From delicious pie crusts to breads and cakes and even skin health products, there are literally thousands of recipes using egg yolks. Outside of the culinary world, egg yolks are used for crafting, telling fortunes, and believe it or not, performing fertility rituals in some cultures and religions. Let us move into the uses of egg yolks in the food service industry and later explore some of the more interesting recipes using egg yolks.

Hollandaise sauce is one of the most popular recipes using egg yolks. Originating from French cuisine as part of the five sauces in the French haute category, Hollandaise sauce is an important part of French history and culture; however, it is also believed to be derived from a Dutch recipe.  Dishes such as Eggs Benedict utilize Hollandaise Sauce which is basically egg yolk, butter, and simple seasonings such as white pepper and an acid like lemon juice. Other favorites are fresh vegetables like artichokes or asparagus dipped or served topped with Hollandaise.

One of the best recipes for Hollandaise Sauce was aired on Food Network in 2000 by Tyler Florence. First we start with 4 egg yolks in a bowl and whip them using a whisk gradually adding lemon juice until the product has doubled. Unsalted butter, cayenne, and a small amount of salt bring this sauce together over heat.

If French sauces are not complimentary to your palette, well you are in luck because there are a great many more recipes using egg yolks that are sure to please you, your family, or your guests at the next dinner gathering. A few suggestions you might try are banana custard, duke of cambridge pudding, italian garlic pasta dough, and if you have a look around, there are even some incredible cocktail recipes using egg yolks; the possibilities are endless.

In the barrens and deserts in Africa, recipes using egg yolks are incredibly important to survival. Hunting parties can sometimes spend weeks gathering food for their families. When game is in short supply and vital proteins are required to sustain life, a large variety of eggs can be cracked into a shallow pit of dirt and then covered to be heated by the sand and the sun until cooked through. Whites of pit cooked eggs may be eaten right away, and the hard cooked yolks stored for use in baiting traps, or used later as life saving provisions.

In many cultures and ancient practices, recipes using egg yolks yield not a dish, but fertility to potential mothers trying to conceive. Piercing an egg yolk in special ceremonies offers one potential life for another, and if pleased it is believed that the gods or elder mother will bless the custom and bestow a barren mother a chance at conception.  

Perhaps your use of egg yolks may offer a delicious meal, life giving nutrients, or life itself. The uses of egg yolks in deliberate recipes are extremely diverse and a delicious part of culinary and even religious history.