By now, you know there is no fixing of the economy--look at California and Illinois. There will be more. As the states and cities go down, various ones are hubs of different products. As this occurs, the Division of Labor will start to crack, then break. And, as this increases, self-sufficiency will become more and more important.

    Vast earth changes are coming, from within the planet and from the stars. Heretofore, you were cautioned:

• Start preparing (1998 - 2008).

• In 2008 until now, you were further cautioned, "Time is up." In 2009, you were cautioned to finish your preparations.

• You are now cautioned, "You must secure your preparations."

    Know well, you can only own what you can physically protect.

    We are now arriving at the end of an age. Regular readers of this ChemBio Update, know what we are talking about. This means for you who have truly prepared mentally, physically, and spiritually, and are prepared to fight the Light Bearer himself, there are some modalities you must be warned of. All you may have to eat for weeks to months on end is some form of The Staple of Life—wheat. We can give you some procedures to make this more palatable.

    We strongly urge all of you reading this to get a small flock of laying hens started. You can even raise hens in the middle of a big city with no complaints from the neighbors—it is roosters that stir the ire of neighbors (Neighbors won't object to roosters in a couple of years; and soon, you won't be able to get chicks or hens.) The hens will lay infertile eggs almost daily for the first year of their lives, then their production will decrease to one every other day, then one about every 3 days for the rest of their lives, usually 4 to 6 years, sometimes more.

    In the meantime, if you have a covenant relationship with at least 10 people within a 100 mile radius, get them to start raising chickens, with a rooster or two if they live in the country or their home is isolated. Then you can exchange a hen or two for a rooster, or you can borrow a rooster for a few days so you can have some fertile eggs for either incubating or for placing beneath a "setting" hen. From these fertile eggs, you will hopefully obtain your own rooster. This insures survival of the herd, with the herd mentality. If a member of your covenant community loses his rooster or herd (flock), you can supply him with young biddies to get a new herd started.

    Now with flour and eggs and water, you can make flat breads. This is flour tortillas, consisting of Mexican Tortillas, Chinese Pancakes, and Indian breads which are Chipatas, including Pooris as well as Parathas. Even if you did not adequately prepare with salt and oil, you can still make a delicious meal, with complete high protein, if you do get laying hens. If you have a garden growing, which you should, the flat breads made, with 1 or 2 eggs, wrapped around fresh, steamed garden vegetables, make an absolutely delicious and healthful meal.

    Under the harsh and stressful conditions coming, you want a little elegance in your life, especially at meal time. The incomparable egg can do that!

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The Marvelous Egg !

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    Since the earliest of times, the egg has been part of man's diet. Wild birds' eggs were undoubtedly used as a source of building and repair for early man. Even the remaining hunter–gathers in remote parts of the world use ostrich eggs, crocodile eggs, quail eggs, duck eggs, plovers's eggs, various birds, fish, and even reptile eggs. It might be said that without the egg, earlier man may not have made it.

    With the advent of refrigeration, the egg made a great leap forward. But, prior to this, sometime before 2500 B.C., fowl domestication began to ensure a supply of eggs that could be counted upon. Since this early time, the world has had domestic hens that were carried to its furthest corners.

    In industrialized countries, eggs must be labeled as to their source, such as hens's eggs, duck eggs, and so forth.

    Chickens are a laying machine...they are very prolific. A goose lays only 15 to 30 eggs in a year, whereas the modern selectively bred chicken now produces in a year some 200 plus eggs. Yet, we see people thinking, "I'll have more eggs by raising ducks and geese." The time and energy involved in those separate endeavors is not productive and the food you will need to garner for the latter two increases the cost of the entire flock. Ducks also foul the pond, if you have one. Things are going to be quite tough.

    Battery operations came into existence in the 1920s. Everyone speaks of "organic" hens that roam freely, existing on insects, some grain, and grass and other vegetation; however, the modern battery system of raising hens guarantees a large supply of eggs. They are fed a diet of cereals with a blend of soy. Temperature and light in the battery houses are rigidly controlled. The hens' diet also includes vitamins and minerals in with the cereal blend. Because of all the latter, these eggs generally have a higher nutritional quality than free–range chickens.

    With what's coming, you probably won't get battery eggs, so having a garden year round will not only help you survive but help feed your home flock.

    Regardless where or how your egg is produced, a newly laid egg will have a yolk that is round and firm. It is enclosed with albumen, a thick white protein. Nearly 90 percent of the white portion of the egg is water and the rest is proteins. This is why the egg is so versatile. You can add water and high protein all in one when you use the egg white in your recipies. You, thus, cut down on the amount of water added and reduce the drying capability of just water alone, but when egg white is added, you tend to need less water in your recipe. This portion of the egg, as well as the yolk, also serves as a binder or a liaison between other ingredients in your dishes, provided you have good technique and know what you are doing. Soufflés are formed when the proteins of the egg white trap air, forming a stabilized foam.

    The yolk of the egg is 20 percent protein with the remainder containing vitamins, minerals, cholesterol, and a plentiful supply of fat. Why so much fat? Mother nature endowed the infant, the very young ... and the egg with fat because it is a necessary ingredient for survival and growth.

    When heated, the proteins of both, but at different temperatures, thicken and solidify. The whites begins to cook (coagulate) at about 140° F (60°) C. We make use of this fact when later we will teach you How To Pasturized Raw Eggs to destroy Samonella.

    The egg yolk will remain in a liquid phase until about 150° F (65° C). It will become firm at or about 160° F (70° C). We also take this fact into consideration when pasturizing only yolks.

    Most eggs are generally fine when eaten raw; however, there is always a risk of bacterial contamination in the raw egg. The American Egg board says about one egg in every 20,000 eggs might be contaminated with Salmonella. However, you will read later that a number of people came down sick with Salmonellosis when eating hard boiled eggs.

    All fresh eggs are surrounded by a protective layer that prevents bacteria from moving in and setting up housekeeping; but, this layer is removed when the eggs are washed by a government decree. Still, bacteria can be within the egg passed through by the hen when the egg is laid, as you will learn later.

    The small temperature differences between the raw egg white and yolk accounts for the astonishing varieties of texture that a good cook obtains from eggs. It is quite evident when one sees whole egg cookery of a firm white that surrounds a softer yolk. Eggs such as just given are far more digestible than hard boiled eggs.

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Buoyancy : Testing For Freshness!

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    The buoyancy test for eggs measures the size of the air chamber in the broad end of the egg, and therefore its age. A fresh laid egg has a small air chamber. As the egg ages, water vapor and carbon dioxide move through the pores of the egg shell. As this evaporation occurs to the outside of the egg, air moves from the outside to the inside (absorption), producing an expanding air pocket at the broad, rounded end. The pocket forms between the membranes at this broad end. In an egg just laid, the white is covered by a pair of membranes clinging to the shell and each other. A newly laid egg is hard to peel when boiled because the eggs contents adhere closely to the membranes of the shell.

    An egg is edible for up to five weeks old. Then, it is past its time. It may even be rotten. If you place a fresh laid egg in a glass or basin of water, it sinks, due to its density being equal to that of water, with the egg lying on its side. The air pocket is not big enough to raise the egg. If the egg's air pocket is enlarging, as in a week–old egg, it has buoyancy and still lying on the bottom, but with one side (the broad end) slightly tilted upward. A three–week old egg will still sink to the bottom of the water, but the air chamber is now large enough to no longer tilt the egg slightly, but points the egg's broad, round end up with the pointed end down. The egg stands upright in the water on the bottom of the vessel. Eggs more than three–weeks old are best used in puddings, for scrambling, in making an omelet, in sauces or in baking.

    However, if egg is nearing four to five weeks, it floats in the middle of the water; or, breaking the surface of the water with its broad, rounded end pointing up and maybe out of the water, and the pointed end still submerged pointing downward within the water. The egg has aged. It is an old, stale egg. It may even be rotten! Do not use the egg.

