A Dish and A Bev

Today is World Egg Day, and coincidently my favourite breakfast currently is sweet potato and fried eggs. It is something I used to eat a lot growing up, the natural sweetness of the vegetable and the salt from the eggs work beautifully together.

This combination has also taken the world by storm due in part to a TikTok video where a middle-aged man is being asked to taste some pancakes by his wife, he takes one bite and says ‘spectacular give me fourteen of em right now’, to which she responds by telling him that the pancakes are made from just two ingredients, sweet potato and eggs.

The versatility of eggs is never ending. Eggs can be made and prepared in so many ways, poached, boiled, fried, baked etc. They can be used as ingredients, or they are the meal. Eggs are found in dishes all over the world.

The most interesting use of eggs I have learned about is for a Portuguese dessert called Ovos Moles de Aveiro, this dessert was created by nuns who according to local history, used egg whites to starch their habits and not wanting to waste the egg yolk produced the dessert. Ovos moles have a white wafery casing commonly shaped as barrels, seashells, clams, and nuts, these shapes are then filled with an egg yolk and sugar filling.

In South Africa eggs are even sold hardboiled at taxi ranks or construction sites as a quick affordable nutritious snack. Eggs contain high-quality protein, healthy fats, antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin and loads of other vitamins and minerals, like vitamins A, B12, and D, as well as minerals such as iron and selenium. Eggs help to support heart, eye, muscle and immune health, and overall well-being.

I have always been a fan of eggs, and it is looking like I will always be. Happy World Egg Day!