Egg mysteries

[Macboy]

We have an eight year old and a five year old who took it upon themselves to dye about five dozen easter eggs (non-boiled). I was just digging around online to see what can be done with them after easter passes thinking as long as the dyes didn't penetrate into the egg they'd be fine to eat. However everything I found online said "Don't, don't, don't". Not because of the dyes....because they'd been at room temp for more than two hours.

Now shift to the sailor in me. I've been researching cruising related food things like making my own yogurt on board, storing fresh and canned stuff and the topic of eggs without refrigeration. I had come to the conclusion that eggs that hadn't been processed (eggs that aren't machine processed and inoculated with anything in a factory) could be stored at room temperature (on a sailboat) without any concern. Now I'm doubting my conclusions. What say the collective sailors here?

 

[Ken13559]

I too am confused. Annually I made long distance trips and was told raw eggs last longer than hard boil eggs. Sounds funny to me.

 

[Gunni]

When we cruise eggs are a one breakfast treat, the remainder get hard boiled and made into egg salad for the out days. Some foods just don’t belong on a boat. Raw eggs are one, milk is another.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

Eggs, properly treated can be kept for weeks aboard, no refrig. Non processed yard eggs, dipped into boiling water quickly to seal, or waxed, do just fine.

Mayo is another thing that can b kept for months. as long as you don't stick contaminated spoons in it- I use squeeze bottles

 

[Apex]

you are correct about eggs not processed. If store bought, or already refrigerated, then they need to be kept cold.

 

[dlochner]

In the US the egg producers wash eggs to make them look nice and white (or brown) and clean. Doing this removes the naturally occurring protective coating allows them to remain at room temperature for quite some time, thus they need to be refrigerated.

In other parts of the world, eggs are not washed and the protective coating remains. This seals the egg and they can be stored at room temperature for a long time. The down side is that they are pretty ugly and have all kinds of dirt and chicken droppings on them.

 

[uncledom]

In the US the egg producers wash eggs to make them look nice and white (or brown) and clean. Doing this removes the naturally occurring protective coating allows them to remain at room temperature for quite some time, thus they need to be refrigerated.

In other parts of the world, eggs are not washed and the protective coating remains. This seals the egg and they can be stored at room temperature for a long time. The down side is that they are pretty ugly and have all kinds of dirt and chicken droppings on them.

Technically, isn’t an egg a chicken dropping?

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

In the US the egg producers wash eggs to make them look nice and white (or brown) and clean. Doing this removes the naturally occurring protective coating allows them to remain at room temperature for quite some time, thus they need to be refrigerated.

In other parts of the world, eggs are not washed and the protective coating remains. This seals the egg and they can be stored at room temperature for a long time. The down side is that they are pretty ugly and have all kinds of dirt and chicken droppings on them.

Yep- I get my eggs from a lady friend who raises chickens. GENUINE free range

 

[Skipper]

Technically, isn’t an egg a chicken dropping?

Yes. It's called "eggscrement".

 

[Macboy]

One of my side hustles here is working for a BC fruit grower selling their wares at the markets here. There are always egg producers at these markets. I'll have to ask if any of them can provide unsullied eggs to customers. I bet health Canada or our provincial health body doesn't allow it. I'll let you all know.

For the record, the yogurt was OK but very tart. And the recipe used powdered whole milk which I could only find at specialty Caribbean food shops so it was dear $$. But I won't give up that experiment either.

 

[Ken13559]

Yes. It's called "eggscrement".

Yah wait till you drink that coffee from Indonesia. The coffee bean was ingressed by the wild cat and passed out from its bottom. Then the farmer grind it to powder for coffee.

 

[senang]

An old trick to try the freshness of an egg. Fill a pan/bucket etc. with fresh water. Carefully drop lay the egg on the bottom. If it stays laying on the bottom egg is OK. If it is only on the bottom with only 1 end, good to eat right away but not fresh. If it floats to the surface, do not eat!

 

[Will Gilmore]

In the US the egg producers wash eggs to make them look nice and white (or brown) and clean. Doing this removes the naturally occurring protective coating allows them to remain at room temperature for quite some time, thus they need to be refrigerated.

In other parts of the world, eggs are not washed and the protective coating remains. This seals the egg and they can be stored at room temperature for a long time. The down side is that they are pretty ugly and have all kinds of dirt and chicken droppings on them.

