Green Eggs and Ham!

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we will be making green eggs in a hole! This is a quick breakfast or snack option, and you can add spinach, avocado, or other green things on the side! After making the toast with the green egg inside, we will talk about the eggs. Why do eggs solidify from a runny yolk to a solid circle if you just add heat? The science of cooking eggs depends on their protein structure!

Materials:

• Nonstick flat bottomed pan with lid

• Two small mixing bowls

• Fork or whisk

• A cup (preferably with a slimmer lip to cut out the bread)

• Spatula

Ingredients:

• 1 slice of bread (any bread works)

• 1 egg

• Salt

• Pepper

• Oil, butter, or cooking spray

• Spinach or other green vegetables (optional)

• Green food coloring (optional)

Lesson Outline (steps + script):

1. Separate the egg white from the egg yolk! Make sure you’ve washed your hands!

2. Crack the egg into a bowl, being careful not to break the yolk or get any shell into the bowl.

3. Gently pick up the egg yolk using your clean hands by scooping under it. Be careful not to break it! Let the extra egg whites drip off, then move the egg yolk to a different, empty bowl.

4. Wash your hands to get the egg off.

5. Add 2 drops of green food coloring into the egg white and mix until completely combined.

6. Make a hole in the bread.

7. Place a cup over the slice of bread and press down until you’ve cut out a hole.

8. Let’s cook the green eggs in a hole! First, add some butter or cooking spray to a nonstick pan.

9. Put the pan over medium heat.

10. Add the slice of bread with the hole in it.

11. Add the green egg whites to the hole.

12. Gently slide the egg yolk on top of the egg whites. Try not to break it!

13. Sprinkle on a little salt.

14. Cover the pan to help cook the egg.

15. Cook for 2-4 minutes, until the egg is cooked to your liking.

16. Use a spatula to remove the green-egg-in-a-hole to a plate.

17. If you’d like, you can also have some green veggies with your green egg! You can add your veggies to the nonstick pan and cook over medium heat while stirring until they’re cooked through.

18. Try adding some salt or other seasonings if you’d like.

19. You can also warm up some ham or other meat in the pan.

20. Enjoy!

Fun Q&A!

Q: Are eggs healthy?

A: Eggs are incredibly healthy! They’re made of just the right essential amino acids that humans need to build tissue and muscle. We learned about how proteins work in the omelette lesson - those proteins are important for your body to have good and strong structure. Amino acids are the building blocks that make up proteins, and it makes a difference what set of amino acids your foods have.

Q: How many eggs does a hen lay per year?

A: The average hen lays 300-325 eggs a year!

Q: How long does it take for the hen to lay an egg?

A: It takes a hen on average 24-26 hours to lay one egg - better not waste all that effort!

Q: Do some chickens lay bigger eggs than others?

A: As hens grow older, they produce larger eggs. #ExperiencedChicken

Q: Is there a difference between brown and white eggs?

A: Brown eggs and white eggs do not have any nutritional difference. Brown eggs come from chickens with red feathers and red earlobes, while white eggs come from chickens with white feathers and white earlobes. Brown eggs often sell for more white eggs on supermarket shelves cos chickens with red feathers and red earlobes are physically larger and require more feed.

Q: What are egg whites?

A: Egg white is called albumen. Egg whites are mostly made of protein and water. They do NOT contain much if any fat. This affects how egg whites cook. When proteins heat up, they go through a process called denaturing, which breaks down the proteins and allows them to interact with the water in egg whites to then form new structures, which is the solid white that we recognize as a cooked egg white.

Q: What are egg yolks?

A: Egg yolks are made of proteins and water as well as fat. The fat molecules in egg yolks make it so that they become solid slower than egg whites. The fat also helps keep more water in the structure, making egg yolks less rubbery than egg whites when cooked.