A Newly Laid Egg

A Seven Day Old Egg

A Two–Weeks Old Egg

The Parts of An Egg

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Buoyancy Test For Egg Freshness

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Complete Test For Rotten Eggs

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Egg:

    The female of many animals lays a reproductive body that is either round or oval. The container, known as the shell, holds the developing embryo. In the hen, the egg must be fertilized in order to develop into an embryo and eventually "hatches" into a newly developing chicken. An average hen's egg weights about 60 grams or 2 ounces. The shell is 12 % of the total weight of the egg. The shell is mostly calcium and porous. It is pervious to water, odors, and air. This permeability may account to improperly handled eggs to becoming contaminated or spoiled, sooner than normal.

    The egg is lined internally by a delicate membrane that admits maximum passage of light without diffusion or distortion. It is this membrane that separates itself from the broad, rounded end of the egg from the shell and thus forms the air pocket or chamber. A small air chamber means a fresh egg. A large air chamber means a less fresh egg. Therefore, the air chamber has an inverse proportion or relationship to the freshness of the egg:

• Small Air Pocket = Fresh Egg;

• Large Air Pocket = Aging Age;

• Very Large Air Chamber = Stale/Or Rotten Egg.

    The egg white is the albumen of the egg. It is a sticky (viscous), thick liquid that is transparent. It is high in complete protein, which is half of the 14% protein makeup of the total egg. It has about 90 % water and some minerals. In cold water, albumen is soluble and coagulates at about 170° F (60° C). After the white has coagulated, it remains so from then on. It has become denatured.

    Dr. Alcamo writes in Fundamentals of Microbiology, Fifth Edition, the following concerning egg white:

The primary focus of contamination in an egg is the yolk rather than the white. This is due to the nutritious quality of the yolk and because the white has a pH of approximately 9.0. Also, the lysozyme in egg white is inhibitory to Gram–Positive bacteria.

It should be nopted that even though eggs are hard–boiled, contamination is not always prevented. This became apparent in 1983 when over 300 children developed staphylococcal food poisoning after eating hard–boiled eggs following an Easter–egg hunt in Modesto, California.

WebMasters' Note:

Lysozyme is an enzyme that is also found in tears and saliva. It breaks down the cell walls of Gram–Positive bacteria, causing them to swell from osmotic pressure and explode.

    Thirty percent of the total weight of the egg is the yolk. It congeals in heat at about 160° F. The yolk consists of albumens, lecithins, fats which contain vitamins (A, B, D, and E) chlorestins, nucleins, and an iron containing pigment known as haematogen. This later imparts color to the yolk. The yolk contains the remaining proteins of the whole egg and all the fats, especially lecithin. The latter is what causes the egg yolk to emulsify oil, is in making mayonnaise. If the egg is fertilized, one can see the germ. This is often confused by the novice when they see the ligament or chalazae of the egg which binds the yolk to the white albumen.

The Wise Geek from Internet writes:

A chalaza (plural chalazae) is a structure inside an egg which helps to keep the yolk in place. The chalazae attach to either end of the yolk and anchor to the inside of the eggshell, essentially suspending the yolk. Chalazae prevent the yolk from being damaged, promoting the healthy development of the embryonic bird. This structure is also present in some plants, performing a similar function in plant ovules.

Many people who cook with eggs have found a chalaza or two in their travels. The chalaza looks like a little stringy white rope inside the egg. Sometimes both chalazae are visible, especially in fresh eggs, and in other cases, only one can be found. The chalaza is perfectly safe to eat, although some people remove it because they are concerned about its impact on the texture of a dish. A fine custard, for example, might be disrupted by a chalaza.

Originally, the chalaza starts out like a thin string. Over time, the structure usually becomes twisted, as the yolk moves around inside the egg, pulling the chalazae along with it. The chalazae develop a spiral pattern, exactly like a string which has been repeatedly twisted, and the twists stay in place because of the weight of the yolk prevents the chalazae from unwinding.

In addition to the chalazae, the yolk, and the white with their respective membranes, eggs also include a thin membrane between the white and the shell, and an air cell between the membrane and the egg which develops as the contents of the egg shrink. Over time, the air cell becomes larger, and a big air cell can be a sign that an egg is old.

The fresher an egg is, the more noticeable the chalazae are. Some cooks regard a prominent set as a sign of very high quality, although they only really reflect freshness. For quality, the color of the yolk has to be considered. The darker the yolk, the more nutritious the egg. Pale yolks indicate poor nutrition, and eggs with pale yolks tend to perform less well than more nutritious eggs in cooking and baking. They may have trouble, for example, acting as binders in a dish, and they also provide less nutrients to the consumer.

If you've ever wondered about the strange white strings inside your eggs, now you know what you've been looking at. Chalazae are sometimes assumed to be the start of an embryo, but fertile eggs can actually be identified by a small dark spot and signs of red veining on the yolk

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    The egg is considered a perfectly balanced food, nourishing, and low in calories. Generally, there are 76 Cal per 100 grams. As eggs are high in complete protein, they supply the essential amino acids for human nutrition. For people with digestive problems; or, are recovering from a stomach disorder, soft–poached eggs or soft–boiled eggs are much preferred for their digestibility and high nutritional content. Included in this list are eggs en cocotte—these are eggs baked in a small ramekin dish and cooked in a bain–marie (hot water bath) in an oven for usually 6 to 8 minutes. Your French Chief WebMaster likes to add a tablespoon or so of cream prior to baking. Milk, or even unrefined coconut oil, may be used. The latter gives a delicious polynesian flavor to the eggs.

    Omelettes and scrambled eggs with a soft–set center are also easily digested, provided one has a light hand with the oil and/or cream. These, however, are less digestible than the above. Fried eggs are surprisingly digestible if they are not browned too much in butter or oil, only lightly or none at all.

    Hard–boiled eggs, as mentioned earlier, are the hardest to digest.

    Incidently, if you haven't heard, eggs are back in. They don't cause heart disease.

Varieties And Qualities of Eggs:

    Most people think brown eggs are healthier than white eggs. This is false. Brown eggs are neither inferior nor superior to white eggs. It depends on the health of the chickens and the feed they are fed. Often, a brown egg is less filled and a little smaller than a white egg, if the hens are not well–tended. It is easy to examine an egg for freshness against a bright light (light bulb or candle) in a dark room. This is what you look for: If the egg looks clear, it is considered good; however, if cloudy, discard. Your WebMasters use the Bouyancy Test, as given above, and the "Candle" Test.

    Larousse Gastronomique, The New American Edition Of The World's Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia, edited by Jenifer Harvey Lang, says:

The color of the yolk (deep or pale yellow) has no bearing on the quality of the egg, and any blood spots that may be found in the white or the yolk have no significance.

    This differs considerably from what the Wise–Geek from Internet said above. We believe Gastronomique, the world's greatest culinary encyclopedia, as previous experience has shown that in many cases, Internet information is not 100% trustworthy. Your WebMasters have found when the hens get more greenery, the yolks are a deeper, darker yellow. This does not necessarily mean healthier, although some interpret it as a sign that the yolks contain more beta carotene.

    Larousse Gastrtonomique continues:

Fresh eggs should be used within a month and stored unwashed, with the pointed end down, in the least cold part of the refrigerator. Washing an egg makes the shell permeable to smells. A hard–hoiled egg will keep; for four days unshelled, two days if shelled. Hard–boiled eggs pickled in a favoured vinegar and sterilized will keep for months. A raw egg yolk will keep for 24 hours and a raw egg white from 6 to 12 hours. A dessert containing raw eggs, such as a mousse, should be eaten within 24 hours. Fresh eggs can be frozen if they are broken into a bowl, beaten, and poured into suitable containers.

    Your WebMasters store eggs in the coldest part of the refrigerator or in the egg tray in the refrigerator door. They also wash the eggs! They don't want them transfering any bacteria or contamination from the hen nest to the refrigerated foods.

