Egg

An egg in the kitchen is usually a shell egg: white that sets, yolk that enriches and emulsifies. That everyday food is not a standardized identity in the same way flour or jam is. 21 CFR 160.100 says no regulation shall fix a definition and standard of identity for the food commonly known as eggs ¹.

What is standardized is egg products. Liquid eggs (also called mixed or liquid whole eggs) are eggs of the domestic hen broken from the shells, yolks and whites in their natural proportion, mixed or mixed and strained, and pasteurized or otherwise treated to destroy viable Salmonella ¹. Dried and frozen whole eggs, whites, and yolks have their own identity sections in the same part. A carton of shell eggs and a bag of pasteurized liquid egg are related foods, not the same legal object.

Baking. Eggs add water, fat, protein, and color. They are not a substitute for Wheat flour structure in a lean loaf. The teaching Country loaf (teaching formula) uses none; enriched doughs do. Butter is a different fat. Application: Baking.

What to notice. Crack onto a plate: tight white, standing yolk, clean smell. A watery white or a sulfur smell is age or handling, not a recipe cue. In a batter, watch whether the mix stays emulsion or splits.

Eggs are the shared ingredient behind custards, meringues, and batters; their behavior changes with age and temperature.