Handy tip, if you want to know if an egg's good* or not, without breaking it: pop it in a tall glass of cold water. If it sinks, it's fine. If it floats it's gone off.
[*'good' as in 'still fresh'. Unfortunately it won't tell you if it's full of salmonella, or not!]
>In Europe and Britain, the opposite is true. European Union regulations prohibit the washing of eggs. The idea is that preserving the protective cuticle is more important than washing the gunk off.
UK eggs are unwashed, thus still have their protective cuticles and thus can last much longer unrefrigerated. GP's quote only applies to American eggs, which are washed.
My understanding from such conversations is that eggs in the EU are definitely not washed.
Supermarket caged-hen eggs are generally clean in appearance due to the lack of items that might otherwise stick to the them.
I have found free range supermarket eggs, on the other hand, to sometimes have small features stuck to them.
I'm not sure what accounts for the generally clean appearance of supermarket eggs. Maybe eggs are brushed in some manner to remove obvious dirt. But the washing of eggs is certainly not a legal practice in the EU.
In the other hand, you can have perfectly clean eggs if 1) you use a modern nesting box designed to hide the eggs and 2) provide independent sleeping areas higher to discourage the hens to sleep in the nesting boxes.
You could also scratch the surface with an old credit card or a knife but is better not to use water. Storing eggs in the fridge is also convenient, eggs shells shouldn't be in contact with other eggs.
It's uncommon but it happens - they aren't throwing out the dirty ones.
I have no idea what the most common approach is. Eggs are not in the fridge at the supermarket, so why they would suddenly need to go in there once you get them home, I'm not sure.
Edit: The egg boxes are stacked outside of refrigerators at room temperature.
No, they're not washed. Lack of gunk is due to technique (or just cleaning mechanically) https://www.fsai.ie/faq/egg_washing.html
http://hoaxes.org/weblog/comments/artificial_dirty_eggs
"Artificially Dirty Eggs, 1973, the Dutch egg industry"
(I generally buy duck eggs rather than chicken eggs, though. Don't know if they last longer.)
FUN FACT: a couple of years ago I saw a Twitter thread between two British comedians/columnists/something/etc. trying to out-mock one another, and "I bet you refrigerate your eggs" was one of the lines.
For extra large or jumbo eggs, probably add a minute. Adjust to taste for future batches, 11-12 minutes should be cooked but still a bit darker in the center of the yolk.
Just put them in a pot, not large, with enough water to cover the eggs and no more. Cold water. Add heat, high, and heat to boil for no more than a minute. Remove and put in cool/running water. Results in non-plastic whites and soft yolks.
Though, I prefer poached or scrambled. For boiled, quail eggs are great (and, where I live, also cheaper).
6 - 7 minutes produces an egg where the yolks are not runny but are also not chalky and brittle. They have a creamy texture and deep orange colour. This on toast.
(They're fine to eat immediately after boiling, of course, with the warmth making them actually quite tasty - but it's risky. Until they've done their time in the fridge, they're often difficult to peel and/or they'll have a lot of hard-to-remove skin left on them once peeled.)
Steaming them makes even the ones done with new eggs easy to peel, and they cook without an air pocket in my recent experience.
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_perfect_har...
Why on earth do you put them in a fridge for 12-18 hours? Serious. Are you at a catering company that does these in mass?
The FDA's advice is to "cook eggs until yolks are firm".[1]
[1] - https://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm077342...
Unusual action for a conservative, however.
For perfect hard boiled eggs place the eggs in cold water, some white vinegar, place on high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat once it boils and time for exactly ten minutes.
Remove and peel.
Perfect hardboiled eggs.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Da...
They make perfect steamed eggs every time. Easy to peel too.
All UK chickens are vaccinated against Salmonella so there should be no chance of getting it from eggs. That's one reason why washing is considered unnecessary here.
I think it's most, but not all, chickens. Vaccination is part of the red lion quality brand mark, and approx 80% of birds are part of that; and many farmers not part of it vaccinate too.
Vaccination isn't mandatory. There are some vigorous testing requirements as part of the National Control Programme for salmonella.
Maybe I'm wrong though, has this changed recently?
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm...
> 1.1.3 The Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety of Food (an expert independent group which advises the Food Standards Agency) considered Salmonella in eggs and reported on its findings in May 20011 and considered that the widespread vaccination of egg laying flocks against S. Enteritidis combined with improved flock hygiene measures had had a significant effect on the prevalence of Salmonella contamination of eggs and on salmonellosis in humans. In the UK a voluntary industry operated scheme (British Egg Industry Council) Lion Quality requires its members to vaccinate their layer flocks and to operate to specified hygiene standards. About 85% of egg production belongs to the Lion Quality scheme. In addition many producers who are not members of the scheme also vaccinate their flocks on a voluntary basis.