    Ann Willan, Founder and President of Ecole de Cuisine LaVarenne, Paris (now in Burgundy, France), in her well–researched book, LaVarenne Pratique: The Complete Illustrated Cooking Course, writes:

Eggs should be stored in a very cool place or in the refrigerator ideally with the pointed end down so the yolk is well centered within the egg.

    Why do we want the yolk in the center? For presentation! You want an egg that is presented as poached, soft/hard–boiled, or fried to be centered and not at the edge or in some cases with no white around a third of the yolk.

    Ann Willan also writes:

"The egg dehydrates through its porous shell and the white becomes less viscous and more watery." She also points out quite opposite to the Wise Geek, as does Larousse Gastronomique,

"A deep golden yolk is not necessarily superior in taste, though it helps add color to sauces and cakes; the color of the yolk depends on the diet of the chicken, just as the color of the shell varies with the breed of hen. Many American cooks prefer white shells that suggest purity; most Europeans opt for the country connotation of a brown egg.

"The shells of brown eggs are actually less porous than those of white eggs, so they may keep longer. The two threads, or chalazae, that run through the white are harmless and anchor the yolk to the shell. Any spots of blood in an egg yolk, or brown spots in the white are unsightly, but do not spoil the egg itself; pick out any spots using the cracked eggshell.

"Eggs can harbor bacteria especially salmonellae, which penetrate the egg through cracks in the shell. A new cause for concern is that bacteria–carrying hens can lay infected eggs that are flawless in appearance. Reported cases are isolated but are receiving the attention of health authorities."

Commentary By WebMasters:

    Since then, it has been proven that Salmonella serotypes (variants of organisms that differ according to the antibodies they elicit from the immune system; a variation within a species) invades the liver, spleen, ovaries, ceca, and oviducts of infected chickens (Avian Diseases). Salmonella serotypes infecting the ovary/oviduct of the hen passes into the egg before the shell forms. Therefore, the best grade eggs can possess Salmonella.

    It was once believed that fresh laid eggs were sterile, if the hen were not showing signs of being sick. This is no longer accepted. Some writers believe that so–called "organic" hens that are healthy do not get Salmonella. Not necessarily so.

    Dr. E. A. Alcamo, writing in his sixth edition of Fundamentals of Microbiology, says:

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Sorry, No Vacancy

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In the old days, chicks hatched from their eggs, scrambled to their feet, and nestled under their mother's wing until it was safe to come out. By staying close to their mother hen, the chicks received protection, caring, and bacteria. Bacteria? Yes, bacteria—hundreds of strains of harmless organisms that filled the chicks' guts and prevented Salmonella serotypes from causing infection. With all the enterococci, fusobacteria, lactobacilli, and other strains, there simply was no room for Salmonella. The chicks remained healthy.     But mother hen is gone. The high–tech chicken farms of the modern era use machines to remove the eggs from the hen as they are produced. The chicks hatch and develop without ever seeing who made them. To be sure, that is sad. But microbiologically, the sadness is compounded by the absence of the harmless bacteria from the chick's gut (and the tendency of the chick to develop salmonellosis).     As of 1998, there was an answer. That year, the Food and Drug Administration approved a spray (called Preempt) that showers chicks with a mix of 29 species of harmless bacteria. The chicks pick the bacteria off their feathers and ingest them. As the harmless bacteria set up housekeeping in the gut, they complete with and exclude the dangerous ones. (Scientists call the process "competitive exclusion.") Numerous tests show that Salmonella serotypes are significantly reduced or completely eliminated. Once again, science has replaced mother hen.

Competitive Inhibition:

    The average human body contains some 10 trillion cells in its make–up and harbors some 100 trillion bacteria. These microbes normally live in and on the human body in a ratio of 10:1; yet, we are surprisingly healthy for it. This illustrates that most microorganisms are not pathogenic under normal conditions; and they also benefit humans and animals as well. In industrialized countries, viruses cause 60% of all disease–causing illness; whereas approximately 15% is caused by bacteria, according to estimates.

    The disease producing (pathogenic) microbes are in the minority as well as those that cause food spoilage, such as fats and oils going rancid; grains, fruits, and vegetables developing mold.

    Those that normally reside in or on the body are known as the normal flora or normal microbiota. There are seven areas microbiota are normally found: Skin, conjunctiva of the eyes, nose and throat, the colon, lower part of the urethra in males and females, and the vagina in women.

    Once this normal microbiota is established in humans, it prevents the overgrowth of harmful organisms through competitive inhibition, a process whereby the normal flora (a) compete for nutrients, (b) affect the pH environment, making it unsuitable for invading microbes, and (c) produce compounds that kill or inhibit the invading bacteria's growth, as well as (d) affects available oxygen present. When these normal processes are interrupted, disease can result.

For example, the normal adult vagina has a pH of 3.5 to 4.5—a moderately strong acid. The yeast, Candida albicans, is found on the skin, mouth, intestinal tract, and in the vagina. From over–using antibiotics, vaginal deodorants, and excessive douching, the delicate balance of normal bacterial flora to opportunistic organisms—in this case, C. albicans, in the vagina is thrown off and its pH approaches near neutrality, 7.0. Then the yeast–like organism becomes the leading microbe there, causing vaginitis.

    Competitive inhibition is important to prevent or inhibit the overgrowth of harmful intestinal organisms, such as Escherichia coli, Helicobacter pylori, Salmonella, Shigella, Candida albicans, and amoebae. With sufficient intestinal probiotic microbiota present, creating a competitive environment in the intestines, you also compete with botulism organisms, Clostridium botulinum, before they can produce their deadly toxin.

    For what's coming, the authors of this book feel, diabetics, children, imunocompromized persons, the elderly, as well as healthy individuals should take the amino acid, L–arginine (or eat meat) with the probiotic, L. plantarum (It is not be recommended to take arginine if you are taking Viagra or nitroglycerine). The nitric oxide (NO) produced, kills or controls a large number of microorganisms and possibly parasites, by cocking and priming the immune system. White blood cells of the immune system use NO in the destruction of target cells, such as bacteria and tumors. Other good sources of arginine are almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, and nuts in general — Chemical/Biological WarFare: How You Can Survive, Third Edition, Brocato and King.

    For these above reasons, we suggest one start now on a good probiotic, such as PB8 by Nutrition Now. It contains Lactobacillus plantarum. It is further suggested one ingest Claussen (from the dairy case; it is fermented) Sauerkraut, which adds healthy bacteria to the colon. In your quest for excellent colon health, your WebMasters suggest that one consume a good natural brand of yogurt, such as Dannon All Natural Nonfat Yogurt (full fat if you can find it), Plain. We do not recommend one eat the yogurts with fruit, unless it is not with fruit preserves with too much sugar and/or made with corn syrup.

    Undoubtedly, from above, one probably contracts a harmful bacteria; yet, it does not phase them because it is held in check with Competitive Inhibition. What is coming to our doorsteps is not going to be healthy, nor pretty. Do what you can now!

    What the scientist call Competitive Exclusion for the chicks..., it is called Competitive Inhibition in humans.

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    Ann Willan further cautions:

"Dishes or sauces containing raw egg yolks, such as mayonnaise, should not be kept more than two days."

Your WebMasters have found that if you acidify the amalgam prior to making the mayonnaise with lemon juice and vinegar, this helps in protecting against bacterial contamination. Adding sugar and salt in the beginning stages creates an osmotic pressure that further enhances protection.

"Pasteurized and dehydrated eggs, convenient but inferior to fresh eggs in taste and texture, are used in many commercial prepaparations. Drying causes little or no loss to an egg's nutritional value."

We have found this to be not so if one pasteurizes his own eggs and milk! Which we will show how to do.

    One problem we have noted is that most eggs are over cooked causing the protein strands, especially in the white to be tough. The reason for this is that when eggs are heated, the protein is converted into a toughened lattice of protein strands due to excessive denaturation. More cooking cause the water to be released in the whites and gives a watery mixture in puddings, sauces, custards, and scrambled eggs.

