WEEK 4

EGGS
Eggs are produced by reptiles and birds. However, as far as food and nutrition is concerned,
attention is usually focused on eggs produced by birds. Eggs generally have a common
structure and can be produced by chicken, duck, turkey and goose.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE EGG
Eggs are spherical in shape with one end pointed and the other end blunt. They are covered
by a hard protective shell which can either be white or brown in colour. The colour of the shell
depends upon the breed of the chicken and it is unrelated to the colour of the yolk or to the
food value and quality of the egg.
The shell is porous and this allows for moisture and gaseous exchange with the surrounding
air. The egg-yolk is covered by a membrane known as vitelline membrane. Immediately after
the vitelline membrane is the thick egg white. A high proportion of thick white is an indicator
of good quality of the eggs.
NUTRITIVE VALUE OF AN EGG
•About three-quarters of the egg weight is water.
•The white is about 58 per cent of the weight of the whole egg, the yolk is 31 per cent while the shell has 11 per cent
•The yolk is more concentrated
•The yolk also contains more protein, fat, minerals and vitamins than the white which is totally devoid of fat.
•Easily digested
•Eggs contain vitamins A and D and the B-complex vitamins.
COMPOSITION OF WHOLE EGG, EGG YOLK AND EGG WHITE

CONSTITUENT WHOLE EGG (%) EGG YOKE (%) EGG WHITE (%)
Water 73.7 51.1 87.6
Protein 12.9 16.0 10.9
Fat 11.9 30.5 Trace
Ash (mineral) 1.0 1.7 0.7
• FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING EGGS
• When held against a source of light, it should be bright and not opaque.
• When broken, the yolk should be intact and surrounded by the egg white.
• When immersed in salted water it should sink and not float.
• When broken there should be no offensive odour produced.
• When shaken no sound should be produced if the egg is of good quality.
• TEST FOR FRESHNESS
• Just fill a bowl with cold water and place your eggs in the bowl. If they sink to the
bottom and lay flat on their sides, they are very fresh. If they are a few weeks old
but still good to eat, they will stand on one end at the bottom of the bowl. If they
float to the surface, they are no longer fresh enough to eat.
• They shell should be slightly rough.
• If held towards the light, the egg should be clear.
• Fresh eggs have no unpleasant smell and should not make a noise when shaken
• PREPARATION OF EGGS
• BOILED EGG: This is one of the commonest ways of preparing eggs. It involves
immersing the egg completely in water and bringing the water to the boil for about 3-
5 minutes. The egg can either be soft boiled or hard boiled.
• 
• POACHED EGG: In preparing poached eggs, enough water to cover the eggs
completely is brought to the boil in a shallow pan; an egg is broken into a cup, and is
dropped gently into the water. After dropping all the eggs, the water is reheated to
simmering, and is removed from the heat, covered and allowed to stand for about
three to five minutes until the eggs are firm but not hard.
• 
• FRIED EGG: In this method, a thin layer of oil or fat is put into the frying pan. The fat
should be allowed to heat to a point at which it will sizzle on addition of a drop of
water. The egg should be broken and emptied into the hot oil. The egg is then cooked
slowly until the white is set.
• SCRAMBLED EGG: In this method, fat or oil is put in the frying pan and allowed to
heat up. The eggs are then broken into a cup, salt, pepper, milk, tomatoes juice or
any other fruit or seasoning can be added as desired. The mixture is the beaten
with a fork to break up the yolk. The mixture is poured into the frying pan and
cooked over a low heat. It is stirred gently so that the thickened portions are lifted
from the bottom of the pan and the uncooked portion allowed to run down.
• USES OF EGGS IN COOKERY
• Eggs add to the nutritive value of dishes.
• Serve as thickening agent in sauce and soups e.g. custard sauce.
• Serve as binding agent.
• Serve as coating agent, before frying e.g. fillets of fish, meat cakes.
• Act as emulsifying agent e.g. mayonnaise and cake mixtures.
• Serve as leavening/ rising agent
• As garnishing in dishes.
ASSIGNMENT.
• With the diagram describe the structure of an egg.
• List the factors to consider when choosing eggs.
• List the various uses of eggs in cookery.
• Discuss in detail the various methods of preparing eggs.
 
