Egg mysteries
- Thread starter Macboy
- Start date
dlochner's advice is exactly what I've heard from at least a couple egg farmers... Eggs "come out" very resistant to going bad... weeks or months without refrigeration is allegedly fine. It is the washing process that makes the outer layer more permeable to bad critters, and thus they then need to be refrigerated. Personally I keep 'em cold at home, and don't keep 'em on the boat at all. I find them just too fragile to deal with on a boat... regardless of whether they're kept cold or not. I do know at least two people/families who keep eggs in the cupboard, not the fridge... My grandmother actually does this with store-bought eggs (NOT RECOMMENDED) which HAVE been washed, and she's made it to 96 years old, and still going strong. Even if fresh eggs don't get rotten while being stored in the cupboard, I'm not sure if storing chicken poop in a place you're storing food is a good idea either. Ideally, (and it's not worth the hassle if you ask me) I would guess it is best to store them unwashed, but separated from other foods, to keep the excrement off everything else, and then wash them right before using, to avoid contaminating the insides with excrement when you crack the egg. For my breakfast on the boat, I'll take cereal with ultra-pasteurized milk that can be stored on the shelf until opening... or oatmeal... and an omelette once I'm back ashore.
I won't argue with the idea that washing eggs shortens their shelf life, it could be. I just don't know. But, I would guess it is the 45 days to market that is harder on their shelf life.
- Will (Dragonfly)
When I was on submarines the cooks would store huge boxes of eggs in cool spaces on the boat, not the refrigerator. Usually good for a month to 6 weeks.
I remember reading a piece by Lynn Pardey about storing them in the bilge (in clean sealed cartons) after carefully cleaning them and then using mineral oil to coat the shells .. ya had to turn the carton over every week or so ..??
For omelets I use the stuff like Egg Beaters .. stores well in frige and is sealed so it doesn't spill..
For omelets I use the stuff like Egg Beaters .. stores well in frige and is sealed so it doesn't spill..
Although I have never tried it myself I am told by experienced cruisers that eggs do not need to be refrigerated. They need to be turned every so often when stored but I am not sure why.
As far a breaking, these work well for us. I've got to have my eggs in the morning. onboard or onshore. 
available at every box store also:
https://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/...X8t60PBv4770UeGXZKlF78zD_hY1XgOxoC0RIQAvD_BwE
available at every box store also: https://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/...X8t60PBv4770UeGXZKlF78zD_hY1XgOxoC0RIQAvD_BwE
We have a couple half-dozen sizes for the boat. Easier to stow than one larger oneAs far a breaking, these work well for us. I've got to have my eggs in the morning. onboard or onshore.
https://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/...X8t60PBv4770UeGXZKlF78zD_hY1XgOxoC0RIQAvD_BwE
1/ in the olden days sailors would coat eggs with vaseline and they'd keep unrefrigerated for weeks. 2/ i am constantly amazed with the obscure and interesting knowledge of the members on this forum. happy eater or passover, your choice.
I read that in an issue of Sail magazine in the 70's. You could say it was in the olden days.
I routinely keep my plain-old, mass-produced, store-bought eggs on the counter for over a week, or take them on a 5 day camping trip without putting them in the cooler. I'll also keep them unrefrigerated on our boat, but that's only for three days max. Back when I used to go to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, I'd bring eggs and bacon without refrigeration for up to 6 days.
But then I also don't refrigerate my ketchup or mustard either, so I guess I'm just a risk-taker at heart.
But then I also don't refrigerate my ketchup or mustard either, so I guess I'm just a risk-taker at heart.
I found this link on storing food aboard without refrigerations...
http://www.sailingbreezes.com/sailing_breezes_current/articles/may03/refrigeration.htm
No refrig needed...
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kraft-Velveeta-Cheese-16-oz/10295586
Milk...
https://www.amazon.com/Parmalat-Who...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0074UZV2G
Fresh eggs aboard daily....
Jim...
http://www.sailingbreezes.com/sailing_breezes_current/articles/may03/refrigeration.htm
No refrig needed...
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kraft-Velveeta-Cheese-16-oz/10295586
Milk...
https://www.amazon.com/Parmalat-Who...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0074UZV2G
Fresh eggs aboard daily....
Jim...
The misinformation concerning eggs is staggering.
The truth could not be simpler. Fresh, unrefrigerated eggs straight from the chicken's tuchus will still be edible for MONTHS, not weeks. They are one of nature's great miracles.
Washing/rinsing them (a la store-bought eggs) to make them look clean and pretty reduces their unrefrigerated shelf life to just days.
Turning them, storing them in lime, or sawdust, or any other media, coating them with lard, wax, etc, singing to them, putting magic spells on them ... etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum ... ALL OF THESE THINGS are ineffective at best, often counter productive. Don't waste your time.
A bad egg will not lie on its side when immersed in fresh water. A bad egg will smell bad. Otherwise, the worst you will experience is reduced flavor and/or texture.
Believe me or don't. I am an old-school, bunker-dwelling survivalist nutjob. I know these things.
