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Michael Ruhlman
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Egg: A Culinary Exploration of the World's Most Versatile Ingredient Kindle Edition

by Michael Ruhlman (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 194 ratings
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In this innovative cookbook, James Beard award-winning author Michael Ruhlman explains why the egg is the key to the craft of cooking.

For culinary visionary Michael Ruhlman, the question is not whether the chicken or the egg came first, it's how anything could be accomplished in the kitchen without the magic of the common egg. He starts with perfect poached and scrambled eggs and builds up to brioche and Italian meringue. Along the way readers learn to make their own mayonnaise, pasta, custards, quiches, cakes, and other preparations that rely fundamentally on the hidden powers of the egg.

A unique framework for the book is provided in Ruhlman's egg flowchart, which starts with the whole egg at the top and branches out to describe its many uses and preparations -- boiled, pressure-cooked, poached, fried, coddled, separated, worked into batters and doughs, and more.

A removable illustrated flowchart is included with this book. Nearly 100 recipes are grouped by technique and range from simple (Egg Salad with Tarragon and Chives) to sophisticated (nougat). Dozens of step-by-step photographs guide the home cook through this remarkable culinary journey.
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  1. Print length
    231 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Little, Brown and Company
  5. Publication date
    April 8, 2014
  6. File size
    49186 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* If there is a single indispensable ingredient in cooking, it has to be the egg. It binds together the humble meatloaf, gives dramatic height to an elegant soufflé, renders a hollandaise sauce silky on the tongue, and clarifies a cloudy broth. It appears at every daily meal, from breakfast omelet to pasta lunch to dinner shrimp tempura, and in every meal course, from appetizer deviled egg through entrée chicken fricassee to floating-island dessert. Ruhlman deftly analyzes the egg’s culinary role, deconstructing it into white and yolk and cooking it by itself as, say, a poached egg or combining it with seafood in a sophisticated roulade. Sharp photographs by the author’s wife illustrate techniques and demystify such complexities as braiding a loaf of challah, and they guide the cook to successful culinary results almost as well as if Ruhlman himself were standing at elbow. A must-purchase for cookbook collections, this book invites the reader to understand as much as to execute. --Mark Knoblauch

Review

"As useful as it is elegant, as comforting as it is revelatory, Egg elevates its humble subject to well-deserved heights, providing detailed (and delicious) instructions along the way."―Dan Barber, executive chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns

"We're obsessed with Michael Ruhlman's new cookbook Egg, and know that you're going to love it as much as we do."―Alessandra Bulow, Epicurious

"The subtitle is no exaggeration, and Ruhlman, with great panache, proves it on page after page of his master class...You'll never see eggs in the same way again."―William Grimes, The New York Times Book Review

"Home cooks and professionals will embrace this useful resource, which includes a pull-out flow chart measuring over four feet long."―Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

"The chart alone is genius."―Michael Symon, chef, author, and co-host of The Chew

"I am, notoriously, an egg slut. This book has everything you need to know about the ingredient that gives in so many ways. And keeps on giving."―Anthony Bourdain, author, television host, producer

―David Lebovitz

"Ruhlman leaves no yolk unturned."―Amanda Gold, The San Francisco Chronicle

―Dorie Greenspan

In [Egg], Michael Ruhlman shows how a single ingredient plus a battery of fundamental techniques equals infinite possibilities in the kitchen."―The Wall Street Journal

―Mark Knoblauch

"Even the most devoted fan of the humble egg can gain a new perspective on the ingredient in Michael Ruhlman's new book." ―Rebekah Denn, The Seattle Times

"Michael Ruhlman has a new cookbook that will likely change the way you think about the egg."―NPR, The Salt

"Eggis a book that could serve as a useful primer for novices but will especially appeal to avid cooks who are curious about why and how recipes work."―Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor

"Egg explores eggs' diversity while focusing on the basics."―Debbie Arrington, The Sacramento Bee

"Ruhlman's cookbook makes you appreciate anew just how integral eggs are to the spectrum of cooking and baking."―Greg Morago, The Houston Chronicle

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00ECE9NCQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company; Illustrated edition (April 8, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 8, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 49186 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 231 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 194 ratings

About the author

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Michael Ruhlman

Michael Ruhlman

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Michael Ruhlman is the author or co-author of more than 25 books—non-fiction, fiction, and memoir—the majority of which are on food and cooking, including the bestselling "The Soul of a Chef," "The French Laundry Cookbook" with Thomas Keller, "Charcuterie" with Brian Polcyn, "Ruhlman's Twenty," which won both James Beard and IACP awards, and most recently, "Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America." He lives in New York City.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
194 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Cissa
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous!
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
Thus far, Ruhlman has never steered me wrong in a recipe. I am a firm fan of "Twenty" and cook from it several times a month.

I can see that i will be adding "Egg" to that rotation.

I love eggs in general, and get some splendid ones from a local farm... and now I have SO many options for using them!

Tonight I made the lemon curd, and it was a splendid sauce for a dessert for a really rich dinner. We spooned it over fruit salad, and it was just perfect. I liked that it was not 100% egg yolks- it was easier to make, and also was lighter that the 100% yolk versions, but just as flavorful.

I am still searching for the perfect method to make hard-cooked eggs, but after reading this, I know far more of the guidelines, and it's helping me to narrow in on a rpocedure that really works for me, here and now.

