On Food and Cooking

primal, the unstructured stuff of life. This is
why they are protean, why the cook can use
them to generate such a variety of structures,
from a light, insubstantial meringue to a
dense, lingeringly rich custard. Eggs reconcile
oil and water in a host of smooth sauces; they
refine the texture of candies and ice creams;
they give flavor, substance, and nutritiousness
to soups, drinks, breads, pastas, and cakes;
they put a shine on pastries; they clarify meat
stocks and wines. On their own, they’re
amenable to being boiled, fried, deep-fried,
baked, roasted, pickled, and fermented.
Meanwhile modern science has only
deepened the egg’s aptness as an emblem of
creation. The yolk is a stockpile of fuel
obtained by the hen from seeds and leaves,
which are in turn stockpiles of the sun’s
radiant energy. The yellow pigments that gave
the yolk its name also come directly from
plants, where they protect the chemical
machinery of photosynthesis from being