"If Everybody Knows , Then Why Didn't Someone Tell Me?"

Ahh, the egg. First of all a powerful symbol, connoting birth, fertility, rebirth, resurrection, immortality, Secondly, its remarkable properties when cooking. How does one simple thing lend itself to such a diversity of tastes and consistencies as found in Meringues, Hollandaise sauces, Souflees, Quiches, Puddings, Custards, etc. etc.

The egg: Universally known, endlessly discussed. In fact there was a recent article in the New York Times that discussed an extensive experiment involving tens of thousands of eggs as to the best way to cook one to make it easiest to peel. The only thing I took away from this extensive research is something most of us already know: You gotta get at that thin transparent film that lies between the egg and the shell if you want to stand a chance PLUS shocking a hot egg in a cold bath helps that process.

What EVERYONE also knows, except for me, is that IF YOU CRACK AND START PEELING THE EGG FROM THE ROUNDED END, there is usually — not always, but usually — a small pocket of air that makes the peeling go, well, smoothly.

What the fuck? Why didn’t I know that? Why did I have to peel cartloads of the stuff to realize I might be on to something> And of course every time I mention this to someone, they say inevitably You didn’t know that? I thought everyone knew that.. I guess I never got the memo.

Which brings me to my point here, having to do with the ethos of southern cooking, southern culture, and a soul food kitchen. Often the greatest generosity of spirit (southerners will give you the shirt off their back) is inexorably blended with a similar dose of schadenfreude. Look it up.