These are 2 areas I'm personally focused on... but the book has so much more! I look forward to trying really new techniques and approaches to this wonderful ingredient.
6 people found this helpful
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EC17
5.0 out of 5 stars Still love this book
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2015
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Still love this book! It is clearly not a read and put down book, it is a "go to" book. So I have only really just started using it but can tell already it is going to be continued to be dog-eared. My bias is that I think the egg is a miracle food in so many ways. Ruhlman's books are always informative, visually appealing and written for beginners to master chefs. It sounds corny but I am continuing to find that perfect amount of time for a hard-boiled egg which really depends on your heating mechanism, his advice in that area is very helpful. There is just tons of useful, interesting information in this book, you will not go wrong buying it. His egg salad recipes can be used for proteins other than eggs. The pictures are so gorgeous that I did go out and buy a mezzaluna to chop the eggs with. Did I say I really have only started using the book?
10 people found this helpful
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SeriousKeto
4.0 out of 5 stars Almost an amazing cookbook
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2014
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Michael Ruhlman is a combination of who we are and who we want to be. He's a down to earth guy with a passion for cooking (who most of us are) who has become an almost unparalleled master at the culinary arts (who most of us want to be). I consider "Ruhlman's Twenty" to be one of the finest books written for an aspiring home chef, and "Egg" comes very close to being Twenty's equal.

In "Egg", Ruhlman takes the simple egg and demonstrates why it truly is not only "the most versatile ingredient", but also one of the most magnificent. Through the multitude of recipes, he shows how the egg can play both the lead role or the supporting character in every dish from breakfast to dessert.

Big credit must also go to Donna Ruhlman for her stunning photography highlighted throughout the book. Seriously, I challenge you to look at any picture in this book and not think (or say out loud), "oh, I gotta make that". In fact, one of my complaints about "Egg" is that while some recipes have multiple pictures, you can find yourself going through several significant stretches of recipes that have none. There are many recipes where a picture would have moved me from just being curious about a dish to thinking "I have to make this".

Another little complaint I have about "Egg" is that sometimes, it feels like there are little details omitted in his recipes. For example, in one of his soft-cooked egg recipes, he says that you can use the pressure cooker method, but only for 4 minutes. It was unclear if that meant mimicking the pressure cooker hard-cooked egg exactly, but only for 4 minutes -- so that's what I did and wound up with was still basically a hard-cooked egg. Maybe for soft-cooked, I was supposed to immediately cool the pressure cooker under cold water and then get the egg into ice water? I don't know, because he doesn't say.

Those minor complaints aside, "Egg" is almost worth the price just for two recipes: the above mentioned pressured cooker hard-cooked eggs (so easy to peel and the most perfect yolks ever) and double boiler scrambled eggs. I've seen Heston Blumenthal use the double boiler method but didn't try it until I got "Egg". I've never tasted such rich, moist, delicious scrambled eggs. They are well worth the additional time it takes to make them. A couple of tips on the scrambled eggs -- use truffle butter instead of regular butter (mind-blowing), and be aware that as soon as the eggs start to curdle, they progress to being done very quickly.
25 people found this helpful
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Lisa Craig
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating book
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2023
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What a great cookbook that is devoted to such a quintessential ingredient.
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Michael B
5.0 out of 5 stars A real classic
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2016
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An extraordinary book, my wife considers it one of the best and most insightful cookbooks she has ever read. Digs deeply into this single ingredient and shows the extraordinary versatility and key features of the egg, many of which we take for granted in day-to-day cooking. When you understand the egg, as this book allows you to do, you gain a whole new level of insight into your other recipes and into cooking in general. Have tried several delicious recipes from the book as well, they will become regulars in our cooking rotation. For the serious cook and also for anyone who wants to increase their cooking knowledge, this book is a real classic. Ruhlman writes so well that reading the book is also highly enjoyable, not in any way an instructional chore, just fascinating. Cannot recommend it highly enough.
16 people found this helpful
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Brian B
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Home Run for Ruhlman
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2014
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I'm pretty much at the point now where I will buy anything Michael Ruhlman writes. Egg is not going to do anything to change that. Once again Michael delivers not only all the information you could ever need on the subject, but his passion for food and cooking oozes from the pages. In this world of celebrity chefs who are only worried about their empire, Michael Ruhlman is a true teacher of the art of cooking. You will know more about the egg than you ever thought you'd imagine after reading this book. Who knew there were so many applications. It is very evident that the egg is an ingredient we've often taken for granted.

If Michael's writing does not reel you in, his wife's photos should. This is yet another brilliantly photographed book! The included flowchart is also a nice touch.

My favorite application? Nothing quite makes me as happy as a perfectly poached egg in the morning. Very happy that this was covered well in his book.

Can't wait to see what's next from Mr. Ruhlman.
5 people found this helpful
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Bryan Pike
5.0 out of 5 stars The egg so simple and so complex.
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2018
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Great book and a fastinating must read for anyone who likes cooking. The egg so simple and so complex. A key ingredient in millions of things we depend on today. A basic building block of life in a naturally simple design.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Bryan Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent recipe book
Reviewed in Canada on February 14, 2021
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Having chickens I eat a lot of eggs. This has become my go to recipe book for anything egg. I like it so much that I have given two copies as gifts. It's not a cheap book but I feel that it is a good solid value for the money.
2 people found this helpful
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Janet Coxton
5.0 out of 5 stars Seller is excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 11, 2022
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I love this book, I bought it as a present but unfortunately it got damaged in the post and the bookseller refunded immediately - will definitely buy more books from them in future. This book is the classic text on eggs - I already have a copy and was buying a second one as a gift - and it’s one that earns its keep on your bookshelf.
One person found this helpful
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Spiros M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Way better than ever expected it to be
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2015
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Way better than ever expected it to be.
All you want to know about eggs and all you'll ever need to get you started with anything that uses eggs (which is basically most of one's favs in the kitchen).
Great approach, great pics and notes, top quality reference. An altogether excellent guidance.
A MUST for anyone who likes cooking.
4 people found this helpful
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Steve
5.0 out of 5 stars Eggstatic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 28, 2020
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Eggstatic, everything you need to know about eggs and more so.
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