• PROJECT ACTIVITY
• Find out the different animals that lay eggs.
• Describe the different forms you eat eggs in your house.
 WEEKS 5
MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS
• Milk is a creamy liquid formed by all female mammals for feeding their young.
Milk can be produced from cows, horses, goats, sheep, dogs etc. the
commonest used is cow’s milk.
• It is one of the most valuable foods, containing practically all food substances. It
is sometimes called ‘nature’s perfect food’ for babies. The nutrients are not in
correct proportion for adults because it has low carbohydrate, iron and vitamins
C content. It is extremely good for invalids and convalescents. It is readily
digested.
CONSTITUENT PER CENT

Carbohydrate 4.9

Protein 3.5

Fat 3.7

Water 87.2

Ash 0.7
• Protein: the major protein in milk is casein
• Carbohydrate is present in form of milk- sugars or lactose which is least sugar of
all sugars. It is very easily converted to lactic acid.
• Fat exists in the form of a very fine emulsion and it is very easily digested.
• Mineral salts: milk is a good source of some essential mineral elements such as
calcium and phosphorus.
• Vitamins: fat- soluble vitamins A and D are present, particularly in the cream.
Vitamins B1 and B2 and small quantity of vitamin C, which is destroyed if milk is
boiled, pasteurized or left standing in sunlight.
• Water forms the largest proportion of milk. All other substances are either
dissolved or held in suspension by the water. Milk is therefore a very bulky and
dilute food.
• TYPES OF MILK
• Fresh whole milk: This is the milk as obtained directly from the cow where
none of the nutrients has been removed. It is the most nutritious of all types
of milk. The fresh whole can, however, be subjected to other industrial
processes in a bid to preserve and store it. Examples:
• Pasteurization: is the process of heating the milk for a short time (30mins)
at a temperature below 100 degree C. The aim is to kill all the harmful
bacteria present in the milk.
• Homogenize: in this process all the fat particles are broken down into very
minute particles and the milk mixed properly so as to obtain a homogenous
fluid.
• Sterilization: in this process, the milk is subjected to a more severe heat
treatment than pasteurization. The objective here is not to kill the harmful
bacteria, but all the micro-organism present in the milk.
• 
• Skimmed milk: Here the fat content has been removed. It is therefore made
up protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins.
• Evaporated: This is whole milk from which about 60 per cent of the water
content has been removed. This is achieved by heating the milk in a vacuum.
• Dried milk or milk powder: Over 90 per cent of the water content has been
removed and it is then milled to powder form.
• Condensed milk:This is evaporated milk to which a safe and suitable nutritive
sweetener, usually sugar has been added. it is therefore sweeter and thicker
than evaporated milk.
• Filled milk: This is a combination of skimmed milk and vegetable fat or water,
non-fat dry milk and vegetable fat.
• 
• MILK PRODUCTS
• Yoghurt: This is obtained by allowing the milk to ferment for some time by
some special type of bacteria.
• Cheese: This is usually produced by fermenting the whole milk by lactic acid
forming bacteria followed by treating the product with an enzyme known as
rennin. There are different types of cheese, these include:
• Semi- hard cheese e.g. Caerphilly wensleydale
• Blue- veined e.g. iris blue, Danish blue
• Soft cheese e.g. camembert
• Cheese spread e.g. Samoset and Gouda
• USES OF MILK PRODUCTS
• Yoghurt
• It can be taken on such occasions as picnics, camping, caravanning where it can
serve as an instant dessert or can be served on breakfast cereal
• It can be added to dishes to improve their flavour e.g. soup sauces and gravies.
• It adds variety and flavour to curries, stews and rice dishes.
• It may be used with fruit and vegetable salads.
• Cheese
• It can be used as a substitute for meat in vegetarian dishes.
• Can be used to supplement carbohydrate foods.
• Acts as an additional flavouring.
• Can be served plain at the end of lunch.
• Can be consumed as snacks e.g. with biscuit or bread.
• Milk
• The milk itself can be used in the production of different types of milk pudding or semolina
pudding.

ASSIGNMENT
• Discuss the nutritive value of milk and milk products.
• Write short notes on the following
• Fresh whole milk
• Evaporated milk
• Condensed milk
• Name two milk products and discuss one in detail.

• PROJECTS ACTIVITY
• Find out the local processes involved in the preparation of Wara or Nono.
• Write a report on your findings.