Posted by kathryn in Myths, Eggs, Fats & oils and Nutrition

Through a variety of circumstances and shopping errors I’ve ended up with over three dozen eggs in the house. They’re all lovely fresh and organic, but Richard is away and I’m thinking that’s a LOT of eggs to get though by myself. I HATE wasting food, so expect a few egg recipe posts over the next couple of weeks!

Fortunately I’m a great admirer of the egg, they’re such a perfect little nutrition pack, easy to use and highly adaptable.

Nutrition information

Eggs contain good quality protein (about 6g per egg), magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), folate, B12, vitamin E and iron. They’re also a relatively cheap food, so you’re getting a lot of nutrition for your money.

Eggs have both a yolk and a white and they each contain different nutrients. For example the yolk has all the vitamins (A and E), thiamin and most of the iron, whereas the white is mostly protein and water (about 87%).

The yolk also contains all the fat, which is made up of a mixture of polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated fats. More recently Omega 3 eggs have become available, which are produced by feeding the hens a diet rich in Omega 3 fats. Each egg contains about 110mg of Omega 3s, which is roughly 20% of your daily requirement.

Eggs & cholesterol

There has been concern in recent years about the fat content of eggs, in particular their levels of saturated fat and cholesterol and this has led many people to cut eggs out of their diet. However a bit of a reality check is needed here. One egg contains about 5g of fat and while this is made up of some saturated (about 1.5g), the vast majority is the more healthy unsaturated fat. Eggs are also free of trans fats and are an affordable and highly nutritious food. In the past year eggs have been given a Heart Foundation tick.

For most people, cholesterol levels are affected by their intake of saturated and trans fats and eggs are not going to be a problem. If you do have a cholesterol issue, then I’d advise checking with your health professional.

How to cook

Eggs can be cooked in a huge variety of ways from boiled through to scrambled, in cakes and pastry and so on. One of my favourite ways is poaching and Orangette has the best instructions I’ve seen so far, it’s right at the end of this post. Delia Smith has other more general information about eggs.

For more ways to cook eggs have a look at my egg archives.

08 September, 2006