    Willan makes an important point we utilized in teaching mayonnaise preparation from fresh and dry ingredients:

"Another important property of eggs is their emulsifying action, that is, their capacity to combine fat and water molecules smoothly, thanks to the presence in egg yolks of two emulsifying agents, cholesterol and lecithin."

Most, if not all recipes add Dijon mustard that is prepared; or, call for dry mustard. What is not generally known about mustard is that it too helps in the emulsifying action of the egg to bind the water in the yolk and the lemon juice and vinegar with the oil used in the preparation of Making Mayonnaise.

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Emulsification !

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    When there is a homogeneous mixture of particles — these can be ions, atoms, as well as molecules, consisting of more than two or more substances, this is called a solution. Homogeneous here means "that the properties and the appearance of all parts of the solution are uniform. That is, no boundry between particles is visible with or without the aid of instruments — Chemistry: A Modern Introduction."

    "Solutions are usually discussed in terms of solvent and solute. In general, the substance present in the greater amount is referred to as the solvent, while the other substance is called the solute — Ibid." Often, the solvent is a disolving liquid and the solute is that which is disolved in the liquid, such as salt or sugar disolved in water, a universal solvent.

    There is a particle size between solutions and suspension (large aggregates of molecules such as clay, finely divided in water) known as colloidal particles.

    "The most important colloids are sols, gels, emulsions, and aerosols... An emulsion consists of a liquid dispersed in a liquid, such as oils in water (mayonnaise), or butterfat in water (milk).

    "In general, colloidal particles are made by breaking large particles or by growing small particles to colloidal size — Ibid." And this is what happens when one makes mayonnaise. An emulsion occurs. The energy is supplied by the whisk to cause the emulsifying agent, lecithin and cholesterol, in this case to cause the hydrophilic (water soluble or water loving) end (heads) of lecithin and cholesterol to hold onto the water in the vinegar and/or lemon juice and the lipophilic (lipid soluble) ends of the emulsifers (tails) to hold onto the oil (olive oil in this case of making mayonnaise).

    The energy supplied by whisking or an electric beater causes a head lecithin/cholesterol to hold onto the water portion of the almalgam, and the tail to connect with the oil or grease (as in a detergent removing dirt and oil when washing). This actions separates a small glob of oil/grease from a mass of oil/grease by making the glob a colloidal particle.

    This is why you add the oil slowly or drop by drop and whisk briskly to form emulsified particles of oil and water. As more and more particles are formed by the added energy in the form of a whisking or electric beater to bring the lecithin and cholesterol together with the oil and water, you can then add more oil in a thin steady stream to form more emulsified particles held in a colloidal state, or simply colloid.

    Joseph Nordmann in his book, What Is Chemistry: A Chemical View of Nature writes:

"Phospholipids or phosphatides are glyceryl phosphates that commonly occupy water–lipid interfaces in cells. Containing both lipidlike and waterlike groups, they bring water and lipids into contact with one another and form stabilized mixtures with the two.

"Such go–between substances (which include soaps, detergents, and certain natural products) are called emulsifiers. Their water–lipid mixtures are emulsions. Emulsification facilitates fluid transport through cell membranes. It also makes contact possible between enzymes and the substrates on which enzymes work. A typical phospholipid is lecithin, found in nerve sheaths and the walls of mitochondria."

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How To Pasturize Raw Eggs

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(Cooking With Raw Eggs)

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    "Pasterization is not the same as sterilization. Its purpose is to reduce the bacterial population of a liquid such as milk and to destroy organisms that may cause spoilage and human disease. Sterilization is the destruction or removal of all forms of life" — Fundamentals of Microbiology, Fifth Edition, Alcamo.

Note:

Even if an object or material is sterilized, it may still inflict disease or damage physiologically upon a body. A solution may contain no living forms but still contain toxins. Toxins are poisonous substances produced by a microorganism.

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    If you have a backyard flock, you can make mayonnaise, custards, mousses, or utilize the eggs to make soft and hard–boiled eggs, omelettes, and flatbreads incorporating eggs for enrichment. The recipes are endless, except that there may be no electricity for a while or electricity may be intermittent as we move through the Galactic Plane.

    Eggs are generally perfectly safe to eat raw. But, there is always the possibility that one egg may be contaminated by bacteria. And that's the one you eat raw!

    What's one to do? First, use the Sniff Test to test the "air." Are there any reports of salmonella outbreaks from eggs or other sources in your town, city, or down the road from you in your immediate area? If so, don't use the eggs in recipes that utilize them raw. Cook your own eggs thoroughly first. Don't eat them raw. But suppose varieties of food are scarce and you want Wraps with mayonnaise for good nutrition, as well as for taste. Then you can pasturize your own flocks' eggs that you want to use for custards, mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce, cookie batter, and Caesar salads.

    Next, before utilizing the eggs in dishes that call for raw eggs, pasturize the eggs. Put the eggs in a heavy sauce pan; cover with tap water. Then, place on moderate heat. Bring the eggs to a temperature of about 140° to 150° F for about 3 to 5 minutes. This depends on the size and age of the eggs. You don't want to cook the eggs. Chef Charles suggests to pasturize one or two eggs first to get the feel for it and to see if you need to reduce the temperature a little more, as often novices end up with the albumen (the clear portion) developing denaturation and slightly cooking. You can tell this if after pasturizing the eggs, you crack one open and the albumen is slightly coagulated. If you see streaks of white in the clear albumin, it has been cooked. The yolk may still be fine to use, if not curdled, for mayonnaise, etc. But, the albumen can not be whipped.

    You will need to use a candy thermometer; or, you can use your finger. After the eggs are on moderate heat and are beginning to reach the proper temperature, you can place you finger into the 140 – 150° water for two seconds before it burns you.

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An Adequate Temperature To Cook An Egg

(Depending on Altitude, Size of Egg, Conditions of Sauce Pan):

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• Egg White = Coagulates (starts cooking) at 144 – 149° F.

• Egg Yolk =   Coagulates        "   "   "              149 – 158° F.

• Plain Whole Eggs — Pasturized, but not cooked: 140° F for 3–1/2 minutes or 140 – 150° F for 3 – 5 minutes.

• Egg Yolk Mixture: Egg Yolks, wine vinegar, dry mustard, lemon juice: heat to 160° for a few seconds.
  Commentary:

  If eggs are to be used with other food items in a recipe such as milk, cream, sugar, custard (use at least 1/2 cup liquid), cook the egg mixture to 160° F to destroy contaminating bacteria for a few seconds. A candy thermometer is necessary.

  Professors Tortora, Funke, and Case, writing in their Fifth Edition of Microbiology: An Introduction, about salmonellosis, the condition caused by Salmonella, on page 616, the following:

  The organisms are generally destroyed by normal cooking that heats the food to an internal temperature of at least 60° C (140° F).

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How To Pasteurize Raw Eggs

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Making Mayonnaise

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Mayonnaise
An Archetypal Colloidal State

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Recipes

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    Recipes differ according to the Chef's likes and dislikes. In this instance we will give you two and explain some features of the ingredients.

• Two egg yolks.
• 1– 1/2 cups of oil (1 cup light olive oil; 1/2 extra virgin olive oil).
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard or dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper (freshly ground)
• 2 – 3 teaspoons sugar.

    Have all ingredients at room temperature. Place dry ingredients in clean bowl along with one or two egg yolks; set bowl on a small kitchen towel, round into a circle to hold the bowl; this lets you have both hands free; whisk until yolks are slightly thickened and creamy.

Then, add lemon juice and/or vinegar (white balsamic is Chef's Charles' choice). Most recipes add only a tablespoon of lemon juice and/or a few drops of vinegar; whisk. We add more vinegar throughout as necessary. The reason for the liquids (lemon/vinegar) is that the amalgam would get too thick to beat. These liquids not only thin the sauce, making it manageable (it would get too thick to beat) but also control microbes.

