white squiggly stuff in eggs

[simplegirl]

When you crack an egg, do you pull the white squiggly stuff out before cooking it? My mom does, my sisters do, and I do. But we are the only ones I've ever met that do...and I've asked a lot of people. So GCMs, anyone out there weird like me?! :giggle

[GraemesMomma]

:no :scratch Why? :shifty

[bec28]

:no I try to avoid getting my hands all eggy :)

[simplegirl]

:no :scratch Why? :shifty

:shrug3 Because I grew up doing it, that's how I was taught to deal with eggs. I never questioned it, I thought EVERYONE did it :giggle. So I've asked lots of friends since leaving home if they do that and I haven't met one.

[mellifera]

My mom used to do it. I am too lazy, and I don't notice a difference. :)

[simplegirl]

YES! Somebody. :D

[Iarwain]

It's not harmful and completely unnoticeable after cooking. If I were using raw eggs in something that I wanted totally smooth I might try to remove any lumpy bits, like if I were making raw eggnog, but there's no reason to otherwise.

[Calee]

Nope.

[Sakura]

I ALWAYS do! :D I use a spoon for it's removal!

It's what my mom has always done, and I do it too.

[Mother of Sons]

No. I've never seen a reason to.

[Katigre]

I don't even know what white squiggly stuff you guys are talking about :scratch. And we use a LOT of eggs in our cooking (probably a dozen and a half per week).

[RealLifeMama]

I do if it is really profuse, but generally only if I am scrambling it. If I am baking or something, I do not. Although I do remember making a baked good once that still had the white stringy thing in it after it was baked. Nasty!
Sometimes, I just wait until I am in the middle of scrambling the egg and pull it to the side and then remove it. It is easier that way.

[Lily]

I don't even know what white squiggly stuff you guys are talking about :scratch. And we use a LOT of eggs in our cooking (probably a dozen and a half per week).
I'm lost too!

[Mother of Sons]

Its part of he egg white that holds the yolk in the center of the egg. I think the older the egg is the less noticeable it is.

[NewLeaf]

Ah, you mean the white 'umbilical cord' looking thing?

Reminds me of another reason I don't eat eggs. :shiver

[HomeWithMyBabies]

I only took it off when I was strict about the baby getting no whites with his eggs, because I felt like the egg whites would stick to them. I don't know if that's true but it seemed like it. Now I don't bother with them.

[filmgirl2911]

My mom did this, too, growing up, so that's what I always did :shifty

Now it's only a once-in-a-while thing.

[BarefootBetsy]

My mom does, but I never saw the point :shrug3

[november]

:no I've never heard of that in my life! :giggle

[simplegirl]

I like the umbilical cord description...I worked with a girl who said "oh you mean the spermy looking thing?" :shifty

[crunchymum]

Ah, you mean the white 'umbilical cord' looking thing?

Reminds me of another reason I don't eat eggs. :shiver

:giggle that's what we call it. :giggle


I often remove them, but not always. If I'm just making scrambled eggs, I don't bother. But if I'm baking it making custard or swiss meringue buttercream or something like that, yep! Fish those suckers out!

[shaslove]

I don't even know what white squiggly stuff you guys are talking about :scratch. And we use a LOT of eggs in our cooking (probably a dozen and a half per week).

I'm lost too!

:no I've never heard of that in my life! :giggle


Me neither! I have no idea what on earth you are talking about!

[crunchymum]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_white

You can see it in that picture, it's connected to the yolk. Ime when I pull it off, the egg yolk usually breaks. :shrug

---------- Post added at 04:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:18 PM ----------

Ok, I'm such a nerd. I found out it called the "Chalazae". It anchors the yolk to the center of the white. :glasses

[Macky]

Yup, I always remove them because seeing them in the finished product (scrambled eggs, baking, whatever) always squicks me out. They feel gross if you're unlucky enough to find one in your mouth, too.

When I crack the egg, I dump out the white but keep the yolk in the shell (like you would dumping the yolk back and forth to separate the egg). If you turn the shell just so, you can get the "chalazae" (thank you :giggle) to flop over the edge of the shell and just pinch them off. It only takes me a couple of extra seconds per egg, so it's no big deal.

[ReedleBeetle]

I used to, but I no longer bother at all. We eat WAY too many eggs. :giggle

[LadybugSam]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_white

Ok, I'm such a nerd. I found out it called the "Chalazae". It anchors the yolk to the center of the white. :glasses

thank you!

i was told by my cooking teacher that it was the undeveloped chicken fetus and it totally grossed me out.

I mean, i know thats what the EGG is, but thinking about the white being a little chicken just kinda grossed me out.

[charla]

thank you!

i was told by my cooking teacher that it was the undeveloped chicken fetus and it totally grossed me out.

I mean, i know thats what the EGG is, but thinking about the white being a little chicken just kinda grossed me out.

Finally a reason to be grateful that I'm allergic to eggs. :shiver

[Macky]

It's not an undeveloped chick. My mom would tell me stuff like that, too. I wonder why that myth got around?

[jujubnme]

Finally a reason to be grateful that I'm allergic to eggs. :shiver

But that spoiler info was wrong. :no http://www.thekitchn.com/word-of-mouth-c-1-8567

[StoryOfGrace]

Ok, I'm such a nerd. I found out it called the "Chalazae". It anchors the yolk to the center of the white. :glasses

Awe-man! You beat me to it!! I actually remember that factoid from my high school Small Animal Science class...I was all prepped to share my wisdom. :pout

:shifty

It's pronounced "Sha-lay-zah"...and it's one of those fun words that I say every time I get the opportunity.

:giggle

I've never even heard of taking it out.

