Egg info + tips

Useful tips and tricks to help you make the most of Sunny Queen eggs

Make the most of your Meringue

  • Egg whites must be room temperature, room temperature eggs whip faster than cold eggs
  • Clean the bowl with white vinegar, this helps strengthen the egg white to build volume
  • Whipping gradually from low to high, ensures the meringue mixture isn’t too airy & hard to shape
  • Adding sugar in a stream, and only once it is at soft peak stage, this will help make a smoother final mixture
  • Whipping on high after adding sugar will give you glossy, firm meringue without sugar grains

Perfect poached eggs

  • Eggs must be fresh – they hold together better!
  • Break egg into a small cup before adding into the water, this helps keep white together and surrounds the yolk
  • Put a dash of vinegar in the water, this little trick helps keep your egg together during the cooking process
  • Keep water at a simmer to achieve a delicious runny yolk at the end– don’t fast boil
  • A slotted spoon & draining on kitchen paper drains off any excess water

Scrambled Egg

  • Use a fork to whisk eggs, so they don’t get too frothy
  • Add some water to the eggs, this makes for lighter, fluffy scrambled eggs
  • Use oil & butter for best flavour
  • Don’t cook too high, just use a gentle heat so they don’t dry out
  • Don’t over stir, keep big folds
  • Remove from heat just before fully cooked (it will keep cooking in the pan!)

Best dippy egg for soldiers

  • Room temperature egg
  • Time 3 minutes from when the water boils
  • Cut the top off quickly or it will keep cooking

Sunny side up egg

  • Non-stick pan
  • Only medium heat
  • Cook the white mostly through
  • Putting a lid on cooks the white through without burning the bottom & leaves the yolk sunny

Beating egg whites

When whipping egg whites for meringues and desserts, make sure the eggs are at room temperature and heat the beaters in hot water for a few minutes. The whites will beat more easily to a beautiful, light froth with greater volume.

Extra tips:

  • Ensure the beaters are completely dry before whipping because even the slightest amount of water or residue will prevent soft peaks forming.
  • Also make sure that the bowl you are using is free from any residue and is totally clean and dry.

Separating eggs

To separate egg whites, always separate the egg over a small bowl then put the white into your mixing bowl. It is best not to separate eggs over your main mixing bowl. This is to prevent your egg whites being contaminated by yolk. Yolk contains fat which will spoil the stiff-peak effect of egg whites.

If you are separating eggs and do get yolk in the egg white, dampen the corner of a tea towel or hand towel and dip it into the bowl. The yolk will adhere to the dampness of the towel and you will be left with just the egg whites.


Freezing eggs

Egg whites can be easily frozen and thawed for future use. Freeze each egg white in an ice cube tray for easy measuring, and then transfer to either a freezer bag or container. Thawed whites will beat to a better volume if allowed to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Freezing egg yolks is not as easy as freezing egg whites as the gelatinous nature of the yolks causes them to thicken or gel when frozen. To help retard this, beat in either 1/2 teaspoon of salt (for savory) or 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar (for desserts) per 1/4 cup of egg yolks (approximately 4 yolks).


Egg size guide

Using the correct sized eggs in recipes can sometimes mean the difference between success and failure. Eggs are graded according to egg weight, not egg size. Use our Sunny Queen Farms egg sizes guide to ensure your recipes are a success.

Large

50.0 - 58.2g

Extra large

58.3 - 66.6g

Jumbo

66.7 - 71.6g

Extra jumbo

71.7 - 78.0g

Sunny the egg wearing a headmasters mortarboard

The Heggmaster

These bright round yolks are rich in choline, a vitamin B-like nutrient. Your brain uses choline to make acetylcholine, important for maintaining memory communication among brain cells. No wonder Sunny is full of interesting facts & figures, check them out below.


Whatever story you subscribe to, chickens are believed to be the first domestic animal.
A broody hen of any breed can be used to hatch eggs and raise chicks from other hens of any breed.
Chickens have more than 30 distinct cries that are used to communicate a wealth of information – including the presence of food or a predator. They even have separate alarm calls depending on whether a predator is travelling by land or sea!
Egg whites have long been used as facials because of their drying properties. Cholesterol, lecithin and the fatty acids found in eggs are often used in skin care revitalisation and makeup products.
The shell of the ostrich egg is 0.06 inches thick and so strong it can bear the weight of an adult man.
The largest bird egg in the world, laid by the now extinct Madagascan elephant bird, was 180 times bigger than an average chicken’s egg!
There are more chickens on Earth than humans – in fact, estimates show this number is more than double.
The yolk accounts for 33% of an egg’s liquid weight but contains approximately 59 calories.
Scientists consider eggs to be single cells – making an egg the largest single cell on Earth.
You can spin an egg to find out if it is fresh or hard-boiled. If it wobbles, it’s raw and if it spins easily, it’s hard-boiled.