    Let rest for a few minutes to create an osmotic pressure for gram positive bacteria control, should it get contaminated by whatever means.

    Now, start whisking and add, drop by drop, the oil. We recommend olive oil (light and extra virgin; the latter for its chemical control of microorganisms). The latter oil gives the sauce (mayonnaise) a bitter taste. Thus, the sugar. If the oil and other ingredients are not at room temperature, the emulsification may not take place. You do not want to take the ingredients immediately out of the refrigerator.

    As you whisk, emulsification starts taking place. Before your eyes, mayonnaise begins to form, and if you are hand whisking, you can feel as the thickening occurs. As more and more oil is added, it becomes too hard to beat — even with an electric beater. Thus, just a few drops additionally of vinegar as you whisk. Continue until you have added, for two eggs, about two cups of oil.

    Note: Too much oil added at once will cause the sauce to separate. This is called a "broken" sauce. To correct: Beat a fresh egg yolk separately and add a little broken sauce at a time to reconstitute, whisking all the while. Or, simply whisk the broken sauce at the surface and edge of the bowl adding a little vinegar as you whisk to reconstitute the broken sauce.

    When you have finished, you should have a creamy, slightly thickened mayonnaise. To this, serve as is; or, add herbs, making an herb sauce; or, add a crushed garlic clove or two, making aioli (garlic) sauce. The list is endless, such as adding pimentos, mayonnaise aux crevettes (shrimp or prawn) mayonnaise.

Larousse Gastronomique gives this recipe:

Classic Mayonnaise (Mayonnaise Classique)

Half an hour before making the mayonnaise, ensure that all the ingredients are at room temperature. Put an egg yolk into a bowl and add a pinch of salt and a pinch of white pepper.

Mix these ingredients with a wire whisk, but do not beat too hard. Add the oil (olive, groundnut (peanut), corn, or sunflower) drop by drop, beating continuously with the whisk, stirring in the same direction and at the same speed. When the mayonnaise begins to thicken, increase the quantity of oil, adding it in a thin trickle (1 or 2 small egg yolks will emulsify 2.5 dl (8 fl oz, 1 cup) oil).

Then flavour with vinegar (tarragon if available) or lemon juice and adjust the seasoning. Before adding the oil, 1 teaspoon white mustard can be mixed with the egg yolk.

    And, Anne Willan, Founder and President of Ecole de Cuisine LaVarenne, Paris, has this one to offer:

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Making Mayonnaise
Makes 1–1/cups

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• 2 egg yolks
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar or 1 tbsp lemon juice (more if needed)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)
• 1–1/4 cups peanut or olive oil
  • In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks until thick with a little salt, pepper, half the vinegar or lemon juice, and mustard if using.
    Note: This will take a minute (or just under); all ingredients should be at room temperature. It helps to set the bowl on a cloth so that it does not move while you are whisking.

  • Add the oil, drop by drop, whisking constantly. After adding 2 tbsp oil, the mixture should be quitre thick. Add the remaining oil more quickly, a tablespoon at a time, or pour from a jug in a very slow stream, whisking constantly. Stir in the remaining vinegar or lemon juice, and add more mustard, salt and pepper to taste.

  • Test the consistency of the mayonnaise: it should be thick and glossy, and should just hold it shape when dropped from the whisk.

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Jaques Pepin, World Famous French Chef,

Makes Mayonnaise This Way:

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SOS Gribiche,

Making Mayonnaise Using Cooked Yolks And Raw Yolks:

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Freshness of Eggs:

    A fresh egg feels different. It should be heavy and perceptible to the senses as being well–filled. As time goes by, a fresh egg (any egg) loses a very small amount of its weight in terms of water and carbon dioxide. This occurs through its porous shell. You can use the Bouyancy Test and/or the Light Bulb/Candle test for freshness.

    An egg three days old will sink to the bottom and rest there. As the air chamber expands, due to loss of water and carbon dioxide, the egg will still fall to the bottom, but be tilted at the broad, rounded end in the water chamber. This egg is about a week old. If the egg is older, or a little more, it will float half–way up the water chamber. A bad egg will float horizontally at the water surface. It may float at the water surface with the broad, round end partly out of the water. Depending on the egg and the exchange of water vapor and carbon dioxide to the outside with air moving in, the egg floats in various stages of air coming into the egg and, hence, the air chamber expanding. Therefore, flotation is a function of gas and water vapor exchange for outside air.

    As shown in the above plates, another method is to open the egg onto a plate and observe the white and yolk. A compact yolk will be positioned in the center indicating the egg is fresh. If the white is not in a high layer or two, and the yolk not in the center, the egg is aging and is about two to three weeks old.

    You can further test an egg for freshness by holding the oval body up to a light. If you have a very small air pocket, the egg is fresh. This latter egg is rated as A, provided the other methods pass highly. If not, the egg is scaled down to B or C.

Use:

    Eggs, as other foodstuffs, will skyrocket in price. They are doing it now. With your backyard flock, they will be rather inexpensive, they are nutritious, and most chefs consider them the most universal cooking ingredient, from sauces to thickening gravies to numerous other ingredients they are added to, as well as creating a variety of egg dishes. The food industry capitalizes upon this in the making of pastas, biscuits, cakes, ices, as well as placing dried (pasturized) egg whites in mixes of various sorts.

    In your own kitchen, the egg serves as liaisons, pastry glazes, coatings with egg and breadcrumbs, emulsified sauces, including forcemeats (patés), and so forth.

    Some of the most tastiest of breads, have their beginning incorporated with eggs. Many various batters utilize the egg. Eggnog, a universal drink at yule tide, utilizes the egg for flavor and its thickening ability. Many other drinks use the egg.

    An enormous number of eggs were eaten during the Middle Ages. Rome ate its share too! The Romans, (as others, we will discuss later) had a custom of crushing the egg shell in the plate when the egg was eaten. The practice was widely performed to prevent evil spirits, especially witches, from hiding in the egg shell (superstition was rampant in those times).

Larousse Gastronomique writes:

"Eggs were forbidden during Lent, because of their 'richness', and it was traditional in France to search for and collect eggs on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and have them blessed on Easter Saturday ready for their prolific consumption on Eastertide."

    The word mayonnaise, it is believed by many, came from the French word, moyeu, meaning the hub or center. Truly, the egg is the 'hub' or center of many liaisons and main dishes in cooking.

    The Dictionary of Gastronomy, by André L. Simon & Robin Howe, gives the following discourse on:

The Egg:

In the dawn of the world before the domestication of the hen, when wild eggs were among the first foods of ancient man, he saw them as symbols of fertility. Primitive people in Egypt, Greece and other countries believed that the universe was born from a great World or Mother Egg. Heraclitus, the Greek philospher, said, referring to his then world: 'Jere we are as in an egg.'

Eggs were believed to have magical powers to ensure fertility. German and Slav peasants used to smear their ploughs with a mixture of eggs, flour, and bread on the Thursday before Easter to bring a good harvest. In 17th–century France a bride broke an egg on entering her new home, for eggs were a symbol of good fortune. To take eggs in or out of the house after dark was to court ill–luck.

Empty shells were unlucky. The Romans destroyed them so that no one could use them to make spells. Many people believed that witches wrote their spells in egg shells and flew about in them. This idea persisted for a long time and there are still people who turn their empty shells upside down and break them with a spoon. Usually they have no idea why they do this.

Birth, rebirth, fertility, magic, fortune, witchcraft — eggs meant all this. But today we think of eggs only in their great importance in cooking.

Eggs are one of the most useful of the staple foods since they form a complete food in themselves. No other food product has such a wide and varied use. They are a valuable source of vitamins A and B, also a fair quantity of vitamin D. Eggs are low in calories, an important factor in a slimming diet, and are easily digested. They can be used at almost any meal, and as a main breakfast and supper dish they are unsurpassed, for they are easily and quickly prepared. This fact alone makes the egg a useful standby in any kitchen.

