Cooking Tips - Eggs

1. To determine whether an egg is hard-boiled, spin it, if it spins, it is hard boiled, if it wobbles and will not spin it is raw.
2. Hard boiled eggs will peel easily when cracked and placed in cold water immediately after taking out of the hot water.
3. To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh if it rises to the surface, throw it away.
4. Add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling an egg makes peeling a lot easier.
5. Eggs age more in one day at room temperature than in one week in the refrigerator.
6. Sprinkle heavily with salt for easy clean up on raw egg dropped on the floor .
7. For color coated hard boiled eggs that are spotless and even, try the following tip: When mixing the color in a bowl of water, add a drop of vinegar.
8. Cold eggs are easier to separate.
9. Shell eggs should be wiped clean if necessary and stored in a cool, dry place. While eggs will keep in your refrigerator for several weeks, they can lose some quality.
10. Eggs readily absorb odors and should not be kept near strong smelling foods in open containers like onions and garlic.
11. Sometimes, you'll only need either egg whites or egg yolks for a recipe. Once out of the shell, you can keep eggs whites for about a week in the refrigerator and egg yolks will keep for two or three days (although they should be covered with water).
12. To get the greatest volume when whipping egg whites, let the egg whites come to room temperature first.
13. 1DO NOT use aluminum bowl to beat egg whites in or it will discolor the whites.
14. A fresh egg will stays on its side if placed into a bowl of salted cool water. If it stands up, it isn't fresh. If it floats to the top, it's spoiled.
15. If an egg is fresh, its egg white is thick. If it's runny, it's not.
16. When slicing a hard boiled egg, try wetting the knife just before cutting. If that doesn't do the trick, try applying a bit of cooking spray to the edge.
17. Fresh eggs' shells are rough and chalky; old eggs are smooth and shiny. 
18. To remove egg shells from a batter, use the remaining shell to attract the piece.
19. Egg whites should always be at room temperature before whipping. Be certain there is no yolk in the whites and that the bowl and beaters are perfectly clean. Cream, on the other hand, should be well-chilled. For the largest volume, chill the bowl and beaters before whipping. 
20. Keep bananas a couple of days longer by storing them in the refrigerator after they've reached the desired degree of ripeness. The outside will turn brown, but they will still be light-colored on the inside.
21. Keep cut fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas and peaches, from turning brown by coating them with an acidic juice such as lemon, orange or pineapple juice. Or use a commercial anti-darkening preparation with fruits, such as Ever-Fresh (TM) or Fruit-Fresh (R), and follow the manufacturer's directions. Cut fruits as close to serving time as possible.