
Vaccine manufacturers argue that the presence of this substance in medicines does not affect people with egg allergy. But once again to warn your doctor about the availability of such an allergy will not hurt.
21. An interesting fact: the temperature of the eggs just taken down is 40 ° C.
22. The largest egg in the world (chicken) was swept away by Harriet chicken in 2010.
Its size was 11.4 cm in length and 24 cm in diameter. The poor hen, by the way, at that time was only 6 months old.
23. In addition to chicken eggs, you can also try other eggs of birds: ostrich, duck, quail, emu, goose.
For example, 1 ostrich egg is approximately equal to 2 dozen chicken eggs. Therefore, ostrich eggs should be kept until the moment when you really will not have anything to eat.
24. We all know perfectly well that it is not recommended to eat raw eggs and even try raw dough.
It's all about the Salmonella bacteria, which can significantly exacerbate your health right up to death. However, the probability of picking up salmonella in an egg is extremely small and is 1: 20,000. That is, each person will face an infected egg every 80 years. Moreover, if you cook this egg, any bacteria will die.
25. The color of the shell has nothing to do with nutritional properties.
It all depends only on the breed of chicken that has taken the egg. Chickens with white feathers usually lay white eggs, with brown - brown. Some breeds, such as Araucans, laid pale blue and even green eggs. This has nothing to do with coloring or diet - just each breed has its own color shell.