Egg [antikvár]

INTRODUCTIONEgyptian and Chinese records show that fowl were laying eggs for man as early as 1400BC and the use of eggs in the kitchen has been noted since Greek and Roman Times.Chickens reared today are thought to have descended from the Red Jungle Fowl Gallus, a native of the Himalayas some 4,000 years ago. The birds were probably brought to Europe from Asia and were then taken to America by Christopher Columbus in 1493. By the 14th century, several types of eggs were being eaten, including those from the duck, goose, plover, seagull and a short-legged hen called a "creepie", which laid very small eggs.In the Middle Ages, eggs were often poached, posing an interesting problem for those eating with fingers and sharing plates. However, from early records, oneBelow: Poultry have been domesticated and farmed for their eggs for centuries.of the most popular ways of cooking eggs was in the ashes of a softwood fire. John Cardy Jeaffreson, a late-19th century author on social history, included the following quotation in A Book About the Table, published in 1875: "The peasant who bakes his egg in hot wood embers piled about the shell, knows by a sure sign when the meat is sufficiently cooked. As soon as a clear dew-drop exudes from the shell's top, visible above the embers, the egg is done to the perfection of softness."In total contrast, by the time Jeaffreson was writing on the history of egg cookery, eggs were in use in lavish dishes in the Victorian kitchen. Mrs Beeton, the famous author of the Book of Cookery and Household Management, wrote that every good cook needs "an ample sufficiency of eggs with cream and new milk". It was the Victorians who introduced the idea of eating eggs for breakfast. Whatever else was eaten.iCcfr rftmltt rtDiUinv-ftl-.^. ^.I-J'.-',''^'"" Wfirfttnu^rtun lifffhiioinc* CtnAinf rtuiruar Vi rtint-flvOT > .3uu.cl,(m--il^mnr I. -7 >1- OHC" w tVmAfiire k .-.^ .t^rei:^p-ftnuii reul1u,ir^,.f IrWTniitcn tcti.ttiBTi.Above: Throughout history, eggs have been considered as a source of food. This 13th century manuscript depicts a group of women buying eggs.in genteel households, each morning the cook would coddle a cluster of fresh eggs in an elaborate china hen to greet the family when they sat down to breakfast. Trays taken to those who opted for breakfast in the privacy of their bed chambers included eggs nestling under cosies - thick woollen coats designed to retain the heat, not the dainty egg cosies we know today.Throughout history, eggs have been associated with the universe, creation and new life. The Egyptians believed that their God, Ptah, created the egg out of the sun and the moon and the Phoenicians thought that two halves of a very large egg had split open to produce heaven and earth. Similarly, in Chinese legend, the universe was egg-shaped, with the yolk representing the earth and the white the heavens. Early man separated the yolk from the white, introducing the idea of the white, the clear element, as yang and the yolk, the dark murky earth, as yin. To the Chinese, the egg is a symbol of fertility, so when a child is born the parents give dyed eggs as gifts to friends.Because of its connection with new life, the egg has often been thought as an aphrodisiac and a fertility aid. In