Putting an Egg in Coffee (Eggspresso)
The Smithsonian’s Food & Think blog has just posted about coffee, and putting weird things in it. They gave a much-appreciated shout-out to this here blog, and also gave me lots of ideas for delicious coffee additions.
The long tradition of putting egg in coffee caught my attention. John Steinbeck once wrote: “I cracked an egg and cupped out the yolk and dropped white and shells into the pot, for I know nothing that polishes coffee and makes it shine like that.” Me, I’ve learned a few things in my time, for example: 1) Don’t argue with John Steinbeck; and 2) Shiny things kick ass.
lol! jk!
I crumbled the shell by hand and just dropped it right in there.
Then put the rest of the egg in the mug to await its caffeine infusion. I know I know, Steinbeck recommended just the white, but it’s not like I’m on a freakin’ diet.
The brewed coffee didn’t look any more shiny than usual, but it had yet to meet the rest of the egg.
I saw a few floaty chunks as I was pouring, but I was surprised by how well the majority of the egg blended smoothly with the coffee.
Of course, when you dig for them, the chunks are still there.
The taste is actually quite good. Honestly the egg doesn’t affect the flavour much (or the shine), but it does have a slightly thicker texture that is quite nice. I barely needed to add cream or sugar. The aftertaste seems to linger longer than regular coffee. As if the flavour is glued to the roof of my mouth for a few minutes rather than washing away like regular drinks.
As usual, the only real problem comes at the bottom of the cup. I’ve used the “warm snot” analogy before, but, well, it’s even more appropriate here.
I think, what the world needs now, is love swe a coffee mug that, somehow, has a bottom that can be cut off from the rest of the coffee and removed after a few minutes. Sure, I could put it through a filter, but I think that would mess with the flavour. This invention is, um, copyright and patent pending and stuff.
In the interest of science I also tried the egg shell brewed coffee on its own. It may have had a less-bitter, more-chalky flavour, but it’s subtle at best.
Until next time, coffee lovers. It was eggsellent to see you.
Ok… about the strangest thing I’ve ever dared put in coffee is a pinch of salt on top of the dry grounds before brewing.
You put salt in so that you don’t get the hard water layer on top..
When I saw the title, I was thinking of egg-drop soup; that is, whip an egg into a piping-hot cuppa joe. The act of whipping increases surface area enough that the egg will cook. At least, it does in soup. Maybe that’s might be a “good” variation?
Perhaps just the white adds the body & texture without adding the snot-like remnants that dwell at the bottom of the cup?
Frac: EWWW SALT GROOOOSSSSS
Twitch: Whipping as I mix them probably would change the texture. Not sure if I’d want it more cooked or less cooked, though. Having even more solid chunks would be… interesting, at least.
Mel: Possibly. I’ll have to try all these variations someday.
Re: the sludge/grit problem: Have you tried using a French Press? It probably wouldn’t help with more viscous sludge, but it should keep big particles and semi-solid junk out of your brew.
You are flirting with a bona fide culinary thickening process with the egg. Relatively obscure how to do it correctly. Here it is! You will in effect create ‘thick’ coffee with a creamy sauce-like consistency and if you follow this technique it will have no lumps! Before adding the egg, whisk the egg thoroughly. Beat it well with a fork if you don’t have a whisk. The secret is adding the egg at not too hot a temperature while still being hot enough to cook the egg and cause the thickening magic. About 185-190 degress (off boil for a couple of minutes) should do the trick. Whisk a little of the hot coffee into the egg and then whisk the rest of the egg quickly into the coffee (you might find this easier yo do in a bowl). If it curdles, the coffee was too hot!. If it thickens like magic, turning creamy, you did it just right! Enjoy your ‘thick’ coffee. Feel free to add cream and sugar at the end!
You should try making Klava!
http://www.cafepress.com/dragaera.194307011
just found your site thanks to metafilter. this is the first post i’ve read. and i LOL’d because my great aunts and uncles always did this with their coffee, though they put the egg on top of the grounds in a percolator-type coffee maker. that would keep the solids from infiltrating the rest of the brew. i think it’s a very scandinavian or perhaps just very european thing.
can’t wait to explore the rest of your experiments!
In the 1960’s my gramma used an egg in her coffee pot, but she used a percolator, not a drip coffee maker, just like BeccaJo mentions. She separated the yolk from the whites (kept the yolk to add to omlettes later, we neither knew nor cared about cholesterol, taste was king), whipped the white slightly with a fork, then dropped it and the slightly crushed shell into the basket of the percolator on top of the grounds (definitely not into the cup or the pot itself). In addition to the basket, the percolator had a strainer on the spout, so any gooey egg parts that did drip through the basket couldn’t pour into the cups.
