If you’re on a diet, you may often wonder how many calories the foods you eat have. The egg is important in slimming diets, both for its composition, rich in proteins of high biological value, and for its practicality. An egg can be ideal if you are on a diet and want to eat something simple and nutritious. But… How many calories does a chicken egg have?, how many calories in an egg?, and a fried one?, how many calories does the yolk have and how many calories does the egg white have?
An egg has 80,000 calories. Before you decide to eliminate it from your diet forever, I clarify that when we talk about calories, we are referring to what are actually the kilocalories, or the equivalent of 1,000 calories. So an egg has about 80 kilocalories. ( an egg weighs about 50 grams). But yolk and egg white do not have the same calories. Of the 80 kilocalories, about 67 kilocalories are in the yolk and only 13 kilocalories in the egg white. In addition, the kilocalories of a hard-boiled egg are not the same as those of a fried egg. While a hard-boiled egg has the same amount of kilocalories as a raw egg, i.e. 80 kilocalories, a fried egg, depending on the amount of oil absorbed during cooking, can reach up to 230 kilocalories.
The egg shell, which is usually thrown away, is not only a protective barrier against the risk of contamination, but also a rich source of calcium. Egg white, on the other hand, accounts for more than half of the total weight of the egg and is a source of high biological value proteins. Egg yolk is responsible for the bad reputation of cholesterol control diets, being rich in cholesterol and saturated fats. But it also has polyunsaturated fats and phospholipids, such as lecithin, proteins, mineral salts and lipo and water-soluble vitamins. Therefore, today we recognize its ability to increase good cholesterol.
Boiled Eggs in the Kitchen
Eggs are foods of animal origin derived from certain farmed avian species. Due to the risk of finding them already fertilised, those collected in the wild are rarely consumed. The animals most used in egg production are: hen, quail, guinea fowl and turkey. These are further classified according to size and type of farming. Eggs have numerous culinary applications; hard-boiled eggs are an ingredient for appetizers, first courses, certain unique and sweet dishes; they alone can play the role of second course.
The shape, size and colour of the shell in hard-boiled eggs are the same as for raw food. Inside, on the other hand, both the egg white and the yolk become solid. The heat treatment to make the eggs hard-boiled is boiling in cold water (about 10′ from boiling time).Excessive cooking can give the yolk green hues due to the formation of iron sulphide (an unwanted molecule). Boiled eggs have an average energy supply, provided mainly by proteins and fats. They contain excellent levels of iron and all vitamins. Industrial farming forces hens to produce eggs all year round, which is why they are no longer seasonal. At a domestic level, the animals perform better in the hot season.
Taste and aroma
Of hard-boiled eggs are characteristic and very different between the portion of the egg yolk and that of the egg white. At the time of purchase, the only necessary measure is to check the marking on the shell. This indicates: type of farming, country of production, municipality, province and code. Shelled hard-boiled eggs can be eaten naturally or seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, aromatic herbs (especially parsley and chives) or sauces (such as mayonnaise).
The food pairings of hard-boiled eggs mainly concern: soft and mature cheeses, all vegetables, cereals, legumes, flours and derivatives, potatoes, lean and fatty meats (especially for roasts), canned tuna, olives, capers, anchovies, dried tomatoes, etc.. The best known hard-boiled egg recipes in are: hard-boiled egg salad, rice salad, pasta salad, hard-boiled stuffed eggs, pasta with artichokes and hard-boiled eggs, meatloaf stuffed with spinach and eggs, canestrelli biscuits, etc..
The yolk can be considered as a dispersion of lipoprotein globules in an aqueous or plasma mass; it is therefore rich in proteins, lipids, but also lecithins; its composition is not homogeneous but consists of more or less dense layers. Proteins: α and Β lipovitelline (the most abundant lipoproteins in the egg), fosvitin (the protein that binds the iron) and livetine (soluble proteins present in the plasma fraction of the yolk).
Lipids: Unlike most foods, only 65% of egg lipids are triglycerides (compared to 98% for other foods). The egg is in fact very rich in lecithins and in general in phospholipids (30%), which give it healthy and functional properties worthy of note (the emulsifying power allows, for example, the preparation of mayonnaise).
Another characteristic of eggs is that their fats, although of animal origin, consist mainly of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated (those considered beneficial to the body). Cholesterol: 5% (about 200 mg/egg): it is certainly a high quantity, just think that the daily requirement is estimated at 300 mg and that it would be enough then two eggs to exceed this limit. It must be said, however, that the high content of lecithins promotes the reverse transport of cholesterol (from the arteries to the liver) by enhancing the activity of HDL (the so-called good cholesterol). Lecithins, which as we have said allow an excellent emulsification of lipids, also promote brain performance and digestive processes of the food:
two eggs in the coque leave the stomach in two hours, compared to three necessary for a portion of meat, the time of digestion are in fact proportional to the amount of fat used and increase, all the more so, if the seasonings are brought to high temperatures (as in the case of fried eggs). Zabaioni and omelettes are also not recommended for those suffering from gallstones (so-called liver stones), because the large amount of lipids stimulates the contraction of the gallbladder and could therefore cause painful colic. Finally, it should be noted that eggs today contain less cholesterol than in the past, thanks to a constant selection of laying breeds.
Egg white is an aqueous solution containing mineral salts, proteins, B vitamins and small traces of glucose. More precisely, egg white contains: proteins: ovalbumin, conalbumin, ovoglobulin, ovomucin, avidin (an anti-nutritional factor that binds to biotin preventing its absorption, but is easily inactivated by cooking) and lysozyme (has antibacterial functions).
Mineral salts: sodium, potassium and magnesium Group B vitamins: B1, B2, PP, pantothenic acid, Biotin, B12 Glucose: 0.4-0.5%
On the other hand, there are no fats present and this, together with the very high biological value of the proteins it contains, contributes to making egg white one of the most loved foods by fitness enthusiasts, who are used to eating large quantities of it at breakfast or other times of the day. In fact, as said about the lipids of eggs and other substances present in the yolk, adding a red to the egg whites would certainly not affect the much agonized silhouette, indeed….
Properties of the egg
Coagulating power: both the proteins of the yolk and those of the egg white are irreversibly denatured and solidify by heat; especially in bakery products the presence of egg proteins gives consistency to the food.
-Ability to whip snow: especially the proteins of egg white have a high foaming power (can incorporate a lot of air), thanks to this property from egg white is obtained, for example, the meringue.
-Emulsifying power: it is linked to the lipoprotein and phospholipid components of the yolk (emulsifier/amalgamates the various ingredients and is therefore a typical ingredient of cakes).
– Pasteurized egg white, yolk and mixed (the shell is removed mechanically, white and red are then subjected to heat treatment: this increases the shelf life of the food and facilitates the dosage at industrial level)
– Concentration (by evaporating water under vacuum) with the possible addition of glucose or salt (useful treatment for egg products intended for pastry use)
– Freezing (separate the egg white and yolk or freeze together after removal of the shell)