Tips and tricks

Myths and tips about the perfect Easter egg

With 2.5 million hens, Styria is a real egg country. And the Styrians love the good little egg - at Easter alone, we eat more than ten million of them! We got some good tricks and tips about eggs from the Chamber.

Should eggs be quenched cold to make them easier to peel? How can you tell if an egg is still fresh? Are they really such cholesterol bombs? We asked the Chamber these and similar questions, and these are the answers:

• For eggs that are packaged anyway, the best before date is written on the carton. This is 28 days from the day of laying.
• The best eggs for Easter are those that are one to two weeks old rather than completely fresh. This is because the air chamber inside is then larger, which compensates for pressure differences during cooking and makes peeling easier.
• A raw egg has a natural protective layer that prevents germs from penetrating. However, this can be damaged or destroyed, for example by washing or different temperatures.
• Eggs should be kept in a cool place, and once they are in the fridge they should not be stored without refrigeration.
• Do not store eggs next to food that smells strongly, as they like to take on the smells of their neighbors
• Eggs that crack during cooking are a real nuisance. Some people swear by a dash of vinegar in the cooking water. The Chamber recommends warming the eggs to room temperature beforehand. Just like grandma used to do: Soft eggs should be placed in cold water, hard eggs in hot water. 
• Quench eggs? For breakfast eggs, yes, to rapidly prevent further boiling. Not for hard eggs. Very interesting: quenched eggs spoil after a few days, unquenched eggs last up to a month!
• Are eggs really such cholesterol bombs? This is a myth that cannot be dispelled, even though science has already disproved it. On the contrary, eggs increase the level of "good cholesterol" and are even healthy.