Egg: A Culinary Exploration of the World’s Most Versatile Ingredient
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In this innovative cookbook, James Beard award-winning author Michael Ruhlman explains why the egg is the key to the craft of cooking.
For culinary visionary Michael Ruhlman, the question is not whether the chicken or the egg came first, it’s how anything could be accomplished in the kitchen without the magic of the common egg. He starts with perfect poached and scrambled eggs and builds up to brioche and Italian meringue. Along the way readers learn to make their own mayonnaise, pasta, custards, quiches, cakes, and other preparations that rely fundamentally on the hidden powers of the egg.
A unique framework for the book is provided in Ruhlman’s egg flowchart, which starts with the whole egg at the top and branches out to describe its many uses and preparations — boiled, pressure-cooked, poached, fried, coddled, separated, worked into batters and doughs, and more.
A removable illustrated flowchart is included with this book. Nearly 100 recipes are grouped by technique and range from simple (Egg Salad with Tarragon and Chives) to sophisticated (nougat). Dozens of step-by-step photographs guide the home cook through this remarkable culinary journey.
Publisher : Little, Brown and Company; Illustrated edition (April 8, 2014)
Language : English
Hardcover : 256 pages
ISBN-10 : 0316254061
ISBN-13 : 978-0316254069
Item Weight : 2.98 pounds
Dimensions : 8.35 x 1.15 x 10.3 inches
Customers say
Customers find the book comprehensive and worthwhile. They describe the pacing as magnificent, interesting, and brilliant. Readers appreciate the beautiful presentation and pictures. They say the recipes are great, easy to follow, and delicious. Customers also appreciate the descriptions and how the book is organized. They mention there are wonderful things to do with eggs and creative ways to serve them up.
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11 reviews for Egg: A Culinary Exploration of the World’s Most Versatile Ingredient
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Original price was: $40.00.$29.95Current price is: $29.95.
Cissa –
Fabulous!
Thus far, Ruhlman has never steered me wrong in a recipe. I am a firm fan of “Twenty” and cook from it several times a month.I can see that i will be adding “Egg” to that rotation.I love eggs in general, and get some splendid ones from a local farm… and now I have SO many options for using them!Tonight I made the lemon curd, and it was a splendid sauce for a dessert for a really rich dinner. We spooned it over fruit salad, and it was just perfect. I liked that it was not 100% egg yolks- it was easier to make, and also was lighter that the 100% yolk versions, but just as flavorful.I am still searching for the perfect method to make hard-cooked eggs, but after reading this, I know far more of the guidelines, and it’s helping me to narrow in on a rpocedure that really works for me, here and now.These are 2 areas I’m personally focused on… but the book has so much more! I look forward to trying really new techniques and approaches to this wonderful ingredient.
Michael B –
A real classic
An extraordinary book, my wife considers it one of the best and most insightful cookbooks she has ever read. Digs deeply into this single ingredient and shows the extraordinary versatility and key features of the egg, many of which we take for granted in day-to-day cooking. When you understand the egg, as this book allows you to do, you gain a whole new level of insight into your other recipes and into cooking in general. Have tried several delicious recipes from the book as well, they will become regulars in our cooking rotation. For the serious cook and also for anyone who wants to increase their cooking knowledge, this book is a real classic. Ruhlman writes so well that reading the book is also highly enjoyable, not in any way an instructional chore, just fascinating. Cannot recommend it highly enough.
