All About Eggs

If you have been in DD for any amount of time, you probably have heard me say that eggs are the cheapest way to get protein into your family. This is still true even with the price of eggs now. Children do better in school when they have eggs for breakfast instead of cereal. Eggs are a quick lunch and a quick dinner.
Today we are going to learn all about eggs and how to choose them, how to store them, how to make sure they are still good to eat, and how to cook them in lots of different ways.
How To Choose Eggs -
Buy the best ingredients you can afford. This is always going to be my advice to you. Even cheap grocery store eggs will still be good to feed your family. However, all eggs are not equal.
Organic is always preferable to conventional. This means that the hens are not fed GMO feed.
Good = Conventionally-produced eggs are from hens kept in tight confinement with no access to the outside and fed grains (largely GMO).
Better = Cage-free eggs are allowed some sunlight and are fed mixed grains and grass.
Best = Organic, pasture-raised eggs are raised outside on pasture and eat a diet of insects, grubs, seeds, grass, etc. These eggs have more vitamins and Omega 3s than the other eggs. Chickens are not vegetarians. They are omnivores.
The USDA grades eggs into three consumer grades based on interior and exterior quality, AA, A, and B, with AA being the highest.
Sizes of eggs – jumbo, extra-large, large, medium.
Color of the shell is ONLY determined by the breed of the hen.
And, by the way, you don't need a rooster for a hen to lay eggs. You DO need a rooster to get fertilized eggs and baby chicks. 
Egg yolks – you can't always tell how good an egg is by the color of the yolk. Some egg producers put things in the chicken feed to affect the color of the yolk. Know your producer!
How to Store Eggs -
Store them in the refrigerator in the original carton. They will keep for at least a month.
How to Tell if Eggs are Still Good to Eat -
Fill a bowl with water. Put the eggs in the bowl. If the egg -
Sinks to the bottom – fresh
Stands on one end – ok to use, but not the freshest
Floats – no longer any good. Throw away.
You will not have to worry about eating a bad egg. You will immediately know a bad egg by the look and the smell!
How to Cook Eggs -
Boil Them -
Put eggs in cold water, covering them by an inch, and put over high heat. Bring water to a full rolling boil uncovered.
As soon as the water has come to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and cover it. Set a timer for the egg that you want and when the timer goes off, plunge the eggs into cold water for at least a minute. This will stop the egg cooking and will produce the perfect egg with no gray around the yolk.
Runny soft-boiled eggs (barely set whites): 3 minutes 
Slightly runny soft-boiled eggs: 4 minutes 
Custardy-yet-firm soft-boiled eggs: 6 minutes 
Firm-yet-still-creamy hard-boiled eggs: 10 minutes
Very firm hard-boiled eggs: 15 minutes

Boiled Eggs in an Instant Pot
1 cup water
12 eggs
Add water to the Instant Pot, and then place the bottom rack in the pot. (You can also use the trivet that came with your pot.)
Stack six eggs on the rack making sure to place the eggs pointy-tip down. This will center the yolk. Then place the second rack in the pot and add the remaining six eggs.
Close the pot, set it to sealing and then cook on ‘Manual’ or ‘Pressure Cook’, ‘High Pressure’ for 5 minutes.
Once the pot has completed the 5 minute cook time, allow it to do a 5 minute Natural Pressure Release (NPR).
Prepare an ice bath by filling a bowl with ice and water.
Release any remaining pressure after the 5 minute NPR, open the pot and carefully remove the eggs from the pot and place them in the ice bath.
Allow the eggs to soak in the ice bath for another 5 minutes.
Remove the eggs for the ice bath, peel and serve as you please.

Scramble Them -
Fry Them -
Devil Them – (recipe on website)
Make an Omelet -
Make a Frittata – (recipe on website)
Pasta Carbonara – (recipe on website)

Poach Them -
Eggs Benedict -
Hollandaise in a Blender:
2 sticks butter
3 whole eggs, separated
1 juice of a whole lemon
Cayenne pepper, to taste
In a small saucepan, melt 2 sticks of butter until sizzling.
Separate the eggs and place the yolks in a blender. 
Turn the blender on low to allow the yolks to combine, and then begin pouring the very hot butter in a thin stream into the blender. The blender should remain on the whole time, and you should be careful to pour in the butter very slowly.
Keep pouring butter until it’s all gone, then immediately begin squeezing lemon juice into the blender. You should use the juice of one lemon. And check the blender to make sure the sauce is still liquidy and moving easily through the blades. If it’s not, add a little more juice and give it a stir, then blend again.
Add in a generous shake of cayenne pepper.
If the sauce is too thick, continue to blend while adding more lemon juice.