Eggs: the Versatile Protein
Ask on any social media discussion about ‘cheap, tasty and healthy meals’ and the idea of egg(s) on toast comes up repeatedly. Protein! Flavour! Thrift! Health! Could it even be one of “Lee’s 30p meals” (Spoiler: no), Lee being a Conservative MP claiming we can feed the masses for pennies if poor people will just try harder not to be poor and hopeless?
Detail of the Maon synagogue mosaic - the chicken and the egg (Source: https://www.ancientmedicine.org/home/2018/4/4/two-ways-to-talk-about-eggs)
All sorts of things on toast (or toast equivalents like gluten-free bread or cornbread) can be pretty cheap, flexible and easy to make for students, volunteers, and those having to cook during fieldwork trips on tight and diminishing budgets in challenging conditions. But what of the hen egg, now rising in price week after week owing to economic and ecological factors such as inflation, supply logistics and bird flu?
What will become of our adoration of the humble egg? The ancient and venerable egg. The valuable egg. The protein-packed, delicious egg. The versatile egg. The beautiful egg.
I like eggs on toast. Boiled, poached, fried, scrambled, made into an omelette - eggs are a good source of protein, taste good and cook quickly. If you’ve never tried a fried egg sandwich with tomato ketchup, give it a go and feel the comfort. Egg cuisine was good enough for the Roman middle-classes of Pompeii, and utilised and loved throughout prehistory and antiquity, and it has been a staple of many childhoods.
Pompeii wall painting of value Roman cuisine: eggs, birds and wine found in the House of Julia Felix (public domain)
The easiest way to cook eggs is probably to fry them in a little spread or oil, whichever you have. If they break, stir & scramble them. Or, boil a little water and poach them. Add a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper (‘seasoning’) if you have them available.
If you’re not a fan of tomato ketchup, tinned tomatoes work well with eggs, as do the real thing if you have any fresh. Tinned tomatoes are cheaper though on the whole, as you can store them easily so there’s no waste.
Egg and tinned tomatoes on toast makes what Nigel Slater would call ‘a cozy supper’. Bless him. He can’t help being posh.
If you’re cooking for a group of people, I’d recommend a big pan of scrambled eggs, or a large omelette that can be finished off under the grill or simply by flipping it over for a few seconds with a spatula. Serve with rounds of toast, ketchup or mayo, tinned tomatoes warmed in a pot or microwave, and/or a hot spicey sauce.
Cost - and Food Inflation
When I first started drafting this piece the cheapest supermarket chicken eggs were 9p each, in plastic packs of 15. Today at the time of writing this has gone up to 11.3 pence, a significant rise in a short time in the UK. [Edit 22nd Feb 2023: the price has now risen to 13.3p per egg in only two weeks.]
The next price point up in the medium range and in cardboard packaging, are 19p (up from 16p at the time of first drafting) - and all the way up to 37p each (up from 30p).
There’s a whole debate about what constitutes ‘free range’, so definitely read the labels (and see below).
The cheapest toast I have been able to source lately has been from supermarkets’ basic ranges. There are wholemeal versions, so not hideously unhealthy. Two slices with spread, toasted in a toaster, cost an absolute minimum of 14p (and rising).
Then we need to add the energy costs of cooking a couple of eggs. The cost of two slices of wholemeal toast with two (cheap) eggs therefore starts at 14p + 23p + 4p = 41p. This rises to 56p for the non-crap-in-plastic version. Add some tinned tomatoes, say half a can of the cheapest available, and you’re looking at another 19p at least on top. So, anywhere from 60p to 85p or more for a small(ish) ‘healthy supper’.
Animal Welfare and Environmental Concerns
Free-range hens from Hoad’s Farm packaging, from happier times before the latest bird flu crisis
I don’t know about you but I’m sick of plastic packaging and even more fed up with the plight of caged hens. As can be seen from the different price points above, however, there’s an ‘eco premium’ to be paid (literally) for higher welfare eggs and for easily recyclable, non-plastic cardboard packaging.
All food production carries with it the taint of exploitation of either or all of land, animals and humans. Food is political. And so people who eat must make choices, some of which are unpalatable. You really can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.