Ahh, you're right. But I believe that all (or virtually all) eggs sold into the supermarket supply chain carry the red lion mark. The other 15% are presumably used by commercial customers where they are guaranteed to be pasteurised or cooked enough to prevent any onward contamination.
Apparently salmonella vaccine is not typically used in US egg production:
Tonight I also came across "best way to preserve raw eggs is to store them in a solution of slaked lime (you can find it at a building supply store) and water, which, in his test, had a 100 percent success rate after eight months" http://modernfarmer.com/2016/08/bizarre-ways-keep-eggs-fresh...
Tastes kinda gross though (but I might be biased)
It's deadly poisonous. Unless you cook it thrice and discard the water each time.
I can't fathom the thought process that went into finding this out.
For context: according to Wikipedia the yolk contains hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. Hydrogen sulfide produces a distinct "rotten egg" smell, ammonia is basically what makes cat urine smell like cat urine.
I guess it might be an acquired taste and there are likely preparations that make the taste more palatable and mask the smell, but it's fair to say that it's not much of a bias to find century eggs repulsive if you're used to less pungent edibles.
Century egg is definitely one of the weirdest smelling things I have ever eaten. It smells like H2S. Took me back to my chemistry lab sessions.
I cant recall that much of my high school organic chemistry but I would think that H2S would be a degradation product of spoilt eggs
For boiling, if the egg sinks in water it's good, if it floats it's bad.
For frying or anything that needs breaking the egg, I break it carefully so that the yolk will not be broken by the hit, then I dip it into a plate. If the yolk keeps tight and nice the egg is good, if it breaks spontaneously or leaks some liquid, not good.
I've never had any problems and yes, usually they keep fine for a month without problems. I suppose the industry just prefers to be on the safe side with their recommendations.
If you are boiling, you are drawing some water anyway. It isn't a big deal at that point to have test water and add it into the pot when you are done.
The eggs I bought yesterday (I'm in the UK) have a "best before" date printed on them of 4 March, i.e. 2 weeks.
I understand this may be unrealistic for car-dependant US households that have no option but to shop in large batches...
I far prefer shopping for two or three weeks at a time, refrigerating fruits, vegetables, and milk.
Whereas now I can be inside of three convenience stores and a full service grocer within 3 minutes of walking. If I drive I pass several other full grocers on the 8min/2.5 mile trip home.
This is in Milwaukee, not a NY or Sf type of place. Most people in my neighborhood still drive everywhere, you just don't have to.
In cities people typically have a grocery store within 5 to 10 minutes walk from home.
It's not about having a large floor plan, it's about access to fresh food. The Bayview sees the same thing, although as SFGate points out Fresh and Easy did try. They failed too.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Tenderloin-struggles-t...
That really depends on the city, and on which part of the city one lives in: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert
Because I can afford to do so, I choose to live in a nice walkable neighborhood where I do have a grocery store within walking distance, but this is absolutely not the case in most poor urban neighborhoods, including many areas of my city.
This is exactly why attempts to tackle this supposed "food desert" problem have fallen flat on their face. These areas aren't food deserts, they just don't have a mega-store every other block, thus they are incorrectly classified as a food desert.
With some basic cleanup, the USDA could focus on areas that are actual food deserts, where there is a need and their efforts won't go to waste.
Edit: removed extra comma.
Most people there get food from a bodega type place.
That being said, many are quick to dismiss them since they don't have the nicest/largest stores, or the most advanced systems. By doing so your ignoring reality, as that is how most people get their food, hence why they (generally) accept EBT.
In an urban market, these type of stores are 15,000-30,000 sqft. We have a few markets like this in my city, but they are in nicer areas.
Poor folk have corner stores that are <3000 sqft. We don't have the Asian produce markets or Mexican markets that you are thinking of. They generally don't sell produce, and if they do they low quality and 2x expensive.
We had a crisis about a decade ago because 80% of these stores were temporarily shut down after the owners were arrested for accepting food stamps for heroin. They aren't nice places that anyone chooses to do business with.
This is just like the whole "Food Desert" scheme by the USDA, where they try to create stores in areas with local grocers already. For example, they define Tukwila, WA as a food desert [1], yet there are multiple places within the area they defined that stock fresh food and are EBT approved (Seafood City, 99 Ranch, Costco, Cash & Carry, etc).
This is why the attempts to get rid of these supposed deserts fall flat. Those that need or want to shop local already do, at places others like yourself ignore cause they feel they aren't of high enough caliber.
1 - https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-...
