Tuesday, March 28, 2006

How To Use Leftover Egg Yolks

Q: May I ask what you do with the yokes of the dozen eggs? (See recipe below.) Do you save them for something (and what?), or do you just pitch them? --Laura

A: I don't feel bad about pitching them if I can't use them within a day or so. Yolks are a great breeding ground for bacteria and should not be left in the refrigerator long.

Even if you buy eggs only for the whites (low fat omelets, for instance), it's still cheaper to toss the yolks than to buy a carton of Egg Beaters. And undoubtedly less chemical.

But since I do use whites only for other recipes like a low-sugar Pavlova, I found a recipe that limits my waste. It's a sinfully rich yellow cake that uses 6 yolks, adapted from Rose Levy Berenbaum's Cake Bible.



Here's a link to the recipe published online. You can make 4 layers from the dozen leftover yolks.

It freezes beautifully if you want to make the layers now and save them to assemble for an Easter dessert. The buttery crumb is a rich treat after the leanness of Lent.

2 comments:

Mom2fur said...

I have heard that you can freeze egg yolks. Never tried it myself, but I'm sure you could find plenty of info about that on line. Apparently, you can freeze whites and yolks--but not whole eggs.
What about using those yolks to make homemade egg noodles?
At the very least, what about throwing them into your garden as compost? Would that work?

Meredith said...

You're right. Somewhere on that Baking 911 link (recipe) there are directions for freezing yolks. But you've still got to find something to do with all of them when you thaw them! We don't really eat pasta so this cake recipe is what I've tried. You could also make a very rich custard or pudding--or even homemade mayonnaise. I've never, ever been successful at the mayonnaise, though : )