Protein
Eggs
Age decides the job. Fresh eggs poach tight; older eggs peel clean after boiling.
3 recipes on this site
Ingredient reference image: AI-generated. Recipe photography is my own.
In the kitchen
Under heat
The proteins in the white set around 63°C, well before the yolk does around 70°C — that gap is the entire window a soft yolk lives in.
Against air
The shell is porous; an egg left out slowly loses moisture and gains air through it, which is why older eggs float and fresh ones sink.
In storage
Fridge, pointed end down, in the carton — the carton blocks other food’s odors from passing through the shell.
At the shop
Check the sell-by date, not the shell color. Brown and white eggs from the same breed are identical inside.
Which variety, for what
- Large
- The standard size assumed by virtually every baking recipe — swap in a different size and the ratios shift.
- Extra-large / jumbo
- More liquid per egg — fine for scrambling or frying, risky substituted straight into a recipe written for large.
