• Howard Helmer, Senior National Representative for the American Egg Board, is the Omelet King. Helmer holds three Guinness World Records for omelet making – fastest omelet-maker (427 omelets in 30 minutes); fastest single omelet (42 seconds from whole egg to omelet); and omelet flipping (30 flips in 34 seconds).
• The name meringue came from a pastry chef named Gasparini in the Swiss town of Merhrinyghen. In 1720, Gasparini created a small pastry of dried egg foam and sugar from which the simplified meringue evolved. Its fame spread and Marie Antoinette is said to have prepared the sweet with her own hands at the Trianon in France.
• To tell if an egg is raw or hard-boiled, spin it. Because the liquids have set into a solid, a hard-boiled egg will easily spin. The moving liquids in a raw egg will cause it to wobble.
• Double-yolked eggs are often produced by young hens whose egg production cycles are not yet completely synchronized. They’re often produced too, by hens which are old enough to produce Extra Large-sized eggs. Genetics is also a factor. Occasionally a hen will produce double-yolked eggs throughout her egg-laying career. It’s rare, but not unusual, for a young hen to produce an egg with no yolk at all.
• It is said that an egg will stand on its end during the spring (vernal) equinox (about March 21), one of the two times of the year when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are of equal length everywhere. Depending on the shape of the egg, you may be able to stand it on its end other days of the year as well.
• Long before the days of refrigeration, the ancient Chinese stored eggs up to several years by immersing them in a variety of such imaginative mixtures as salt and wet clay; cooked rice, salt and lime; or salt and wood ashes mixed with a tea infusion. The treated eggs bore little similarity to fresh eggs, some exhibiting greenish-gray yolks and albumen resembling brown jelly. Today, eggs preserved in this manner are enjoyed in China as a delicacy.
• You really can have egg on your face. As egg white tends to be drying, it has long been used as a facial. Egg yolks are used in shampoos and conditioners and, sometimes, soaps. Cholesterol, lecithin and some of the egg’s fatty acids are used in skin care products, such as revitalizers, make-up foundations and even lipstick.
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Delicious Sprout Omelet

    3/4 cup of Chinese bean sprouts (mung beans) or alfalfa sprouts

    1 tsp. diced bell pepper

    1 tsp. diced green onion

    2/3 cup sliced mushrooms

    1/4 cup diced water chestnuts

    2 eggs

    1/4 cup milk

    1 to 2 tsp. vegetable oil

    salt and pepper to taste

    In an omelet pan, saute vegetables and bean sprouts in oil for 3 - 5 minutes. Remove vegetables and place on a warm plate. Whip together the eggs, milk and seasoning. Pour egg mixture into the omelet pan and cook on both sides. Place vegetables in center and fold omelet over.

    If using Alfalfa sprouts, saute the vegetables 1 to 3 minutes before adding the alfalfa sprouts so that they cook for only 2 minutes. Cooking alfalfa sprouts changes their taste in an interesting way.

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1 medium potato (such as Yukon Gold), peeled and diced

1 cup water

pinch of saffron

¾ lb Swiss chard (both stalk and leaves), shredded

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove, crushed

5 eggs

¼ cup milk

2/3 cup chopped herbs (tarragon, dill, parsley)

½ cup crème fraîche, cold

Simmer potatoes in water and saffron for 4 minutes, then add chard with salt and pepper. I would add thick chard stalks 1 minute or so ahead of the leaves to make it a little softer. Cook covered for 10-15 minutes until the potato is soft. Drain excess liquid, if any. Off heat, add the lemon juice and garlic. Set aside. 

Whisk together eggs, milk, herbs, and salt and pepper. Make 4 thin round omelettes (almost like crêpes) on 9” nonstick frying pan. You do not have to flip the omelette. Keep them separated by paper towels.

Spread cold crème fraîche over half of each omelets on the side that touched the frying pan. Taste the chard mixture and adjust seasoning, then spread generously over the crème fraîche. Fold each omelet over in half, then fold again to get a fan shape. Allow the chard mixture to slightly overflow at the open side. Arrange the folded omelettes in a baking dish and bake it in 325℉

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