The whites must have done something to the “greasiness” you sometimes see in a cup of coffee, because when poured into her clear glass coffee mugs (very mid-century cool, I still have them), the coffee was crystal clear, too. I still have a percolator in the basement, I might try this, I had forgotten all about this technique. Thanks for the memories!
Bwahahahaha, the avatar next to my name looks just like me! Same shape glasses, at least…. But I’m not frowning.
Salt in with the grounds is delish… cuts the bitterness but leaves the strength.
I found a recipe for egg-coffee.. it involved cooking the coffee in a kettle, adding the egg with the grounds and boiling it up. Sounds like theres just an execution error here (link: http://www.hendricksmn.com/norwegian-egg-coffee.html )
Have you tried butter in your coffee? When i worked at “a popular chain store whose name i will refrain from mentioning” we had a regular often order pats of butter with her coffee. I tried it camping once, for lack of cream and it was definitely stanky, though probably better than your ‘blue cheese’ experiment.
Another camping experiment with coffee that turned out DELIGHTFULLY was…. marshmallows!!! Again… found myself camping with no cream or sugar and a single packet of instant coffee…. equally delicious if you melt the marshmallow in, or if you dip it then roast it
For something truly delicious, try pouring a solo shot of espresso over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. One of my favoritest treats EVER.
Another coffee related deliciousness:
1 bite brownie
1 shot of baileys (or two)
2 shots of esspresso
dash of milk or scoop of ice cream if you like it extra sweet
some ice
blend in your magic bullet… nice iced coffee drink especially good in summer.
Anyway, great & interesting blog. Keep it up!!
That didn’t look as gross as I thought. I say, better then the salmon in coffee looked, perhaps not as good as the banana? Either way, better you then me to put that in your mouth.
Is it possible to slow-cook an egg in coffee? I mean, it’s hot, and of you don’t crack the egg it shouldn’t break. Finish you’re morning cup, eat breakfest. Try it!!
i have a suggestion for u.go to the bathroom with the espresso coffee and shit inside coffee and drink it and tell us how it tastes ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!!loooooollllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!get a life stupid freak…..
blueberry pie! i’ve had thhat as a coffee flavor and its lovely. but would the actual pie give the same result?
Maus: I do have a French press. I’ve been considering using it in these experiments, but I’m afraid of ruining it by clogging it with something nasty. I suppose I could always buy another one though.
Muir: That sounds delicious! Thank you!
Cliff H: That sounds delicious too! I’d never heard of Klava. Thanks!
Beccajoe & Kara: Glad to know it’s not TOO unusual to mix eggs with coffee.
Mad: Great suggestions. I regularly put marshmallows in my coffee, and I have tried butter before (wrote about it here: http://phronko.blogspot.com/2007/02/food-logic-volume-3-butter-coffee.html ). I’m craving that brownie/Bailey’s one right now. Mmm.
Hey Lady! It definitely could’ve been worse. This could be a really great treat with a little more refinement.
Veronica: Hehe, that’d certainly save some time wouldn’t it? I dunno if the coffee would stay hot enough to cook the egg all the way through. Maybe if we put it right in the coffee pot for a while.
Anon: HAHA GOOD ONE! VERY ORIGINAL COMMENT! loooooolll
Sara: Perhaps it would! We shall see.
http://s.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/web02/2010/2/3/15/enhanced-buzz-18035-1265230428-48.jpg
From a cookbook called “A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband” circa 1917
You can get egg coffee at the Minnesota State Fair.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10425474@N08/3874013169/
It goes well with the deep fried Spam curds. gack
I wonder if the egg white was used as a fining agent. It says egg white in pot (rather than in cup). People who make stock use egg white and shells to get the clear stock.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2140695_clear-soup-stock.html
http://www.google.co.nz/search?q=egg+white+raft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finings
If that’s the case, your whole egg didn’t work.
Perhaps try the egg drop soup method to avoid the glug at the bottom?
Suggestion: Try Coffee with vanilla ice-cream (look up affogato)
Years ago in the movie “Dead Man Don’t Wear Plaid” there is a funny scene of Steve Martin making coffee in a pot and he added an egg into the grounds and crushed it shell and all and pour hot water over it. I assume he was going to strain the coffee, but the scene ended before he could.
I thought it was a big joke, but it turns out that it is a scandinavian recipe. There seem to be a lot of variations of it, and I have never tried it frankly, but now I am going to give this a shot.
Thanks for all the info everyone.
One word: Salmonella? OK, two words: Uncooked eggs?
Three words: Mostly in America. No offense Dave, but I live in Japan and we don’t have the salmonella problem. We put raw eggs and semi-cooked eggs in many dishes (Sukiyaki is awesome!) besides, the temperature of the almost boiling water should be hot enough to take care of any bacteria.
One word: Rocky.
Rocky never got salmonella.
QED.
puaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaajjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj