Since birds and eggs preceded man in the evolutionary chain, they’ve existed longer than historians. East Indian history indicates that wild fowl were domesticated as early as 3200 B.C. Egyptian and Chinese records show that fowl were laying eggs for man in 1400 B.C. Europe has had domesticated hens since 600 B.C. There is some evidence of native fowl in the Americas prior to Columbus' arrival. However, it is believed that, on his second trip in 1493,Columbus’ ships carried to the New World the first of the chickens.
Egg production has changed over the last century. It has evolved from backyard chicken coops to modernized industrial productions. This has eradiacted many diseases and has increased production
For a few decades there, eggs had a rather unwholesome reputation. Thanks to its high cholesterol content, the egg was deemed villainous. Years went by while many of us shunned eggs, ate only the whites, or ventured into the world of egg substitutes.
Then, in 2000, the American Heart Association (AHA) revised its dietary guidelines and gave healthy adults the green light to enjoy eggs once again. The AHA's guidelines now allow an egg a day for healthy adults while still advising a total daily cholesterol limit of 300 mg.
The confusion over eggs stems from their cholesterol content. One large egg contains 213 mg of cholesterol, accounting for two-thirds of the recommended daily limit.
One of my favorite egg dishes is as easy as it is delicious! I totally fell in love with it E.A.T., Eli Zabar’s renowned shop on the Upper East Side - no trip to The Guggenheim or Cooper-Hewitt was complete without nosh from the quintessential Manhattan take-out shop and cafe.
It sounds fantastically boring, but when I first tasted Eli’s Egg Salad, on his marvelous house-made bread, it blew me away. What was it that made it so good! Well, it took me years to find out. But when I did it was an amazing revolution.
In 1975 Eli invented what he calls the platonic ideal of an egg salad sandwich. He did it by eliminating half the egg whites. During this period, he was into simplicity, he said, and he wanted to get to the essential “egginess” of egg salad. The recipe remains unchanged more than 40 years later. But what of all the leftover hard-cooked egg whites? E.A.T. sells them as chopped egg white salad in two versions: plain, and dressed with mayonnaise and dill. Waste not, want not.
Eli Zabar’s Egg Salad
makes two sandwiches
time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
8 large eggs
⅓ cup mayonnaise
salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
4 slices bread
PREPARATION
Put the eggs in a medium pan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes. Place pan in the sink under cold running water until the eggs are cool.
Peel the eggs. Remove the yolks from 4 of them (save the whites for another use). Chop the 4 yolks with the 4 remaining whole eggs.
In a medium bowl, gently and quickly mix the chopped eggs, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the dill, mix the egg salad once more, and make into sandwiches.
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