[Sca-cooks] Serving Hard Cooked Eggs

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> First Question:
> The original Apician recipe calls for "medium cooked" eggs. I'm
> assuming they're made like soft cooked eggs. But i think trying to
> manage that for 90 people might be a bit beyond my ability (ok,
> beyond my patience). Would it be too much of a travesty to substitute
> hard cooked eggs?

Actually, I suspect that what they're calling "medium cooked eggs" is what
we would call "hard-cooked/boiled "eggs. One of the things I was discussing
with Adamantius for the Tavern feast, was the "Greek rice" from Guter
Speise. In the instructions it had said :

This is called rice from Greece. You should take rice and boil it in water
  until half done. Then pour out the water and boil the rice then in a clean
fat
  and then pour the fat off and do not oversalt.

He had said that most foods in period were overcooked by our standards, and
that I should just cook the rice to our standards of doneness. I'm not sure
of his basis for feeling that way, but knowing him, I'm sure he has good
reasons. Thus, I would tend to cook the eggs to hard-boiled, thinking the
same principles would apply, and lacking any evidence (as in a description,
stating a characteristic of the eggs being soft-boiled) otherwise.

> Second Question:
> If i make hard cooked eggs, would it be terrible to serve them in the
> shell and make the diners shell them? Or should we shell them before
> serving?
>
> Anahita

Well, if the first is true, then it would follow that you have a choice as
to whether to serve the eggs shell on or off. I would tend to want to serve
them shell-less, simply because in period, as a general rule, you indicated
your wealth and power by having servants available to do such "menial"
chores. However, I'm also aware, that in the mania which accompanies a bunch
of amateurs attempting to feed a couple hundred of their closest friends
;-), that time might be at a premium- shelling eggs is not something you can
speed up with your food processor ;-)

Whichever you choose to do, serve them shelled or whole, you will be best
off to carefully cook them so that they're easier to shell. It's a fairly
simple process. Try to start with eggs that are a couple of days old- once
some of the internal moisture has evaporated, they come loose more easily,
although you don't want them so old that they have dents in them when
they're boiled. Place the eggs (gently) in a large pot or pan filled with
lightly salted water, preferably at the same temperature as the eggs (both
of which are best starting out at room temperature, but that's not always
possible.) Bring them gently to a good simmer, and start your timing when
they reach it. At the end of your time, drain all of the water off, and
replace it with cold water, running it from the tap, if possible. Putting
the eggs into an icewater bath is good, too- whatever you can do to get them
as cold as possible, as fast as possible.

This method has two benefits. First, the shock of the cold water inclines
the "flesh" of the whites to shrink away from the shell, making the egg
easier to peel. Secondly, the method helps reduce the amount the yolk turns
grey, particularly if you're using a stainless steel pot.

If you do shell them, you can maintain them nicely in a pot of ice water.
Not only does the water reduce their weight (boyancy) so the ones on the
bottom are less likely to be crushed, but the cold water will help keep
their "just-cooked" flavor, even if you have to serve them hours, or even a
day after you cook them.

Phlip

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....