ISO: ISO An answer about egg whites...strange

In Search Of:
D

dawnnys

Well-known member
This may be an offbeat question, but I had to ask. Does anyone know for sure what the little coaggulated white part of a raw egg white is?

I heard a discussion on the radio a while ago and haven't been able to eat an egg white before (tediously) removing this little bit before I cook the egg. I usually use the tines of a fork, but as you can imagine, it slips away quite easily and sometimes gets lost especially if I break the yolk while attempting this!

I keep meaning to ask here, and 'thought I'd put my mind at ease by finding out what it actually WAS! lol Thanks.

 
It seems it is the germinal disc. m

The yolk is the source of food for the embryo and contains all the fat in the egg. The small white spot on the yolk is call the germinal disc. The germinal disc is where the female's genetic material is found.

If you use the edge of the egg shell you may be able to remove it better. It won't slip away from it.

 
I read about this in Cookwise by Shirley Corriher

(I assume you're talking about that little white springy thingy that is in the egg white)

It's the coil that helps keep the yolk centered in the whites, so the yolk doesn't bounce around and hit the sides of the shell. On end attaches to the yolk and the other end attaches to the tip of the egg.

Shirley Corriher says there's really no reason to remove it, although some people prefer to when separating egg whites from the yolk.

 
Dont laugh - but years ago I read somewhere that that little white

string helps eggs whites beat up fluffier and stiffer and to this day I struggle to get it in the bowl.

 
Keeps the yoke centered in the egg

called the calaze (sp?). it will disolve if the egg is old enough. Alton Brown talked about this in one of his egg shows.

 
I once heard it explained.....

that if the egg had been fertilized this would be the chick's umblical cord. One reason I never eat fertile farm eggs. Know it's in my head but EWWWW............ I always remove them if I can!

 
Umbilical Cord? Ha! Ha! Ha1 Ha!????? mind you if I see it and think about it I sometimes also ......

remove the squiggly thingy.

 
The chalaza cooks up tough. That's the reason I sometimes remove it.>>>

Some recipes call for straining custards made with eggs to remove this tough little "spring" and the very thin skin of the yolks (sometimes this cooks up a little tougher.) I saw someone on a cooking show pop the raw yolks and sort of squeeze out the inside for her very smooth cheesecake. I have never been that picky, but that's why she SELLS her cheesecakes for a very high price.

 
Thanks everyone... I noticed that there are 2 of them, one usually...

larger than the other, so I began thinking it might have had something to do with symmetry. Both threads attach to both the yolk and the shell, I think. Then when I read your post, I remember from somewhere deep in my brain that I had heard that it stabilizes (position-wise) the yolk.

Thanks again for all of you taking the time to post to this somewhat silly question :eek:)

 
Thanks for the link, rvb – the information was fascinating…

In one of my father's “back in the old days” stories, he relates how people, who were shopping for a live chicken, would palpate the hapless creature to determine if an egg was about to be produced. That way the frugal shopper got a bonus. Kind a precursor to today’s bargain shopping, I guess…

 
Thanks... I was talking about the strands, not the dot, which is only (I think)...

found in a fertilized egg, which I wouldn't eat if you paid me ;o) But thanks, your info was helpful.

 
Okay, but now to confuse matters more, this morning...

I heard a guy on tv talking about a fertilized egg, saying "...the yolk, which will become the chicken...". This isn't right, is it? Isn't it the white that becomes the chicken and the yolk which serves as its food source?

I'm beginning to feel like one of the 3 stooges.

 
i'm afraid the yolk's on you, dawn....

the white's the food. the yolk develops into to the chick.

 
According to Rick's link, the blastoderm (fertilized spot on the yolk) is what develops

into the chick. The yolk is its primary food source. That makes sense because the yolk contains most of the egg's protein. I found another site

http://www.kidwings.com/eggs/index.htm

that says the white provides "some food" to the developing chick.

We incubated some eggs last year and hatched four chicks. Unfortunately, a predator got them, and DH hasn't had time to built a fortified coop. Maybe this spring...

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top