SeriousKeto –
Almost an amazing cookbook
Michael Ruhlman is a combination of who we are and who we want to be. He’s a down to earth guy with a passion for cooking (who most of us are) who has become an almost unparalleled master at the culinary arts (who most of us want to be). I consider “Ruhlman’s Twenty” to be one of the finest books written for an aspiring home chef, and “Egg” comes very close to being Twenty’s equal.In “Egg”, Ruhlman takes the simple egg and demonstrates why it truly is not only “the most versatile ingredient”, but also one of the most magnificent. Through the multitude of recipes, he shows how the egg can play both the lead role or the supporting character in every dish from breakfast to dessert.Big credit must also go to Donna Ruhlman for her stunning photography highlighted throughout the book. Seriously, I challenge you to look at any picture in this book and not think (or say out loud), “oh, I gotta make that”. In fact, one of my complaints about “Egg” is that while some recipes have multiple pictures, you can find yourself going through several significant stretches of recipes that have none. There are many recipes where a picture would have moved me from just being curious about a dish to thinking “I have to make this”.Another little complaint I have about “Egg” is that sometimes, it feels like there are little details omitted in his recipes. For example, in one of his soft-cooked egg recipes, he says that you can use the pressure cooker method, but only for 4 minutes. It was unclear if that meant mimicking the pressure cooker hard-cooked egg exactly, but only for 4 minutes — so that’s what I did and wound up with was still basically a hard-cooked egg. Maybe for soft-cooked, I was supposed to immediately cool the pressure cooker under cold water and then get the egg into ice water? I don’t know, because he doesn’t say.Those minor complaints aside, “Egg” is almost worth the price just for two recipes: the above mentioned pressured cooker hard-cooked eggs (so easy to peel and the most perfect yolks ever) and double boiler scrambled eggs. I’ve seen Heston Blumenthal use the double boiler method but didn’t try it until I got “Egg”. I’ve never tasted such rich, moist, delicious scrambled eggs. They are well worth the additional time it takes to make them. A couple of tips on the scrambled eggs — use truffle butter instead of regular butter (mind-blowing), and be aware that as soon as the eggs start to curdle, they progress to being done very quickly.
EC17 –
Still love this book
Still love this book! It is clearly not a read and put down book, it is a “go to” book. So I have only really just started using it but can tell already it is going to be continued to be dog-eared. My bias is that I think the egg is a miracle food in so many ways. Ruhlman’s books are always informative, visually appealing and written for beginners to master chefs. It sounds corny but I am continuing to find that perfect amount of time for a hard-boiled egg which really depends on your heating mechanism, his advice in that area is very helpful. There is just tons of useful, interesting information in this book, you will not go wrong buying it. His egg salad recipes can be used for proteins other than eggs. The pictures are so gorgeous that I did go out and buy a mezzaluna to chop the eggs with. Did I say I really have only started using the book?
Chef –
This is a great book for anyone
This is a great book for anyone. Use organic, pasture raised eggs and you’ll get tasty, high protein and relatively inexpensive meals. There’s a reason why a chef must first learn 100 ways to cook an egg before wearing the traditional 100 fold toque. Every way you learn to cook an egg opens a new door to more information and skill. We’ve recently started pressure cooking egg based desserts and they are so fast, tasty and absolutely brilliant. Check your pressure cookers web site. Plus, Michael Ruhlman often gets into a subject and transmits what he is learning. Use you head and listen. Your own ideas will flow thanks to Michae!l http://www.culturesgroup.net
Lisa Craig –
A fascinating book
What a great cookbook that is devoted to such a quintessential ingredient.
CathyIs –
I love the logic of the whole structure of the book. The poster is delightful. I haven’t tried any of the new-to-me techniques yet, but it has been a great conversation starter for family and guests.
Janet Coxton –
I love this book, I bought it as a present but unfortunately it got damaged in the post and the bookseller refunded immediately – will definitely buy more books from them in future. This book is the classic text on eggs – I already have a copy and was buying a second one as a gift – and itâs one that earns its keep on your bookshelf.
Bryan –
Having chickens I eat a lot of eggs. This has become my go to recipe book for anything egg. I like it so much that I have given two copies as gifts. It’s not a cheap book but I feel that it is a good solid value for the money.
Spiros M. –
Way better than ever expected it to be.All you want to know about eggs and all you’ll ever need to get you started with anything that uses eggs (which is basically most of one’s favs in the kitchen).Great approach, great pics and notes, top quality reference. An altogether excellent guidance.A MUST for anyone who likes cooking.
Steve –
Eggstatic, everything you need to know about eggs and more so.