[JoyGal]

Yes, because I'm always the one to find that bite with the little hard lump in it in the brownies.

I told dh that he had to because everyone in the States did it :shifty

Then we actually saw a cooking show where the guy pulled them out too, so I wasn't totally wrong.

[HomeWithMyBabies]

I have never noticed them in a cooked food before. I think I would be taking them off then too. I also don't remember seeing them ever in my life up until we started getting cage free from up the street.

[Little Forest]

If you are eating eggs anyway, I don't see why not that bit. :shrug Good protein, why waste it? Who is afraid of a little lump in your brownies? :giggle

[Annainprogress]

Usually I will even add it in if it clings to the shell :shrug3

[Beautiful Chaos]

Interesting, I've never heard of anyone doing it:scratch. So nope I don't.

[3xblessed]

Yup, I always remove them because seeing them in the finished product (scrambled eggs, baking, whatever) always squicks me out. They feel gross if you're unlucky enough to find one in your mouth, too.

When I crack the egg, I dump out the white but keep the yolk in the shell (like you would dumping the yolk back and forth to separate the egg). If you turn the shell just so, you can get the "chalazae" (thank you :giggle) to flop over the edge of the shell and just pinch them off. It only takes me a couple of extra seconds per egg, so it's no big deal.
This exactly!
Years ago as I was eating scrambled eggs I had one get in between my teeth. :shifty :sick I haven't eaten on since.

[Elora]

No. I learned about this on PBS as a child, and tried to convince my granny that those were not embryos. She still took them out.

[JustMandy]

I love that this has 3 pages of squiggly stuff debate. :giggle

I have never thought twice about them.

[Earthmummy07]

I have never ever seen an egg with one of those :scratch and we have minutes old eggs from our own chickens for breakfast

[PlateauMama]

Yep, I've always taken them out, cause my mom does. :yes

I use a fork, definitely don't stick my hands in there.

This is reminding me of the "do you break your egg with one hand or two?" thread :giggle.

[joysworld]

I have never noticed it in my eggs. I do notice a small brown speck in most of my eggs though, but now white stuff.

[simplegirl]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_white

You can see it in that picture, it's connected to the yolk. Ime when I pull it off, the egg yolk usually breaks. :shrug

---------- Post added at 04:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:18 PM ----------

Ok, I'm such a nerd. I found out it called the "Chalazae". It anchors the yolk to the center of the white. :glasses

Oh no girl. I've mastered the art of keeping the yolk together. Well, I should anyways, since I've been doing it all my life. :shifty

and :tu for being a nerd. Who knew it had a name?! :grin

---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:07 PM ----------


It's pronounced "Sha-lay-zah"...and it's one of those fun words that I say every time I get the opportunity.

:giggle

I've never even heard of taking it out.

I am so happy to see the pronunciation of it. Now it actually has a name to me!

Ladies....I find this thread to be SO validating for me. I'm so glad I can come to GCM and feel like I'm not the only woman to deal with such things. :P~

And for those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, it is very rare that it is not in an egg I crack. And I concur that finding it in your mouth in a yummy treat is :shiver. Pulling it out is worth the time for me.

---------- Post added at 05:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 PM ----------

If you are eating eggs anyway, I don't see why not that bit. :shrug Good protein, why waste it? Who is afraid of a little lump in your brownies? :giggle

I think it's a sensory thing, in all seriousness. My family seems to have an abundance of sensory issues which explains why we would all want to take it out, and not find it in our food later. I don't remember it ever tasting bad, just feels really weird.

[RealLifeMama]

This is reminding me of the "do you break your egg with one hand or two?" thread :giggle.

Oooooh! That was my thread! :dance I always feel so warm and fuzzy when someone remembers a thread I started. (Unless it is an embarassing one, of course. )

[rosesnsnails]

I only read the first page, but it is called the chalaza cord. I don't remove it. Here's a good diagram:

http://www.victoriapacking.com/egginfo.html

Aw, man. I wasn't fast enough. :giggle I think I learned the name of that thing in High School Ag. :think I knew what it was called and what it was, but it took me a minute to figure out how to spell it correctly. :giggle

[Cookie Momster]

Nope, I've never noticed it once the egg is cooked.

[Quiteria]

Professional cooks do it for things like flourless cake, to get a perfect consistency without a little white lump somewhere.

I imagine that most home cooks probably don't care. It kind of blends in for scrambled and fried eggs. :shrug3 And I've never actually seen it in muffins and such, though it might be visible if you inspected carefully.

[HomeWithMyBabies]

Flourless cakes, at least the one I've made use a ton of eggs. I guess once you get to a dozen or so of those squiggly things in your cake people will start to notice :giggle

[Quiteria]

:giggle I meant most home cooks probably don't care because most of the time, they're making scrambled eggs, muffins, etc. as their normal everyday menu, instead of flourless cakes. But when they do make something that special, worthy of hunting down the professional way to do it, then you take out the squiggly stuff. :yes

:giggle...mental picture of beautiful satiny chocolate with a dozen or so white blobs...:giggle I'd have never thought of that; it's so far off my radar.

[shekinah]

I didn't realize people took them out, and I don't think I have ever come across one in my mouth. Now I'm going to be paranoid when I make scrambled eggs next. And you notice them in BAKING too? Wild.

What I do take out is I have had streaks of blood (I assume, it was streaks of red goo) a couple of times. Enough to stand out in my mind, but not common enough that it always happens. I picked it all out and braved eating the eggs anyway. :/

[2ddmom]

I never do. I've noticed them in our own chicken's eggs, but I'm usually working too quickly to really notice them. I've NEVER heard anyone noticing them in cooked eggs/ baked goods.