Besides their possibilities as a main dish, eggs are used in many kinds of baking, for soufflés, cakes, pies, etc. They are used as coating agents, for fritters, for custards, and for binding different vegetables or meats to turn these into cutlets. They make excellent garnishings and improve the flavour of frozen foods such as ice–cream for they act as a sort of wrapper around the ice crystals preventing these from collecting in colonies. Mayonnaise, salad cream and hollandaise sauce would not be but for the egg. They work as clarifiers in soups and always improve the colour, flavour and texture of any dish in which they have been used, as well as adding nutritive powers.

Some people believe the brown egg is a fresher, finer egg than the white. This is not so. They may be prettier but the colour of the shell does not bear any relation to the egg inside and not even any fixed relation to the chicken species which laid it. In other words, the shell colour is no criterion of quality.

The colour of the egg yolk, however, is determined more by the hen's diet. A hen fed with plenty of greenstuff will produce eggs with a darkish yellow yolk, while one fed with castor oil in its diet and less greenstuff offers us a pale yellow yolk rich in vitamin A. For a good egg the yolk should be well–centred in the white and in a nicely rounded form. The membrane surrounding it should be firm and not break too easily.

The white of an egg should occupy our attention. If it is almost colourless, except for the two white cords extending from the yolk towards the end of the egg, it is fresh. The egg white is usually in three or four layers. The first layer is watery and surrounds the yolk. Then come two jelly–like layers, and lastly another watery layer. The jelly part should equal the watery layers, but often it does not. Summer eggs are always more watery than winter eggs; some hens simply lay watery eggs, and no one knows quite why, although research is being made into this problem.

One of the tests for eggs is to drop them in their shells into a bucket of warm water. If they drop to the bottom, they are fairly sure to be good. If they float, they will be stale and those which float determinedly on the top of the water are best thrown away or sent back to the shopkeeper. Another test is to take the eggs into a dark room and look through them against a light bulb or candle. If the egg appears clear, then it is good; if cloudy, send it back.

After the usual tests have been made, it is still not absolutely certain that the egg is good. Only after the egg has been removed from its shell can the cook really tell if it is fresh and this can be too late. So, when using several eggs in a dish, drop each one first into a small bowl or cup and see whether it is bad — one's nose will tell one pretty quickly.

The principle involved in cooking eggs is the same as with meat. If meat is exposed to a fierce heat all its albumen will shrivel up. This happens to an egg if it is dropped into boiling water.

The make–up of an egg weighing 2 oz. is: 1/4 oz. shell, 1 1/4 oz. white, and 1/2 oz. yolk.

The treatment of eggs before cooking is also important. They will separate more easily when cold than when warm. But the whites beat up more easily if at room temperature. Also a generous pinch of baking soda added to the egg whites just before beating produces a firmer, smoother meringue. To boil a cracked egg, add vinegar, salt, lime or lemon juice to the water. A few drops are enough to seal the crack. When frying eggs, add a little flour to the pan to prevent sticking. This is especially important when cooking them in the dripping from bacon or ham previously cooked in the same pan.

It is intersting to know that an egg eaten raw is normally digested in the stomach in 1 1/2 hours, while a baked one takes 4 to 5 hours.

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From Elegant Pouring Custards To Puddings

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    The egg is so elegant and so versatile! A chef properly trained in egg cookery can start with eggs and progress from an elegant Pouring Custard (Crème Anglaise), through a Bavarian Cream, on down to a Chiffon filling and finishing with a smooth, delicate, exquisite Pudding.

    A good cook can start with egg yolks, milk and/or cream, add a little sugar, and they have an elegant, light, ethereal food—easily digested—used as various toppings for sweet dishes, or served alone; chilled, creating what is known as a Pouring Custard. It is extremely nourishing for consuming through a period of illness into the convalescence stage.

    One takes a well–beaten egg or two, beats until creamy white, with a little sugar; adds milk, stirs together over light to mild heat, stirring continuously, and soon, the almalgam lightly thickens. You know it is ready to serve (or chill and serve) when the wooden spoon pulled from the custard leaves a faint line drawn through it with a finger. The problem most cooks have is over–cooking the custard and curdling the eggs. Add suitable flavorings such as vanilla extract, apricot brandy, or fresh made caramel, and one immediately realizes why some call it "food for the gods." It is ethereal.

    But, if the good cook adds a little sifted flour, such as 1 or 2 teaspoons, and follows on through the Pouring Custard stages; chills the product and takes whipped cream (some use egg whites with it) and folds the cream into the chilled custard, a rich, elegant and delicate tasting Bavarian Cream results. An extremely good cook, wanting more elegance, and exercising restraint and technique, omits the flour and uses only the Pouring Custard, chilled, and folded in with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

    From here, the chef/cook can omit the sweetened cream; but, for more elegance, taste, and thickening ability, uses a Pouring Custard with a little more flour (about a tablespoon), and to the finish, lightly chilled dish, folds in stiffly beaten egg whites creating a Chiffon desert. Some cooks use a little gelatin that has been liquified; added to the Pouring Custard stage for more elegance and holding power. The cook must use restraint when adding flour or the Chiffon becomes "gummy" and/or "heavy."

    But still, a dish beginning with Pouring Custard ingredients, adding more flour and sugar, milk, and additional egg yolks, beaten well, the good cook creats a marvelous Pudding. However, most good cooks steer away from creating puddings, unless out of a box. The reason is that puddings take precision (as other custards), especially when adding the extra eggs near the end. And, if one is not careful, cooking the mixture a few seconds too long curdles the egg forming a "lumpy" mixture. The moisture often separates creating a "broken" pudding. The amalgam is "weeping." This illustrates a Pudding that is over–cooked.

    And, from all this knowledge, once developed, you can make a flavored base of puréed fruit or chocolate with egg yolks with whipped egg whites giving the mousse its characteristic spongy texture.

    If you have eggs, you can make elegant use of tactics for entrapping air going from the Ethereal—The Soufflé, to the Weighty pudding. The former is a complex mixture of milk, egg yolks, butter, and flour with a flavored base that may include purée of fruit. Egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks, are incorporated into the flavored base. During baking, the whites expand, entrapping the amalgam rising to startling heights. Once the soufflé is cooked, "it waits for no man. Rush it to the table."

    These are among some of the reasons you want a BackYard Flock!

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And Here's Another

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And Another

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Or, Various Soufflés

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Or, The Way The Swiss Do It

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For Good Recipes Of Above Items Given, See The Resources For Good Cookbooks

    Even if you live in the middle of a city, if you have a few square feet of available space, you can raise a small flock of chickens. Chickens are amazingly adaptable creatures. Their main needs are food, water, and protection from bad weather and predators.

    If you live in a city, and there are neighbors' houses surrounding yours, you would be wise NOT to get a rooster. Neighbors are not disturbed by hens, as hens only cackle during the day, usually after laying an egg. People are at work during the day and may go for years without knowing you have chickens. But get a rooster, and you'll soon be hit with complaints from all sides because a rooster crows. He crows at all hours of the night and at all hours of the day. It is a myth that roosters crow to welcome the dawn. Roosters crow. Period! But you do not need a rooster. Your hens will lay just as well without one. The only difference is, the eggs are unfertilized and will not produce baby chicks if you try to incubate them.

    You will need to enclose your flock inside a sturdy fence that dogs cannot break into, as dogs are the major predator of chickens in a city setting. Your editor once kept a flock of backyard chickens in the city (in a commercial area surrounded by businesses rather than homes), complete with roosters, in a tiny fenced enclosure by tossing a sheet of plywood on top of the fence for weather protection, and installing old broom handles to serve as roosts, and an old fruit crate to serve as a nest. The flock thrived in this setting.

