Frozen eggs

[dknigge]

Five of the eggs I collected one cold afternoon were frozen and the shells were cracked. I put them in a separate carton in the refrigerator, and when I took them out the next morning three of the eggs showed no evidence of the previously noted cracks. Can egg shells "self heal"? Has anybody had experience with this happening with frozen eggs?

 

[DLV58]

I've had cracked frozen eggs but none have self-healed.
When they cracked I throw them away,
but will leave uncracked frozen eggs on the counter and use them the next morning

 

[gvier]

Yes, this happened to me yesterday! I was surprised to see the egg had self-healed. I am not sure if it is still safe to use. Are you planning on using your previously cracked eggs?

I've tried to research this to see if it's happened to others but I am coming up empty-handed.

 

[Nana D]

As cold as it has been I have had several frozen cracked eggs. I always toss them out, and save the eggs shell for my compose pile.. You got to understand that once it is opened it is exposed to everything that is in your pen. Any pen with feces carries bacteria, and so on.. I say toss them out.

 

[ducksinarow]

I cook mine and feed them to the dogs.

 

[Original Recipe]

If you hold your cracked eggs in front of a light bulb, you will see that they have not "self healed" as it would appear. The eggs cracked to begin with because eggs are 74% water and water expands as it freezes. Once the eggs thaw out the insides return to their original volume and the shell appears to self heal. That's because even though the shell is rigid, it also has a slight degree of flexibility and will seek to retain it's shape. Even though the crack may no longer be visible to the naked eye, bacteria can and will still enter the egg.

Having said that, a cracked egg should still be a safe to consume as long as it is used right away (a day at most) and cooked thoroughly (no over easy here). This is true even if the egg was infected with salmonella. However, if the egg was really dirty or covered in poo, I'd likely just throw it away.

 

[PaulM]

Yes, this happens. I have had it happen to us a few times. First time I thought my daughter switched the eggs around, or that I was crazy. 2nd time I set the cracked one aside and when it thawed, you could not see the crack. Cool!

Just today, I had another one, so I took pictures of the before and after without moving the egg so my daughter can show her 6th grade science class. The crack is gone and you cannot see it.

I am not eating the eggs, but my dog don't mind that they were once frozen.