Is it a matter of healty or taste?

[willkatdawson]

I guess my whole life I've thought the white of an egg needs to be done all the way through to be eaten while the yolk is safe and sometimes preferred eaten runny.
I recently watched a show called Top Chef on Bravo and during a meal eggs were served. There were aprox 6 older chefs (60 ish I would say) and there were 6 or so young chef 20's to 40's. With out exception the younger chefs voted the eggs were poorly cooked because parts of the white were runny. The older chefs thought the whites were perfectly cooked. Is it an age thing? Have we been conditioned to think the white must be cooked well done? I ruin many a yolk trying to get the white well done. Don't sunny side up eggs have runny whites?

It's too late for me, I couldn't eat runny whites now anyway after all the years of conditioning

but, my children LOVE soft scrambled eggs.

Are they safe?

 

[ranchhand]

I'd be willing to bet the older chefs were European or trained in Europe. Done is a different concept there. I suspect in the US it's preferred cooked through because of the old worries about salmonella.

If you're eating your own eggs, it shouldn't be a problem. I fix eggs over easy usually, sometimes soft scrambled. Nothing to worry about, it all gets cooked but not overdone.

 

[Wifezilla]

I use eggs raw in smoothies. Of course, they are my own duck eggs

I suspect it is an age thing. Remember a while back when restaurants were told they couldn't serve eggs over easy?

 

[Judy]

The problem with eggs that are not fully cooked is that some chickens are carriers of salmonella and can pass this along in the egg. Thorough cooking or pasteurization kills the salmonella. I figure I've eaten so many partially cooked eggs over the years that my body is used to the occasional load. A quick Google search for salmonella in eggs should produce plenty of information. It is usually not a serious problem except for people who are very young or very old or whose immune systems are compromised.

 

[willkatdawson]

Would the salmonella be in the whites and not the yolk? Yes the older chefs were from Europe or trained in Europe. I don't ever let the kids lick the bowl after making cookies or cakes. Am I going overboard? Why would the homegrown eggs not have salmonella in them?

 

[Judy]

Quote:
I always lick the bowl, and used to let my son do so, too. Homegrown eggs can have salmonella in them, but it is found in well under 1% of eggs.

Salmonella is not usually life threatening. It is one of the usual causes of everyday food poisoning. You get sick for a day or two, to varying degrees, then you are through with it, for the most part. You might get sick enough to need medical attention, but healthy people usually just have a belly ache and make some extra bathroom trips. I'm sure you, and probably your kids, have had it.

Here is just one article a Google search produced:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/EggPasturization.htm

 

[wildorchid053]

we have always eaten runny whites and yolks, very soft scrambled eggs, and always lick the batter bowl.. i do it , and now my grandkids do it.. never had a problem and those were all store bought eggs.. my hens are just starting to lay and i can't think of anything better than a big ceasar salad with a soft over easy egg on top.. you break the yolk and let it run through the salad.. ymmmmm

 

[cat]

Quote:
you just solved my what to have for dinner question!