To wash or not to wash...eggs

revmichael said:

I'm new to this and with a compromised immune system but otherwise healthy. I have 4 barred rocks and my coop is raised almost like an upstairs/downstairs layout. The upper part is where the nest box is and it all has a hardware cloth floor to it so there is not much poop there before the girls step up into the nesting box.

From what I've read as long as the eggs are clean of poop or anything else I take them and put it straight in the fridge. I wash them with warm water before using them but if I plan to boil them for hardboiled eggs I just put them in the water that way, the boiling water kills all germs. I put them in an egg carton and go from left to right when using them. Newer eggs go to the right of the older ones in the carton so I know which ones came first. After I use a few of them the eggs get shifted to the left.

I always use hand sanitizer when handling the eggs or after touching the chickens.

Should I get a small fridge specifically for the eggs? I don't plan on having more than 2 cartons in the fridge at any time.

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Sounds like you have a system that works. Also remember that just because the organism has been killled from cooking ( heating) your body still acknowledges a foreign body.

If it aint broke . . .

My kids are in and out of my refrig . . . hate to even think what might be on their hands. I would like to think that a strong immune system is supported by high quality food, proper preperations, and frequesnt handwashing.

always aware but never paranoid lol --- even if I were to go vegan and grow everything myself - organisms are still around no matter what - so I just go with the flow and use well known precautions

all I have to say is OMG the eggs taste WONDERFUL

Newbeeeeee here Lovin my fresh eggs. I wash them before I eat them. Sometimes even though washed there is a little fleck of something from the shell in the egg. Any ideas what this might be? I toss the egg and get a new one. I always crack the egg in a bowl first before cooking it just incase somerhing is not good about it.

snoozee-q said:

Newbeeeeee here Lovin my fresh eggs. I wash them before I eat them. Sometimes even though washed there is a little fleck of something from the shell in the egg. Any ideas what this might be? I toss the egg and get a new one. I always crack the egg in a bowl first before cooking it just incase somerhing is not good about it.

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It's probably a blood spot. It's not a bad thing, it's fairly normal and you can eat it.

Love my fresh eggs... We never wash them and we leave them on the counter... never had a problem with any of us getting sick from unrefrigerated eggs let a lone unwashed eggs..

I always wash my eggs.

I prefer to wash my eggs. I have read some people use a little bleach to disinfect. I was wondering if I could use a little vinegar on a paper towel?

Basic egg factoids:

---A thin coating exists on a freshly-laid egg that becomes undetectable after drying. This protein layer, known as "bloom", quickly dries and seals the egg from pathogens. It largely negates the necessity of refrigeration and keeps the egg fresh for longer.

---Visible debris or not, potentially harmful bacteria can still subsist on the surface of the shell.

---Improper washing techniques such as soaking your eggs or using cool water can cause the inner fluids to condense, create a vacuum, and draw surface bacteria through the semi-permeable shell.


My practice is thus. The majority of the eggs are visibly clean and simply get put directly into the some ceramic egg crates that I have in the refrigerator*. With any that are soiled, I scuff the undesirable matter off with the abrasive side of a designated kitchen sponge that is regularly disinfected before adding them to the holders. I quickly wash eggs as I use them under hot water. If you are careful in your handling or cooking the dickens out of the eggs, washing is largely unnecessary. However, I routinely make items that are not so thoroughly heated...or at all: mayonnaise, hollandaisse, lemon/mango curd, poached eggs, and cookie/brownie batter with no intentions of is seeing the inside of an oven. I have been known to just wash ALL the eggs before putting them in the fridge if anyone else is staying over. Removing the "bloom" is of little consequence to me as they are going in the refrigerator regardless, and eggs at my house rarely sit for longer than a week before consumption.

*While I realize that refrigeration is largely unnecessary, I do so for several reasons that may not apply to you:

---Space on my countertop is at a greater premium than that in my fridge. Therefore, it is simply more convenient to keep them there.

---While reaching into the fridge is typically anti-climatic, I routinely drop or knock things around on the countertop when I am frenetically bouncing around the kitchen. It is simply safer to keep the eggs anywhere but the countertop.

---I routinely have a foster dog from the local shelter residing in the kitchen and do not wish to make the mongrel less adoptable by inadvertently training him/her to counter-surf.

---I occasionally get supplemental eggs from a neighbor who has roosters. Refrigerating potentially fertile eggs halts any embryonic development that might occur in my warm kitchen.


Some informative online references include:

---http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2011/10/eggs-to-wash-or-not-to-wash.html
---http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2010/10/31/egg-bloom/
---http://www.localharvest.org/blog/28378/entry/to_wash_or_not_to