Egg Yolk Floating in Shell

[shyflyguy]

Short statement of my issue: My egg yolks are not centered in the egg.

So I collect my eggs every evening and wash them in hot water. I even let them soak in it for 30-60 min to help make cracks more obvious, and so the eggs will dry quickly on the rack. I hand-clean the eggs with no soap or other detergents and that's pretty much it. But then, I go to boil a few, and every single time, the yolks are against the side of the shell. So instead of my boiled and peeled egg looking smooth and white, it's smooth and white... and a patch of yellow.

I sell my eggs, and I don't know for sure how people are preparing their eggs, but if they're boiling them for deviled eggs, they're totally hosed! I shouted at my chickens (all 100 of them), but that hasn't changed their attitudes. Should I put them in time-out?

Seriously, though, maybe it's not the chickens... maybe the hot water soak is doing it? Anyone else have this issue?

Thanks in advance!

Shy

 

[PunkinPeep]

I would definitely boil a couple without soaking them in hot water like that and see if they come out differently.

I don't wash my eggs. If they are truly dirty (poop or whatever), i keep them for myself and wash them in hot water right before i use them. But otherwise, i let the bloom do the work for me. From everything i have read, that is safer. I would be really concerned that soaking them in hot water for that length of time actually makes them more likely to spoil because you're washing off the bloom and possibly cooking them a little.

I will be interested to hear what you find out, but my guess is it's the hot water dislodging your yolks.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

Now why do you wash them in hot water and soak them before selling them? Just curious - never heard of this. I usually only wash my eggs right before cracking them open - if i sell/give some away I will rinse them in cold water - but never hot.

I would be afraid they'd spoil faster like PunkinPeep said. I would think sitting them in hot water may be cooking the outermost part of the white and when an egg is raw and sitting on one side (like it does in floating water) the yolk is going to be at the top I bet - and the hot water makes it stick to the shell. Try washing them in cold water and then cooking them immediately after - see if they still do it. If you get a good middle yolk - you know its your hot water and soaking thats doing it - and just switch to a quick cold wash off.

good luck and let us know I think this is very interesting.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
I understand about using the hot water. It has been recommended to use water that is warmer than the egg so that the egg will expand slightly and push away any impurities instead of pulling them in. They say that using cold water causes the egg to allow the impurities (bacteria or whatever) to come into the egg while you're washing off the bloom.

 

[PhlyinPheBee]

The only time I wash my eggs that I sell is if there is poop on it. Then I only use cold water.

 

[shyflyguy]

Thanks for the input! I'm going to do three eggs. One hot, one cold, and one straight from the chicken. We'll see which turns out best. Just thinking about it, I'm thinking the hot water has to be doing SOMETHING to the egg. At the very least, I need to just turn it to warm water.

I'm washing them because the hens are outside most of the time, and they just love digging in the mud puddles, then suddenly they gotta lay, so they come running into the coop, jump into a box with a few eggs in it and start smudging them with dirty feet. Wipe your feet, ladies!!!

I'll let you know how things turn out. Thanks again for the input!

Shy

 

[Chick CJ]

shyflyguy: One tip regarding boiling fresh eggs which you may already know; after boiling, pour off hot water and immediately immerse eggs in an ice ater bath for a few minutes. This seriously makes it easier to peel the hard boiled egg!

And just my two cents worth: you definitely should not be "soaking" your eggs in hot water, in fact you should not soak them at all. A simple wipe down with a warm, wet paper towel should suffice. And unless they are super dirty, I wouldn't even do this until I was ready to cook it.

I am looking forward to your repost after your experiment!
CJ

 

[Gypsy07]

Interesting discussion...

My chickens often have muddy feet and mucky eggs too. I find that a quick rinse in cool water and sometimes when they're REALLY mucky a gentle scrub with a coarse cloth works fine for cleaning the eggs up. Each egg is wet for 20 seconds at the most. I've never had any bad eggs from doing this.

 

[emrys]

I never wash eggs unless they are a mess. I also never boil fresh eggs. It's just to much of a trial peeling them. I select a few eggs for the "aging carton" After a couple of weeks in that one special carton I boil the eggs. They are so much easier to deal with. Never could get the ice water immersion to work. Each of us develops our own methods over time.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
I finally found a method for boiling fresh eggs that works for me. I think i combined a couple of different things i read. I put room temperature, 2-day-old eggs in water that was already boiling. When it came back to boiling, i let it boil 17 minutes, then drained it and put the eggs in the freezer in a strainer to chill for a few minutes.

They were the easiest eggs i've ever peeled. Don't know why.