An egg-white diet

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ChrisGreaves
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An egg-white diet

Post by ChrisGreaves »

I have put myself on an egg-white diet; a 1 kilogram carton of egg-white can be purchased for $cdn5.49 here in Bonavista, and it beats (hah hah) having to crack and separate egg-whites from yolks.
Of course, egg-whites by themselves are somewhat disgusting to eat, or more correctly, drink, so the trick is to work out how to solidify them and make them palatable.
Here’s a trick I picked up yesterday:-

Obtain a carton of egg-whites. Check the best-date on the carton, the closer to today’s date the better (see below)
Measure out an amount, say, one cup of egg-whites, into a clean glass or porcelain bowl. If the bowl is porcelain and has patterns on the outside it won’t matter.

In a separate container measure out an equivalent volume of plain, white, granulated sugar, the sort you use in your tea or coffee. Some people say that you HAVE to use super-fine sugar, but I have found no cause to hop back on my bike and pedal in the rain to Foodland.

You can use a hand-driven rotary mixer for this step; my mother used to, and she made me do so when I was home for school holidays, so I recommend an electric mixer (“Sunbeam”) with a high-speed setting. My mixer has a button for super-fast, which is handy because the glass bowl broke soon after I bought it, and a hand-held electric mixer is a heavy thing to hold for long periods.
Oh yes, the step: beat the egg whites until they start to go fluffy (they will!) and at that time add the sugar, but not in a lump; let the sugar flow into/through the beaters over a period of about 15 to 20 seconds so that it mixes well.

Keep beating and watch the mixture increase in volume as it becomes aerated.

When you arm gets tired, ladle the fluffy min-clouds onto a baking sheet which has been placed on a metal baking tray beforehand.

Turn the oven on to a low setting. I use 150c on mine. We are not baking cookies here. We are merely driving off the water constituent of the egg whites and sugar. That can be done at well below the boiling-point of water (see upcoming post on drying clothes on an outside washing line). All we need is the Latent Heat of Evaporation for the phase-change. My mother used to leave the little oven door wide open in the wood stove; that’s how little heat we need.

In about one hour, enough of the water constituent will have been borne away. Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool, anything from five minutes to three hours depending on your absolute latitude at this time of the year.

Now it may take you a few trial runs to get the oven settings and timings Just Right, which is why we chose a large carton of egg-whites. Give yourself a fighting chance.

Oh yes, and the best-buy date? That is to encourage you to use up the carton A.S.A.P. and hence enjoy the egg-white diet with gay abandon!

Cheers
Chris
An expensive day out: Wallet and Grimace

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HansV
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Re: An egg-white diet

Post by HansV »

Just egg-whites and sugar? That doesn't sound particularly healthy...
Best wishes,
Hans

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John Gray
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Re: An egg-white diet

Post by John Gray »

Have you just (re-)invented meringues?
Again?
John Gray

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: An egg-white diet

Post by ChrisGreaves »

John Gray wrote:
26 May 2021, 08:10
Have you just (re-)invented meringues? Again?
The score:-
John Gray 1
Hans 1

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Chris
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ChrisGreaves
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Re: An egg-white diet

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HansV wrote:
26 May 2021, 07:26
Just egg-whites and sugar? That doesn't sound particularly healthy...
Healthy? Who said anything about health?
I was getting tired of ginger-snap cookies and raisin bread, and for some reason I have stopped buying ice-cream.
Cheers
Chris
P.S. Truth is I was fascinated by someone who swore that an "egg-white diet was healthy", and, well, you know me ... :evilgrin:
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GeoffW
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Re: An egg-white diet

Post by GeoffW »

I should probably not comment on "gay abandon". If you were happy, you shouldn't abandon it.

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: An egg-white diet

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GeoffW wrote:
28 May 2021, 23:59
I should probably not comment on "gay abandon". If you were happy, you shouldn't abandon it.
Oh! I get it, Geoff. It should be Left alone, like those other Contrary Words, "Table" and "Cleave" etc.
(Patreon Episode-034 Contrary Words)
Thanks for the revisionist comment :evilgrin:

Cheers
Chris
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PJ_in_FL
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Re: An egg-white diet

Post by PJ_in_FL »

Don't forget to put a chocolate pie underneath the mixture and bake in the oven.
PJ in (usually sunny) FL

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: An egg-white diet

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PJ_in_FL wrote:
29 May 2021, 14:58
Don't forget to put a chocolate pie underneath the mixture and bake in the oven.
Thanks, OJ, but since Saturday, no oven. The bottom element broke, snapped in three.
Which explains why my meringues were coming out caramelized on top and like soft-whip iced-cream on the bottom.
Only the grill element was at work, trying to work out how to maintain 150c all over the oven.
The part is on order, but what with Covid etc etc etc.
Cheers
Chris
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PJ_in_FL
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Re: An egg-white diet

Post by PJ_in_FL »

ChrisGreaves wrote:
01 Jun 2021, 21:00
...
Thanks, OJ, but since Saturday, no oven. ...
Sorry about the oven, but, Chris, OJ served time for, you know, stuff, and I've never been arrested.

A few "community meet and greets" by the friendly local constabulary to discuss proper use of motor cars on public highways, but all in all, I'm a very boring person.

Although I do profess to an upcoming bit of excitement when one of my "babies", the on-board computer, launches this month with the GPS III SV05! :clapping: :fanfare:
PJ in (usually sunny) FL

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: An egg-white diet

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PJ_in_FL wrote:
02 Jun 2021, 21:55
Sorry about the oven, but, Chris, OJ served time for, you know, stuff, and I've never been arrested.
Right.
Now I remember.
The Cooler.
Not the oven.

Sorry about that ... :blush:
Although I do profess to an upcoming bit of excitement when one of my "babies", the on-board computer, launches this month with the GPS III SV05! :clapping: :fanfare:
OK, Please and Thank You, without acronyms, what is this about?
Have you been the cause of teenagers wanting to spend even more time in Solitary Isolation from the rest of us with their ears and thumbs super-glued to their stupid devices? :evilgrin:

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Chris
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PJ_in_FL
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Re: An egg-white diet

Post by PJ_in_FL »

Just to break down the acronyms, GPS stands for Global Positioning System, a system of low Earth orbit satellites that help provide navigation and location information for people with, for instance, smart phones. GPS III is the third generation of these satellites (see Lockheed Martin's website HERE), and will greatly expand the functionality of the system. The On Board Computer (OBC) is the part I worked on.

In contrast to keeping teens glued to their "stupid devices", it will allow them to safely hit the out of doors to explore the wide world that surrounds them, either by vehicle or on foot, and not get lost. Some might do so with eyes and ears glued to their devices even while exploring, but it seems Darwin has a way of dealing with those.

Now back to egg whites and sugar, where we hear Chris say when looking into the bowl where he mixed the two ingredients: "My God! It's full of MERINGUE!" (My apologies to A.C. Clarke, where ever you are).
PJ in (usually sunny) FL

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: An egg-white diet

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PJ_in_FL wrote:
03 Jun 2021, 13:47
... GPS III is the third generation of these satellites ...The On Board Computer (OBC) is the part I worked on.
Thank you PJ.
So now, if ever I find myself walking the streets of Bonavista late at night and a little light tracks across the sky I can lie quite proudly and say "I am in regular communication with the guy who programmed that little baby!".
Of course, as usual, I will be talking with myself, that doesn't change ...
Cheers
Chris
An expensive day out: Wallet and Grimace