    All you need is a corner of your backyard that can be fenced in, and some form of shelter that will protect your hens from wind and rain, and roosts that can be old broomsticks or commercial dowels. Or if you have the money, you can order one of the prebuilt chicken runs that house anywhere from 2 to 4 hens. Others have set off sections of a garage to serve as a chicken house. It doesn't have to be fancy—it just needs to be secure from dogs. We recommend a commercial 3-gallon waterer. You may or may not want to invest in a feeder. They aren't necessary, as chickens are quite happy scratching around for their food you throw out to them at least once a day.

    Once you have settled the housing issue, your next choice will be whether or not to buy grown hens or baby chicks. Buying grown hens sounds easy, but the trick is to find some young hens that are for sale and just starting to lay. Beware of being sold somebody's culls, or elderly hens that rarely lay any longer. Often, you can find older baby chicks, and this is another good choice. But depending on where you live, these choices may not be available.

    However, if there is a Farm and Ranch Store in your community, you should be able to buy day-old baby chicks. Be sure to specify "pullets," which are young hens. In other words, you want to buy little girl chicks and raise them yourself into laying hens. This is not as hard as it sounds, and you'll find it a great source of pleasure and entertainment.

    Once, your editor bought 6 day-old, white rock pullets, but when the chicks began to grow, she noticed that two in particular had really big feet and thick legs. Then, when the youngsters were about 4 or 5 months old, 3 of them began to emit certain loud, peculiar sounds, as if somebody was being choked to death. They had to be removed immediately, because yes, they were young roosters trying to learn how to crow. Evidently, the store had been sold "straight run" (unsexed) baby chicks instead of sexed baby chicks, or pullets. Fortunately, this occurs rarely, but it is always possible that one of your "pullets" can grow up to be a rooster. Sexing day-old baby chicks is an art, and sometimes mistakes are made. Do not get so attached to your chicks that you can't give away a chick that shows signs of impending roosterhood, or you will get hell from your neighbors. And that is one hell you can do without with all this other hell breaking out.

    If you buy older chicks or young laying hens, you will probably buy whatever breed is available to you. But if you buy day-old chicks, you often have more choice of breeds. Briefly speaking, Mediterranean breeds of chicken lay white eggs, while American breeds lay brown eggs. The Mediterranean breeds tend to be very prolific layers, but they are also smaller and more "nervous." American breeds are heavier chickens that lay well, although not as prolifically as Mediterranean breeds and can also serve as a meat chicken. These are your main choices if you are interested in egg production.

    Besides these, there are many "fancy" breeds that are meant for enjoyment or showing. Often, they do not produce eggs as heavily as the two above classes, but they provide great enjoyment to their owners. If you have only a tiny space available and still want to keep chickens, there are bantam varieties of most major breeds available.

    Briefly, your major choices in white-egg-laying breeds are Minorcans and leghorns. The major American breeds are Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshire Reds, Barred Plymouth Rocks, White Plymouth Rocks, and Silver laced Wyandottes. Of the American breeds, the reds and the rocks tend to lay best. An English breed well–liked by many is the Buff Orpington, a gentle golden chicken that lays well, although not as well as the white egg layers or the reds and rocks.

    Most of these major breeds have had the tendency to "set" eggs bred out of them, so that even if you have a rooster, you may not have a means of carrying on your flock unless you buy an incubator. If you intend to depend upon your hens to raise up new batches of chicks, then you may want to choose Buff Orpingtons, as they tend to have more tendency to set.

    Day-old chicks are surprisingly easy to raise. You will need a "brooder" to act as a mother hen, which can consist of your bathtub or a large plastic tote that you rig up with a lamp to serve as a heat source for the babies. Your editors use a wood stick placed across the tote, to which is clamped a "work lamp" available in most hardware stores, that uses a 60-watt bulb. Spread newspaper over the bottom of the tote or tub. We recommend buying a commercial watering jar to supply your baby chicks with water. A feeder is not necessary, as you can easily spread the feed on the floor of the tote. Buy commercial "start-and-grow" feed, which you will feed your baby chicks for the 5 or 6 months as they grow to adulthood. Once they begin to lay, switch them to laying pellets and "scratch" grain.

    When your baby chicks arrive, place them immediately in the tote with the lamp switched on and monitor them closely for several hours. Chicks that are too cold will clump up in one big ball for warmth and will display no interest in food or water. Chicks that are too hot spread out and appear to be panting for breath. Chicks that are just right will make happy sounds as they peck away at the food and sample the water. If the weather outside is cool and rainy, you will have your baby chicks inside with you longer than you will if summer is arriving and the weather is warm and dry.

    When you raise 12 or more baby chicks, they tend to behave as if you are the axe murderer every time you come near them. If you raise 4 or 5 baby chicks, they tend to become pets. If you spend time hovering over their tote and carting them around the house in your hands, they learn to know you and may even decide you are their mother hen. They will then begin to yeep loud and lonely if you go out of their sight, and begin their happy chitter when you return.

    Your baby chicks must be kept inside under a lamp for the first 3 or 4 weeks of their life. Once they feather out, you can transfer them to their new quarters outside, provided the fencing does not have any holes they are small enough to escape through. Often, as mentioned above, how soon you transfer the chicks outside depends upon the weather.

    Young pullets begin looking like hens at around 4 or 5 months of age. Most American breed hens will begin to lay eggs at around 6 months of age. Mediterranean breeds begin laying at around 5 months of age. It is truly an exciting moment when you find your first egg, which may or may not be laid in the nests you so thoughtfully provided for them. "Pullet eggs" are often small, but they are fully formed, good-tasting eggs. Some chicken fanciers like to place plastic eggs (easily obtainable around Easter time) in the nests, in hopes that the hens will get the idea.

    Once you have your flock established and laying well, it is time to deal with the idea of perpetuating your flock. Your editors have found that, although you can simply raise a new set of baby chicks every year (a great way to experiment with new breeds), your life will be a lot easier if you have a hen willing to take over the job. In short, when you have a hen who wants to set, it is time for you to rush out and buy some day-old chicks.

    A hen is said to be setting when she remains on the nest all day. When you reach into the nest in search of eggs, she fluffs up to twice her usual size and makes a peculiar high-pitched growling sound. When she comes off the nest, which is rarely, she clucks. She stops laying eggs, which is why commercial breeders selectively tried to breed this trait out of most modern egg-laying breeds. Once you have seen this behavior, you will always recognize it.

    Once you have a hen that is setting, call the farm and ranch stores and reserve some baby chicks. Usually, a hen will set 3 or 4 weeks before she will give up. If you can get some baby chicks, even 3 or 4 day old chicks, bring them home and keep them warm until night. Once it is dark, take the baby chicks and place them beneath the setting hen. It is a good idea to shut her up in the nest, so that in the darkness, the little chicks and the hen can bond. When you open the nest in the morning, lo and behold, you will have successfully persuaded the hen to do the work of raising your chicks. Nothing and nobody knows how to raise baby chicks better than a mother hen, and they will provide you with hours of enjoyment.

    These are the basics of starting your backyard chicken flock. Once you have put a year in on your own little flock, you will be amazed at what you have learned, and how easy it is to know when you are doing things right. Happy chickens are bright-eyed and active. They love grass cuttings and table scraps, and you will soon learn that feeding your chicks greenery gives you eggs with bright yellow or deep orange yolks. This makes for a very nice presentation when serving certain egg dishes.

    Beware of one thing—if your chickens get into your garden, they will happily take dirt baths and eat your vegetables, not to mention the grass of your lawn. The chicken yard area of your yard will soon be bare, so keep this in mind when you locate your chicken area, and when you let your hens out of their pen to run around in your yard.

Happy Chicken–Raising.

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Your Editor Has Writen A Small Book On Raising Chickens.

