Eggs take a long time to digest if hard boiled. All the fat of the egg is contained in the yolk, but the white of the egg is pure albumen (or nitrogen) and water. Eggs are most easily digested raw or very lightly boiled, and best cooked thus for invalids. The best way of lightly boiling an egg is to put it in boiling water, set the basin or saucepan on the side of the stove, and let it stand just off the boil for five or six minutes. Eggs often crack when they are put into enough boiling water to well cover them, owing to the sudden expansion of the contents. If they are not covered with water there is less danger of them cracking. One can easily tell stale eggs from fresh ones by holding them up to a strong light. A fresh egg looks clear and transparent, whilst stale ones look cloudy and opaque. There are various ways of preserving eggs for the winter; one of the best is by using the Allinson egg preservative. Another very good way is to have stands made with holes which will hold the eggs. Keep these stands in an airy place in a good current of fresh air, and every week turn the eggs, so that one week they stand the pointed end down, next week the rounded end down.
APPLE SOUFFLÉ.
4 eggs, 4 apples, 2 oz. of castor sugar (or more if the apples are very sour), 1 gill of new milk or half milk and half cream, 1 oz. of Allinson cornflour, and the juice of 1 lemon. Pare, cut up, and stew the apples with the sugar and lemon juice until they are reduced to a pulp. Beat them quite smooth, and return them to the stewpan. Smooth the cornflour with the milk, and mix it with the apples, and stir until it boils; then turn the mixture into a basin to cool. Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs; beat the yolks well, and mix them with the apple mixture. Whisk the whites to a stiff froth, mix them lightly with the rest, and pour the whole into a buttered Soufflé tin. Bake for 20 minutes in a moderately hot oven, and serve at once.
CHEESE SOUFFLÉ.
8 oz. of Parmesan or other good dry, cooking cheese, 4 eggs, 1 oz. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 1 gill of milk, 1 oz. of butter, mustard, pepper, and salt to taste. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the wheatmeal, season with mustard, pepper, and salt. Pour in the milk, and stir until the mixture is set and comes away from the sides of the saucepan. Turn into a basin, and let the mixture cool. Grate the cheese and stir it in; separate the yolks of the eggs from the whites, and drop the yolks of the eggs, one by one, into the mixture, beating all well.
Whip the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, mix it lightly with the other ingredients; turn the mixture into a buttered Soufflé tin, and bake the Soufflé for 15 minutes.
CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ.
5 eggs, 2 oz. of butter, 3 oz. of castor sugar, 2 large bars of chocolate, 6 oz. of the crumb of the bread, and vanilla essence to taste. Cream the butter, and stir into it gradually the yolks of the eggs, the sugar, and chocolate. Previously soak the bread in milk or water. Squeeze it dry, and add to it the other ingredients. Add vanilla and the whites of the eggs whipped to a stiff froth, and pour the mixture into a buttered pie-dish or cake tin. Bake 3/4 of an hour, and serve immediately. If the Soufflé is baked in a cake tin, a serviette should be pinned round it before serving.