The truth could not be simpler. Fresh, unrefrigerated eggs straight from the chicken's tuchus will still be edible for MONTHS, not weeks. They are one of nature's great miracles.
Washing/rinsing them (a la store-bought eggs) to make them look clean and pretty reduces their unrefrigerated shelf life to just days.
Turning them, storing them in lime, or sawdust, or any other media, coating them with lard, wax, etc, singing to them, putting magic spells on them ... etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum ... ALL OF THESE THINGS are ineffective at best, often counter productive. Don't waste your time.
A bad egg will not lie on its side when immersed in fresh water. A bad egg will smell bad. Otherwise, the worst you will experience is reduced flavor and/or texture.
Believe me or don't. I am an old-school, bunker-dwelling survivalist nutjob. I know these things.
So, has anyone ever tested or even read about tests around any of this? I've only read statements that this is the way it is or that is the way it is. I've never read about any official or unofficial testing of these statements about how long eggs last.
It could be an easy experiment to setup. The problem is defining and identifying a bad egg. A rotten egg is easy to identify but a bad egg, one that is just past edible and will make you sick? It isn't the rotten eggs that are the danger, it is the growth of salmonella inside the egg and other bacteria that push the egg towards rotten but haven't yet rotted the egg that you don't want to eat. Eggs sink in water. Rotten eggs begin to off-gas so they float. But, there may be a condition between those two states when it isn't a good idea to eat them.
However, if you use the float test as your standard. Then you can setup an experiment. Set a dozen store bought eggs on the counter (test group 1), set another dozen in the refrigerator (test group 2). Put a third and fourth dozen in a pot of water that has been boiled for 10 minutes and allowed to cool while covered to sanitize and test the freshly bought store eggs for floating. They should all be good and they should all lay fully on the bottom of the pot. Take them out and dry them off. They are control groups A and B. Put control group A on the counter and control group B in the refrigerator. Wait a week, test control group A and control group B in water again. If there is an egg in either group that is bad, test the eggs in the test groups. Don't let them stay in the water any longer than needed to determine their status. If and when there is more than two eggs that are bad, consider the group as bad, that is how long they last. Two eggs in a store bought dozen could be older that it's fellow, I don't know, but statistically, three seems more significant where two outliers seem likely. You could keep going with the experiment until all the eggs went bad. Just to see if they go bad as a group and at what rate. One a day, or one on day one, one on day two, two on day three, three on day four and the rest on day five, or all of them go bad together.
Maybe there will be one or more eggs that never float.
Maybe I'll try it and compare to fresh coop eggs washed and unwashed. The problem there is the testing could wash away the blume that is suppose to protect the eggs. Then you don't have unwashed eggs any more.
- Will (Dragonfly)
It could be an easy experiment to setup. The problem is defining and identifying a bad egg. A rotten egg is easy to identify but a bad egg, one that is just past edible and will make you sick? It isn't the rotten eggs that are the danger, it is the growth of salmonella inside the egg and other bacteria that push the egg towards rotten but haven't yet rotted the egg that you don't want to eat. Eggs sink in water. Rotten eggs begin to off-gas so they float. But, there may be a condition between those two states when it isn't a good idea to eat them.
However, if you use the float test as your standard. Then you can setup an experiment. Set a dozen store bought eggs on the counter (test group 1), set another dozen in the refrigerator (test group 2). Put a third and fourth dozen in a pot of water that has been boiled for 10 minutes and allowed to cool while covered to sanitize and test the freshly bought store eggs for floating. They should all be good and they should all lay fully on the bottom of the pot. Take them out and dry them off. They are control groups A and B. Put control group A on the counter and control group B in the refrigerator. Wait a week, test control group A and control group B in water again. If there is an egg in either group that is bad, test the eggs in the test groups. Don't let them stay in the water any longer than needed to determine their status. If and when there is more than two eggs that are bad, consider the group as bad, that is how long they last. Two eggs in a store bought dozen could be older that it's fellow, I don't know, but statistically, three seems more significant where two outliers seem likely. You could keep going with the experiment until all the eggs went bad. Just to see if they go bad as a group and at what rate. One a day, or one on day one, one on day two, two on day three, three on day four and the rest on day five, or all of them go bad together.
Maybe there will be one or more eggs that never float.
Maybe I'll try it and compare to fresh coop eggs washed and unwashed. The problem there is the testing could wash away the blume that is suppose to protect the eggs. Then you don't have unwashed eggs any more.
- Will (Dragonfly)
Gene when the fan hits the $h&& may you have your head down and your back to the wall..
Yeah yeah Yeah.... nobody believes you. Look at the survival BOTTLE in you hand.
Plus NUTS are a good survivalist food!
Well said, thus my Picture of a laying hen.
________
Almost a good experiment.
What was the temperature of the refrigerator? How many times did you open the refrig door?Also you need to buy your eggs from 4 different egg suppliers and a minimum of 12 eggs from each. Also wear masks and new gloves when handling [also avoid "tuchus" contamination
]. Now this is a publishable "Statically designed experiment".Jim...