Where I live most people go to the supermarket regularly. I go almost daily, for example. As a result, stuff doesn't need to have a very long shelf life (and refrigerators here are, to many of my American friends, hilariously small).
Does it never expire? Looseleaf tea, sugar, honey, spices, salt ... that goes in cabinet.
Does it expire/rot eventually no matter if its hours or months? Simple, all that stuff goes in fridge.
No need to ponder or remember or search two places. If its eternal its stored over there, if its not eternal, it is not.
This has obvious cultural side effect with my people have large fridge and only really use maybe two kitchen cabinets unlike recent trends in American kitchen remodeling where the average kitchen has a relatively modest (stainless steel, of course) fridge with about thirty kitchen cabinets presumably full of butter and eggs and milk or something.
There are even more cultural issues... I've met people who claim to hate the taste of walnut oil because they've been conditioned to believe the only walnut oil that exists is rancid bitter and gross so people like that who none the less for some weird reason like bitter rancid oil will naturally store their oil on the shelf to maximized its awfulness, although I store mine in the fridge and its delicious even though I have to warm it each time I cook with it (ditto butter). Perhaps there are people acclimated to rotten eggs such that they would actively dislike fresh eggs. Kinda like how beer gets skunky after a couple days exposure to sunlight in a closed bottle, there are probably people who actively like skunky beer.
BTW, I don't know about the US, but in Canada, the supply chain often delivers eggs to the store that are 2 weeks old, so it's quite likely that most people have never cooked with a fresh egg before in their life.
I mean, by all means, use super fresh eggs. But as a matter of technique: solvable problem!
Better to steam.
And I have heard similar things about the supply chain in the US. However, I have had a fresh egg that was no more than 24 hours old (I think younger) and I didn't really notice a difference. Then again, I think it was scrambled, so I don't know if you can tell anyways.
The supermarket supply chain seems to turn them over much faster. Poached eggs are much more popular, perhaps for that very reason!
That was the second chicken coop on our block.
Unwashed eggs may have muck on the surface. Germs can't enter the egg while it's dry. That's essentially both sides of the game, there.
Putting a mucky egg in a moist environment (like a fridge) provides a transmittable medium. Doesn't matter that it's cold, it's not cold enough to kill (eg) salmonella. That enters the egg and may be a significant enough volume to cause its consumer problems.
In Europe and many other countries, their version of the USDA have teams that regularly test flocks droppings for salmonella, and where it is found, the whole flock is culled and the section of the farm is cleaned and left fallow. They also have cleaning rooms where the farmer/workers change into salmonella free suits prior to interacting with the flock.
Hence why Europe has fewer issues with salmonella, its very rare in eggs over there.
Same thing with the lies the federal government spews about eggs. Which when you have your own chickens you realize that one, eggs are not white, ever wonder how they get white? You should, and the yolks are a bright orange not yellow and taste so much better.
It's like looking at a farm raised salmon fillet in the store sitting next to a wild salmon fillet. The farm raised is pale and sick looking.
There is a reason the government has lied to you about eggs and raw milk "safety". It's not about safety it's about protecting massive agribusiness. Period.
People before refrigeration and the FDA in the country were not dying from raw milk and unrefrigerated eggs. Downvoting me for this is ignorant. It's a fact. And half the people from the U.K. posting are telling you basically the same thing about eggs I said. Store bought eggs in the US are sickly and gross. Eggs from your own chicken or a neighbors keep for a very long time unrefrigerated.
Eggs are white of course. Not all of them, but some are white. There is a small trick. Look at the hen. If the nude round skin patch covering the ears is white; their eggs will be naturally white also. There are a lot of chicken races with this characteristic, Leghorns for example. Marans instead lay dark chocolate eggs
Yolk can be naturally yellow, orange or even green. It depends on the diet of the mother. More diverse the foods, more carothenes and more orange in the yolk. If you feed your chicken fishes the yolk will be greenish (and also fish flavoured with a poor taste, so you shouldn't do this)
> The farm raised salmon is pale and sick looking.
Salmon diet contains carothenes since decades. They just have more (whitish) fat content.
Believe it or not, you can.
I think the quote is absurd. And anyone who grew up in a rural setting knows it's absurd and a total falsehood.
Eggs taken straight from a chicken and left out will be fine for quite a while.
What do you think people in the country did before refrigerators?
This is the same absurd nonsense that led to fedgov screaming raw milk was the devil.
Lies lies and more lies.
"A refrigerated egg, no matter the source, will be good for four or five weeks. Unrefrigerated eggs are best used within a week, though they may be fine for two."
So, one would want to refrigerate eggs (washed or unwashed) anyway if they're not all going to be used immediately.