To wash or not to wash eggs?

[qwackers]

Okay so this is very helpful but seems to be mainly referring to chicken eggs. I keep ducks and have heard from a few places on here that duck eggs don't keep as long as chicken eggs as they are more porous. So how long should you keep duck eggs refridgerated or out of the fridge? Also is the reason (if you choose to wash them) to wash in warmish water something to do with cold water making the egg suck up something?? I'm a bit confused!

 

[carlsaSC]

Where to begin? In SC, the rules are that eggs must be refrigerated and held at 45 deg's or below immediately after gathering if they are to be sold. (For much more background, read anything by Joel Salatin about his struggles with his State and Federal regulators) Salatin recalls his mother using a pad held on two fingers by an elastic band rubbing surface dirt off eggs. The main problem with eggs is not contamination of the contents, but bacteria on the outside of the shell contaminating the contents when the egg is cracked. To eliminate that possibility, the egg can be coddled for 60 seconds. All that being said, we do not wash our eggs unless there is obvious mud or poo on them. Otherwise, keep the bloom intact and keep them at 45 deg's or less for as long as necessary. Mineral oil gives the eggs an unpleasant oily flavor, so I don't use it.

 

[SJ]

After much research and consideration we chose to wash the eggs because we sell them. Our customers appreciate this service.

I believe I have built up a resistance to any and all germs in my coop so have no personal worry about any "stuff" on my eggs, but my customers haven't built up resistance to coop germs. I don't want the refrigerator can to blow some invisible coop germs off my eggs and onto the food that they eat raw, so we wash our eggs before we refrigerate them. An egg doesn't have to have a hunk of poo on it to be "dirty." We sanitize even clean-looking eggs. But we sell several dozen eggs every day. We keep our eggs in an eggs-only refrigerator so they don't pick up odors or flavors.

I think it is important to handle and wash eggs properly or washing can cause more problems than it solves -- do the research on proper egg washing and look into your local regulations as there is a huge variety in the laws. In order to not damage the cuticle more than necessary, we don't "scrub" an egg that doesn't have visible dirt on it ... Collecting eggs often so they stay as clean as possible and can cool down is an important step. I've read science that indicates embryos start to develop sooner and at lower temperatures than I was originally told -- and our eggs are fertile so we have to consider this possibility. It is also important to consider "Room Temperature" for unrefrigerated eggs is usually supposed to be much cooler than rooms in my house. Eggs drop in quality (grade) fairly quickly if kept above 70.

Unfortunately the dry air blowing around a modern American refrigerator is not that great for eggs either ... as eggs dehydrate they lose quality fast. Ideally eggs should be stored in a cool HUMID place. I would love to build an old fashioned egg cooler, but that wouldn't do much for my customers as I usually sell eggs within a few days of lay and I doubt I could sell the customers on the idea of building themselves a cool, dark, damp burlap rack to store their eggs.

Bloom is great stuff! Sometimes a broody will get her eggs super dirty as she's settling into nest, and a few times a broody has broken an egg and managed to cover all the other eggs in her clutch in egg mess ... and still healthy chicks hatch. I have every confidence the bloom will protect the contents of an egg from exterior contamination.

But this isn't JUST about protecting the inside of the egg from outside germs.

Great post.

I have a drawer in my fridge that allows humidity control so I put the eggs in there and keep the humidity control cranked to its highest setting. I have got some family member whining about "Why do the eggs have their own drawer?" LOL
I too have fertile eggs so getting to my eggs in a timely manner in summer is an obligation but winter is worse as the eggs freeze and crack if I dont collect soon enough. You wont sell too many broken eggs.
I too sell eggs and as the old saying goes "The customer is alway right". So if a customer wants washed eggs they get washed eggs.
Personally I have the utmost faith in bloom's protective qualities but if you ever baked you know cracking eggs can lead to shell bits in your batter. No one wants shells in their batter, especially unsanitary shells.

 

[SJ]

Okay so this is very helpful but seems to be mainly referring to chicken eggs. I keep ducks and have heard from a few places on here that duck eggs don't keep as long as chicken eggs as they are more porous. So how long should you keep duck eggs refridgerated or out of the fridge? Also is the reason (if you choose to wash them) to wash in warmish water something to do with cold water making the egg suck up something?? I'm a bit confused!

Great questions. Duck eggs are different. MPE has led me to beleive that duck eggs have much more bloom than a chicken egg but, I don't have any thing scientific to back up that observation. I just have noticed that when I have washed my muscovy eggs that the bloom is so thick that it is almost waxy. Also that I must use warm water to remove this coating. I mostly use cool water and a little spritz of chlorine when washing chicken eggs.

 

[Scoopers804]

Hi all.. I'm in a huge rush at the moment, but came across this page and just have to save it so I can read all the advice and opinions when I get a chance!

This is exactly the dilemma I've been having too, as my chickens just started laying a few days ago! Yay!

But .. now that they're here... what do I do now? Lol...

OK well... I'll definitely chime in later! Gotta run!

Have fun out here!

 

[nicnac2112]

This has been a huge question for me as well...i have looked endlessly on the net and as per usual there are a number of answers....this is not the first time i have come across a webpage stating this...thought that maybe everyone would like to check it out...

http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/7663/how-long-can-i-keep-eggs-in-the-refrigeratorhttp:/

this webpage offers info on oil treatment

http://www.preparednesspro.com/safely-preserving-eggs/


just so ideas for people to check out...not sure if i would be interested in trying the oil treatment but its nice to know that there are options..

 

[Romochickencrazy]

Same here, though my freshest eggs are on the counter in my egg skelter.
Maybe once a week, I get an egg with a tiny bit of dried poop on it, and I have 25 or so hens laying.  A quick spot check with a damp paper towel takes care of it.  In winter, I will get a bit of muddy toe marks on some eggs if they are not collected often enough.  Again, damp paper towel takes care of it if it's too much. 

Wash yours if it bothers you.  I do not keep my eggs 3 months, though in the fall I do start stockpiling my eggs in preparation for molting so I do not have to buy store bought eggs.    I have enough egg customers that I'm lucky if they last 2 weeks in the fridge.  There are far worse ways to pick up germs than eating unwashed eggs - pre-schools, kindergarten, shopping carts, etc.

Well said! I agree completely.... I think you had also mentioned eating dirt as a kid. I'm part of that generation too when kids went outside to play and people were less fearful of germs. I think that's why kids are so sickly these days everything is so germ free kids are not able to build immunities to germs. Anyway to get back on topic I have always washed my eggs but after reading the different views on here I think I will only wash if very dirty.

 

[tmac627]

I don't wash mine. I have coated them in mineral oil and left them on the counter for four months. Did the water test worked fine

 

[qwackers]

Great questions. Duck eggs are different. MPE has led me to beleive that duck eggs have much more bloom than a chicken egg but, I don't have any thing scientific to back up that observation. I just have noticed that when I have washed my muscovy eggs that the bloom is so thick that it is almost waxy. Also that I must use warm water to remove this coating. I mostly use cool water and a little spritz of chlorine when washing chicken eggs.

If they have more bloom does that mean that they would last longer than chicken eggs? Yeah I've noticed when I wash mine they go all slimy and sticky so always dry them off. Read somewhere earlier that cold water opens the pores in the shell so sucks in any bacteria once the bloom has gone so warm keeps them closed.

 

[farmgirl06]

That article in Forbes was eggs-cellent! Is that salmonella vaccine available to the average 'hobby farmer' in Missouri with only 9 hens and 1 rooster?

We vaccinate our dogs, cats, and cows.. I guess a shot for the chickens isn't out of the question!