The "This Might Be A Stupid Question, But...." Thread

[violinp]

Here's one for the historians.

I'm reading a lot of English history, particularly around the Tudor period.  There are lots of quotes from letters, personal accounts, etc.  How many of these source documents actually survive to be quoted by historians, and how many are quotes of quotes of quotes going back hundreds of years?  It seems unlikely that all these papers have survived and are still legible after so long, but quoting quotes seems like the longest game of Telephone ever, with tons of chances for inaccuracies to creep in.

The reason we know about Pompeii (other than discovering the site) was Pliny the Younger's epistulae about the event (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Younger#Epistles_concerning_the_eruption_of_Mount_Vesuvius), and that was from the first century A.D. It's entirely possible that letters from that time would have been preserved.

[camlan]

Here's one for the historians.

I'm reading a lot of English history, particularly around the Tudor period.  There are lots of quotes from letters, personal accounts, etc.  How many of these source documents actually survive to be quoted by historians, and how many are quotes of quotes of quotes going back hundreds of years?  It seems unlikely that all these papers have survived and are still legible after so long, but quoting quotes seems like the longest game of Telephone ever, with tons of chances for inaccuracies to creep in.

When I started grad school for a degree in English, there was one required course we all had to take. A good part of it dealt with original sources, how to find them and how to use them. It was drilled into us that you had to make an effort to see the original manuscript or book and not just re-quote a quotation that you found elsewhere. Our professor had a story about a mis-quotation that had happened long ago, and the incorrect quotation had been quoted and re-quoted several times before it was caught. Several scholarly works had been published, with the incorrect quotation forming part of the argument of the text. All the authors were somewhat embarrassed when the truth became known.

[exitzero]

Here's one for the historians.

I'm reading a lot of English history, particularly around the Tudor period.  There are lots of quotes from letters, personal accounts, etc.  How many of these source documents actually survive to be quoted by historians, and how many are quotes of quotes of quotes going back hundreds of years?  It seems unlikely that all these papers have survived and are still legible after so long, but quoting quotes seems like the longest game of Telephone ever, with tons of chances for inaccuracies to creep in.

When I started grad school for a degree in English, there was one required course we all had to take. A good part of it dealt with original sources, how to find them and how to use them. It was drilled into us that you had to make an effort to see the original manuscript or book and not just re-quote a quotation that you found elsewhere. Our professor had a story about a mis-quotation that had happened long ago, and the incorrect quotation had been quoted and re-quoted several times before it was caught. Several scholarly works had been published, with the incorrect quotation forming part of the argument of the text. All the authors were somewhat embarrassed when the truth became known.

Reminds me of a story about the monks who were copying some religious scrolls that dealt with rules and regulations of the monastery. The scrolls were copies of copies of copies. Finally, one monk decided to back to the original scroll, hundreds of years old. He came out of room looking absolutely stricken. In a strangled whisper, he said, "Celebrate, brothers. It says celebrate.

[Outdoor Girl]

Reminds me of a story about the monks who were copying some religious scrolls that dealt with rules and regulations of the monastery. The scrolls were copies of copies of copies. Finally, one monk decided to back to the original scroll, hundreds of years old. He came out of room looking absolutely stricken. In a strangled whisper, he said, "Celebrate, brothers. It says celebrate.

*snerk*

[GreenEyedHawk]

Is there a way to tell the "doneness" of poached eggs?  I like my eggs poached so that the whites are cooked through, but the yolks are warm and runny.  How do I tell?  I try to err on the side of caution because I don't want to undercook the whites (ewww) but they always end up with hard yolks. 

[Slartibartfast]

Is there a way to tell the "doneness" of poached eggs?  I like my eggs poached so that the whites are cooked through, but the yolks are warm and runny.  How do I tell?  I try to err on the side of caution because I don't want to undercook the whites (ewww) but they always end up with hard yolks.

The only way I know is how to tell raw from hard-boiled (which might also help you tell runny from cooked whites) - put the egg on a flat surface and spin it quickly, then stop it with a tap on the top.  Eggs with raw/liquid insides will resume spinning, while eggs with cooked/solid insides will stop.

[NyaChan]

I think timing it is your best bet.

[Hillia]

Is there a way to tell the "doneness" of poached eggs?  I like my eggs poached so that the whites are cooked through, but the yolks are warm and runny.  How do I tell?  I try to err on the side of caution because I don't want to undercook the whites (ewww) but they always end up with hard yolks.