You May Order From:

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Universal Law Publishing Company
3515 Fannin Street, Ste 104
Beaumont, TX 77701

Designer Eggs—From Your Own Backyard @ $ 6.50 per copy

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    You want to know this because a neighbor/farmer down the road may have a cow or two giving milk and becomes a member of your covenent community. He may not, nor his family, develop the side effects of unpasteurized milk that may be contaminated because he and his family have suffered the "consequences" of contamination enough times and built resistance via competitive inhibition.

    Don't trust his judgement that his cows are healthy. They may be, but 40 percent carry C. jejuni, the cause of campylobacteriosis. The clinical symptoms go from milk diarrhea to extreme gastrointestinal distress. The patient also presents with abdominal pains, bloody stools, and fever. The intestines (small or large) are inflamed and may have mild ulceration. Most patients recover in 7 days without therapy. Erythromycin helps with prolonged cases.

    His cows may have other microbes not healthy for you. And with what is coming, it will be a while before the cow owner, if a farmer, has his animals checked regularly by a veterinarian and tests performed on the herd. The average citizen may not know to do this on a regularly basis as long as the cows are "happy."

    Dr. Alcamo writing in his Fifth/Sixth Edition of Fundamentals of Microbiology; Eighth Edition of Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology:

One method for milk pasturization, called the holding method, involves heating at 62.9° C (145° F) for 30 minutes. Although thermophilic bacteria thrive at this temperature, they are of little consequence because they cannot grow at body temperature.

Milk is an unusually good vehicle for the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms because its fat content protects organisms from stomach acid and, being a fluid, it remains in the stomach a relatively short period of time. The diseases of cows transmitted by milk include bovine tuberculosis, brucellosis, and Q fever. Since the 1980s, several outbreaks of milkborne disease have been linked to Salmonella serotypes. In the spring of 1984, for example, 16 cases of salmonellosis due to Salmonella typhimurium occurred in nuns at a convent in Kentucky. A failure in milk pasturization accounted for the episode. And in 1985, federal officials associated Salmonella typhimurium with a milkborne epidemic of salmonellosis involving almost 6000 persons in the midwestern United States.

The biggest threat comes from drinking unpasteurized milk. In late 2002 and early 2003, the CDC received reports of a multistate outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium that affected more than 94 individuals who had consumed raw, unpasteurized milk. Another smaller case was reported in 2006 from drinking raw milk contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7.

Another milkborne organism of significance is Campylobacter jejuni, the cause of campylobacteriosis. In 2001, 75 persons in Wisconsin contracted campylobacteriosis from consuming raw, unpasteurized milk. Health officials estimate Campylobacter jejuni is present in the intestinal tracts of about 40 persent of dairy cattle.

Despite the known association of raw milk with disease–causing organisms, some consumers believe that raw milk is of better quality than pasteurized milk. Public health microbiologists seek to limit milkborne disease by inspecting food and dairy plants regularly, and making recommendations on improved sanitary practices.

    We recommend the Holding Method for home pasturization of raw milk, as this is convenient to appliances in the average home kitchen. It is called the Holding Method because one holds the milk in a pan, heating it at 62.9° C (145° F) for 30 minutes, stirring constantly to ensure the milk is heated uniformly. Then, cool the milk quickly, by placing in a fresh container and place in the refrigerator to maintain the pasturization quality. A Taylor candy making thermometer or two would be advisible to secure now.

Alcamo writes:

The primary object of pasteurization is to eliminate pathogenic bacteria from milk, the process also lowers the total number of bacteria and thereby reduces the chance for spoilage. The more traditional method involves heating the milk in a large bulk tank at 62.9° C (145° F) for 30 minutes. This is the Holding Method, also known as the LTLT method for 'low temperature, long time.' Machines stir the milk constantly during the pasteurization to ensure uniform heating and cool it quickly when the heating is completed.

    Other methods exist, but are not applicable for the home pasturization process. There are home pasturizing machines one can buy. However, electricity may be intermittent and one can heat milk over an open fire. You will need a thermometer.

---

Classical Milk Pasteurization

---

    Microbiology: An Introduction, Fifth Edition, by Tortora, Funke, and Case, writes on page 173:

Louis Pasteur, in the eartly days of microbiology, found a practical method of preventing the spoilage of beer and wine. Pasteur used mild heating, which was sufficient to kill the organisms that cause the particular spoilage problem without seriously damaging the thaste of the product. The same principle was later applied to milk to produce what we now call paswteurized milk. Milk was first pasteurized to eliminate the tuberculosis bacterium. Many relatively heat–resistant (thermoduric) organisms survive pasteurization, but these are unlikely to cause disease or cause refrigerated milk to spoil in a short time.

In the classic pasteurization treatment of milk, the milk was exposed to a temperature of about 63° C for 30 minutes. Most milk pasteurization today uses higher temperatures, at least 72° C, but for only 15 seconds.

    Readers of ChemBioUpdate, your editors advise:

Get Used To Extreme Inconveniences and Shortages!

Follow The Prescriptions and Proscriptions Given Throughout This Document To Help You Get Through This All.

Men!

    Your wife may become ill. You want to know how to Coddle (to cook (as eggs) in liquid slowly and gently just below the boiling point) an egg. These are the most easily digested and loaded with nutrition. Do not serve hard–boiled eggs unless there is nothing else you can do. The latter are hard on the digestive system. As your wife improves, you can serve Wraps made with eggs and coddled, scrambled, soft–boiled eggs (but no 4–minute eggs; put eggs in heavy sauce pan, cover with tap water; place on moderate heat; when bubbles began to form on the surface of the water reduce heat slightly and start time for 10 minutes.) You will have a soft–set center, cooked boiled egg easy to digest.

    From now on, things will start getting rougher and rougher....even the most naive will begin to see this. Get a backyard flock started now! And enjoy the fruits of your labors.

Alcamo, I. Edward, Ph.D., Fundamentals of Microbiology, Fifth Edition. The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc., Menlo Park, California. 1997.

Alcamo, I. Edward, Ph.D., Fundamentals of Microbiology, Sixth Edition. The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc., Menlo Park, California. 1997.

Andre L. Simon & Robin Howe, Dictionary of Gastronomy. The Overlook Press, Woodstock, New York., 1978.

Brescia, Frank, et. al., Chemistry: A Modern Introduction. W.B. Saunders Company Philadelphia, London, Toronto, 1974.

Brocato, Charles S., King, K. E., Chemical/Biological WarFare: How You Can Survive, Third Edition. Universal Laws Publishing Co., Tx., 2002.

Klein, Jan, Immunology: The Science of Self–Nonself Discrimination, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1982.

Larousse Gastronomic: The New American Edition of The World's Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia, Edited by Lang, Jenifer Harvey. Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, 1988.

Sadowski, J. A., French Cuisine: The Gourmet's Companion, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1997.

Nordmann, Joseph, What Is Chemistry: A Chemical View of Nature. Harper & Row, New York, N.Y., 1974.

Pommerville, Jeffrey C., Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology, Eighth Edition. Jones and Bartlett, 2007.

The Good Cook: Eggs & Cheese by The Editors of Time–Life Books. Alexandria, Virginia, 1980.

The Good Cook: Sauces by The Editors of Time-Life Books. Alexandria, Virginia, 1983.

Tortora, Gerald J.; Funke, Berdell R.; Case, Christine L., Microbiology, An Introduction, Fifth Edition. The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc.; Redwood City, California. 1995.

Tortora, Gerald J.; Funke, Berdell R.; Case, Christine L., Microbiology, An Introduction, Sixth Edition. The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc.; Redwood City, California. 1995.

Willan, Anne, LaVarenne Pratique: The Complete Illustrated Cooking Course. Crown Publishers, Inc., N.Y., 1989.

Williams, Sallie Y., The Art of Presenting Food. Hearst Books, New York, 1982.

Wright, Jeni, Treuille, Eric, Le Cordon Bleu Complete Cooking Techniques. William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1996.

Youell, Tessa, Kimball, George, The Pocket Guide To French Food and Wine. A Fireside Book; Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, 1985.

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