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Any single food containing all the elements
necessary to supply the requirements of the body is called a
complete or typical food. Milk and eggs are frequently so called,
because they sustain the young animals of their kind during a period
of rapid growth. Nevertheless, neither of these foods forms a
perfect diet for the human adult. Both are highly nutritious, but
incomplete.
Served with bread or rice, they form an admirable meal and one that
is nutritious and easily digested. The white of eggs, almost pure
albumin, is nutritious, and, when cooked in water at 170 degrees
Fahrenheit, requires less time for perfect digestion than a raw egg.
The white of a hard-boiled egg is tough and quite insoluble. The
yolk, however, if the boiling has been done carefully for twenty
minutes, is mealy and easily digested. Fried eggs, no matter what
fat is used, are hard, tough and insoluble. The yolk of an egg cooks
at a lower temperature than the white, and for this reason an egg
should not be
boiled unless the yolk alone is to be used.
Ten eggs are supposed to weigh a pound, and, unless they are
unusually large or small, this is quite correct. Eggs contain from
72 to 84 per cent. of water, about 12 to 14 per cent. of albuminoids.
The yolk is quite rich in fat; the white deficient. They also
contain mineral matter and extractives. To ascertain the freshness
of an egg without breaking it, hold your hand around the egg toward
a bright light or the sun and look through it. If the yolk appears
quite round and the white clear, it is fresh. Or, if you put it in a
bucket of water and it falls on its side, it is fresh. If it sort of
topples in the water, standing on its end, it is fairly fresh, but,
if it floats, beware of it. The shell of a fresh egg looks dull and
porous. As it begins to age, the shell takes on a shiny appearance.
If an egg is kept any length of time, a portion of its water
evaporates, which leaves a space in the shell, and the egg will
"rattle." An egg that rattles may be perfectly good, and still not
absolutely fresh.
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