100 Ways to Cook an Egg (2024)

FAQs

What are the 100 types of cooking eggs? ›

Ways to Cook with Eggs:

Boiled, scrambled (soft or hard), poached, baked, basted, fried, shirred, coddled, pickled (as in quail eggs) and used to make omelets, quiche, frittatas, and soufflés. Eggs go into cake batters, quiches, breakfast burritos, toads-in-a-hole, and are used to make mayonnaise and hollandaise.

Let's have a look a the second question first: Culinary lore has it that the 100 folds in a chef's hat represent the 100 ways to cook an egg; although in Escoffier's standard tome of French cooking, “Guide Culinaire” from 1903, you'll find 143 ways to prepare an egg.

Good Eggs is a compendium and celebration of eggs, with over 100 ways to cook and elevate this simple and much-loved ingredient. Full of wonderful ideas for flavour-packed and globally inspired dishes, it really does make eggs the star of the show.

In the early days of the toque blanche, it was said that the number of pleats would often represent how many techniques or recipes a chef had achieved. For example, a chef would have 100 pleats in his hat to represent 100 ways he could prepare eggs.

A strong eggshell is about 0.3 millimeters thick and has between 7,000 and 17,000 tiny pores¹. These pores work to allow oxygen, carbon dioxide and moisture to pass through, but to keep bacteria out. Eggshells with larger pores or thinner shells have less protective power.

Sunny-side-up eggs offer a runny yolk, while scrambled eggs provide a creamy texture. Boiled eggs cater to various preferences, and poached eggs offer an elegant touch. Omelettes provide a canvas for creativity, accommodating diverse flavour profiles.

Traditionally century eggs were made by preserving chicken or duck eggs in a mixture of salt, lime and ash, then wrapping in rice husks for several weeks. During this time the pH of the egg raises transforming the egg, the chemical process breaks down some of the proteins and fats into smaller, more complex flavours.

“My understanding is that back in the 1400s and 1500s in England, eggs were sold in dozens because there were 12 pence to a shilling, so you could buy 12 eggs for a shilling. So when they came over from England to the States, they brought that concept over here,” Babco*ck told me.

In the early days, the number of pleats in the chef's hat represented the number of recipes a chef knew for a given food item, like egg or chicken. Having a hat with 100 pleats meant he knew 100 recipes to prepare with an egg. The same applied to the height of the hat. The taller the toque, the more a chef knew.

What are traditionally 100 of these in a chef's hat? ›

Chef hats, known as toques, traditionally have 100 pleats, are said to represent the supposed 100 ways you can cook an egg. In some kitchens, they represent the standard of the chef with the most important chefs having the most pleats.

There are two different types of chicken eggs – white and brown, depending on the breed. There are several varieties of eggs, which are all rich in protein, vitamins, calcium, zinc and other healthy minerals. The size of the eggs can vary with the breed, age and weight of the hen.

There a four basic styles of fried eggs—sunny side up, over easy, over medium and over well—indicating the level of doneness.