Eggcellent Eggs

I know, I've really slacked off on the blogging thing. I have six half finished, incoherent, rambling posts saved in my draft box and I figured it was time to reduce that number to five. This post has remained unfinished for over a month because the subject is so vast, it seemed impossible to comprehensively cover. This subject is: The Egg.
In "On Food and Cooking," Harold Magee dedicated the second chapter to eggs in no less than 50 pages; I'll try to be more brief. Yet I cannot deny that as a pastry chef and baker, eggs are an invaluable ingredient. The number of ways an egg can be transformed are innumerable: they are the building blocks of cakes and cookies, as well as make a rich, dense custard, or an airy, smooth meringue of whites whipped with sugar, and even provide that beautiful brown glossy crust on anything baked.

Traditional chef head gear: the toque is supossed to have 100 folds to represent the 100 different ways to cook an egg.

 As a consumer of food, I cannot deny that eggs are orgasmic. (when prepared correctly) I like my scrambled eggs and all yolks runny, I like eggs cooked in butter and I especially like them coated in a sauce made from more yolks and butter. I whole heartily support Wylie Dufresne, chef of wd-50 in New York City who is a self proclaimed "egg slut." He is so obsessed with eggs, he revealed his true political leanings when he said "Eggs Benedict is genius. It’s eggs covered in eggs. I mean, come on, that person should be the president.”

My love of egg yolks, runny or other wise, is a complete reversal from my childhood when I only liked egg whites. I ignored the yolks and only occasionally gritted my teeth and chewed through the chalky hard cooked yolk. However, now, I cannot get enough yolk. Literally, I have to crack a few eggs to collect enough yolks. Only occasionaly and always unexpectedly, do I crack open a double yolker. Of course, I let out a cheer of surprise and thanks to a hen for the gift. Everyone gets excited when they open a double yolker.

There is a family farm here in Puebla, Mexico who takes all of that surprise away. They candle all of their eggs after they are collected and separate the double yolkers. The eggs are sold to the woman I buy eggs from at the market who is able to offer, probably the most unique product at the market. (This is the reason I LOVE markets! Commercial egg producers won't take the time and effort to market double yolkers.)

 These eggs are HUGE, I mean bigger than extra large or jumbo eggs in the United States.

 Two kilos, which is usually between 30-32 eggs, costs 33 pesos which at the exchange rate I paid, equals $2.82. We go through them in a week.