? on washing goose eggs for eating, cooking, baking

[Going Bhonkers]

I tried looking for this in older threads, but they mainly have to do with eggs that are going into incubators. Well, what about the ones going in my tummy? 3 questions:

1. We've been washing the eggs our goose has laid with soap and water - is there a better way to clean them?
   
2. Some people say that washing them takes away minerals from the shell, since we're going to eat them, does this matter??
   
3. I collect the egg the day she lays it, then wash it that day or the day after & put it in a plastic baggie and into the fridge. I've read that its okay for fresh chicken eggs to sit outside the fridge for a week, after that they go in the fridge. Am I putting them in the fridge too soon, or does this also not matter?

Thanks

 

[Oregon Blues]

They won't poison you if they sit out on the counter unwashed.

With the duck eggs, the mud from the feet of the ducks gets on the eggs and if I don't wash the eggs, the smell of the mud soaks through the shell and into the egg. So, I wash as soon as I pick them up and refrigerate them.

With the goose eggs, it would depend upon how clean and dry they are when you pick them up. If they are very clean, you can put off washing until just before you crack them.

Always wash off the outside of any egg before you crack it to use it. I just use room temperature water to wash eggs.

 

[Going Bhonkers]

Thank you! And is soap & water okay, or do you recommend something different?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

we collect, wash, store in the frig in cartons

 

[wildpeas]

What do you wash them with?

 

[Goose and Fig]

We don't wash them until cooking unless its really warm weather, and in that case they have to go in the fridge. Otherwise all the eggs sit out. We give 95% of them away, so they don't sit around long.
I do wash muddy duck eggs, but just with water.
They sell "egg wash", but it seems like more of a gimmick to me.

 

[The goose girl]

1. Soap and water is fine. Just make sure you rinse off all the soap - you don't want your eggs tasting like soap. I myself just use water.

2. It only matters for incubating.

3. Fresh eggs will keep for at least 1-4 weeks at room temperature - depending on how hot the room is. The sooner you put them in the fridge, the longer they'll keep.

I've used a goose egg that had been sitting in a dark corner of the fridge for 4 months. It was fine. But the fresher the egg, the better the quality. For whipping egg whites you want to use the freshest eggs for most volume. I always use a pencil to mark the egg with the date I collected it.

 

[Goose and Fig]

1. Soap and water is fine. Just make sure you rinse off all the soap - you don't want your eggs tasting like soap. I myself just use water.

2. It only matters for incubating.

3. Fresh eggs will keep for at least 1-4 weeks at room temperature - depending on how hot the room is. The sooner you put them in the fridge, the longer they'll keep.

I've used a goose egg that had been sitting in a dark corner of the fridge for 4 months. It was fine. But the fresher the egg, the better the quality. For whipping egg whites you want to use the freshest eggs for most volume. I always use a pencil to mark the egg with the date I collected it.

Good info!
One trivial bit I wish learned earlier- if you are going to use yummy duck eggs for baking, they should be chilled first. I don't recall why, but that's what the pro chefs say.

 

[1MrsMagoo]

Good info!
One trivial bit I wish learned earlier- if you are going to use yummy duck eggs for baking, they should be chilled first. I don't recall why, but that's what the pro chefs say.

Unless you are using them for meringue, in which case they need to be kept room temperature or your meringue won't fluff. Duck eggs make the best meringue ever!

I keep my eggs in paper trays on the counter, pointy end down after collection for a day or two. Once the trays are full, I clean only the ones that need it (paper towel dampened with warm water that has a touch of Oxine AH in it), box them, and refrigerate them.

Any eggs that are very, very dirty I put into a separate tray and use those myself. Those I scrub off with a poly scratchy pad under very warm water, place on a dry towel, pat dry and use immediately: I keep my 220 lumens mag light right on the counter and candle them before cleaning them.

Also, I have read that eggs should be washed with warm water not cool, as the cool will draw in bacteria into the porous shell as it cools and contracts: The warmer the water, the better.

I find that if I put some fresh shavings into the nests a few times a week that even the duck eggs are much cleaner: My chicken eggs don't even need cleaned much of the time and only half the duck eggs.

Good luck!