The only way I know is how to tell raw from hard-boiled (which might also help you tell runny from cooked whites) - put the egg on a flat surface and spin it quickly, then stop it with a tap on the top.  Eggs with raw/liquid insides will resume spinning, while eggs with cooked/solid insides will stop.

Now I'm picturing lining up my poached eggs on the countertop and spinning them like little board game spinners...

[Slartibartfast]

Is there a way to tell the "doneness" of poached eggs?  I like my eggs poached so that the whites are cooked through, but the yolks are warm and runny.  How do I tell?  I try to err on the side of caution because I don't want to undercook the whites (ewww) but they always end up with hard yolks.

The only way I know is how to tell raw from hard-boiled (which might also help you tell runny from cooked whites) - put the egg on a flat surface and spin it quickly, then stop it with a tap on the top.  Eggs with raw/liquid insides will resume spinning, while eggs with cooked/solid insides will stop.

Now I'm picturing lining up my poached eggs on the countertop and spinning them like little board game spinners...

You laugh, but that's what I do whenever I'm about to make egg salad - mostly because I've been known to forget to mark the eggs after I hard-boil them, so there's a significant chance at least one of the eggs I thought was hard-boiled actually wasn't 

[wheeitsme]

Is there a way to tell the "doneness" of poached eggs?  I like my eggs poached so that the whites are cooked through, but the yolks are warm and runny.  How do I tell?  I try to err on the side of caution because I don't want to undercook the whites (ewww) but they always end up with hard yolks.

The only way I know is how to tell raw from hard-boiled (which might also help you tell runny from cooked whites) - put the egg on a flat surface and spin it quickly, then stop it with a tap on the top.  Eggs with raw/liquid insides will resume spinning, while eggs with cooked/solid insides will stop.

Now I'm picturing lining up my poached eggs on the countertop and spinning them like little board game spinners...

You laugh, but that's what I do whenever I'm about to make egg salad - mostly because I've been known to forget to mark the eggs after I hard-boil them, so there's a significant chance at least one of the eggs I thought was hard-boiled actually wasn't 

Poached, Slartibarfast    Not Hard boiled.  You take them out of the shells before cooking them in water...

[magicdomino]

Is there a way to tell the "doneness" of poached eggs?  I like my eggs poached so that the whites are cooked through, but the yolks are warm and runny.  How do I tell?  I try to err on the side of caution because I don't want to undercook the whites (ewww) but they always end up with hard yolks.

The only way I know is how to tell raw from hard-boiled (which might also help you tell runny from cooked whites) - put the egg on a flat surface and spin it quickly, then stop it with a tap on the top.  Eggs with raw/liquid insides will resume spinning, while eggs with cooked/solid insides will stop.

Now I'm picturing lining up my poached eggs on the countertop and spinning them like little board game spinners...

You laugh, but that's what I do whenever I'm about to make egg salad - mostly because I've been known to forget to mark the eggs after I hard-boil them, so there's a significant chance at least one of the eggs I thought was hard-boiled actually wasn't 

Would spinning work without a shell, though?  Poached eggs are taken out of their shells before they go in the boiling water.

Now, if we are talking about eggs in the shell, I use an Egg Perfect egg timer.  It's a red plastic egg that cooks with the real eggs.  When the Egg Perfect is dark all the way through, the real eggs are done.  Want soft-boiled eggs?  Pull them when the Egg Perfect is still bright red in the center.

[Shoo]

There must be more than one definition of "poached" eggs.  What posters responding to the OP are describing are, to me, boiled eggs.  Poached eggs are cracked open into simmering water and cooked out of the shell, not inside it.

[Outdoor Girl]

I wonder if the Egg Perfect would work for the poached eggs, too?  The main difference between the two is that one is boiled in the shell and the other is cracked into the boiling water.

[Moray]

There must be more than one definition of "poached" eggs.  What posters responding to the OP are describing are, to me, boiled eggs.  Poached eggs are cracked open into simmering water and cooked out of the shell, not inside it.

I see Slartibartfast talking about hard-boiled eggs, and others pointing out that spinning eggs on a counter without their shells isn't entirely practical

[Luci]

Is there a way to tell the "doneness" of poached eggs?  I like my eggs poached so that the whites are cooked through, but the yolks are warm and runny.  How do I tell?  I try to err on the side of caution because I don't want to undercook the whites (ewww) but they always end up with hard yolks. 

I can tell if the poached egg is done enough by pressing it with the bowl of a spoon. I can see the white is done, and I know how much "give" I want to feel on the spoon when pressed over the yolk. Just a little trial and error with a few scrambled eggs and hockey pucks along the way.

I think that is the answer you want, but I enjoyed the side track along the way.