As a chicken farmer, I have not noticed any coating that is capable of keeping out contaminants when I wash my eggs in water with a brush to get the chicken poop off them. There is no membrane like the ones on the inside of the shell, only layers of uterine residue that can make an egg look darker or spotted. The eggs you buy in the store are already over a month old and will keep for at least a couple of weeks on your kitchen counter after that. If you are stocking up for an extended passage, I would buy my first weeks supply from the store, to save money and anything longer, from a local "chicken lady" who can give you eggs that will last about two months. Refrigeration extends the shelf-life of an egg by at least half again the time an unrefrigerated egg will last. Eggs are a great food to pack for a cruise. The goal of washing them isn't just to make them look pretty, it is to remove salmonella from the outside of the shell. A mild bleach solution will work great before storage. Dying raw eggs will probably color the egg whites inside the eggs, but if the dye is food grade dye, there should be no problems.
If you are interested in more information, the site Backyard Chickens is an excellent homesteader's forum for this kind of stuff. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/ Those people are every bit as friendly and helpful as the SBO population.

A couple of other links of interest: https://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2016/01/how-old-is-average-supermarket-egg.html
https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/eggs/eggcomposition.html
Just some of my wife's chicken-centric artwork to show off.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[dlochner]

As a chicken farmer, View attachment 148149 I have not noticed any coating that is capable of keeping out contaminants when I wash my eggs in water with a brush to get the chicken poop off them. There is no membrane like the ones on the inside of the shell, only layers of uterine residue that can make an egg look darker or spotted. The eggs you buy in the store are already over a month old and will keep for at least a couple of weeks on your kitchen counter after that. If you are stocking up for an extended passage, I would buy my first weeks supply from the store, to save money and anything longer, from a local "chicken lady" View attachment 148150 who can give you eggs that will last about two months. Refrigeration extends the shelf-life of an egg by at least half again the time an unrefrigerated egg will last. Eggs are a great food to pack for a cruise. The goal of washing them isn't just to make them look pretty, it is to remove salmonella from the outside of the shell. A mild bleach solution will work great before storage. Dying raw eggs will probably color the egg whites inside the eggs, but if the dye is food grade dye, there should be no problems.
If you are interested in more information, the site Backyard Chickens is an excellent homesteader's forum for this kind of stuff. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/ Those people are every bit as friendly and helpful as the SBO population.

A couple of other links of interest: https://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2016/01/how-old-is-average-supermarket-egg.html
https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/eggs/eggcomposition.html
View attachment 148151 Just some of my wife's chicken-centric artwork to show off.

-Will (Dragonfly)

Fresh Eggs - Washed or Unwashed?

 

[Will Gilmore]

Yah wait till you drink that coffee from Indonesia. The coffee bean was ingressed by the wild cat and passed out from its bottom. Then the farmer grind it to powder for coffee.

The Civet Cat Coffee (Kopi Luwak Coffee) is the most expensive coffee in the World. I have never tried it, but I can't imagine it is so much better that it is worth the price: an expensive cup of Starbucks coffee is about $2.10 for Grande and Kopi Luwak is between $35 and $100 per cup.
http://www.most-expensive.coffee/

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Will Gilmore]

Fresh Eggs - Washed or Unwashed?

An interesting article, but I am skeptical about the cold water vs warm water. That doesn't make sense to me. As far as "bloom" goes, I don't know, that doesn't sound unreasonable. In any case, eggs will last as long as just about any ocean passage.
I read an article in Cruising World many years ago that suggested wiping the surface of tomatoes down with a mild bleach solution before storing to kill surface bacteria and mold that will cause premature rotting. That sounded like a good idea. Chlorine bleach is used to sanitize drinking water and I don't see why it wouldn't help chicken eggs last longer too. I wouldn't want to make the concentration too heavy though.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Justin_NSA]

Shelf life, 5 - 10 years! Yum!

 

[Will Gilmore]

Shelf life, 5 - 10 years! Yum!

See, another reason we need a 'YUM' emogi. ( :yum: anything?, no. p: , P: , P<: , P; , nothing?)

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[JimInPB]

The Civet Cat Coffee (Kopi Luwak Coffee) is the most expensive coffee in the World. I have never tried it, but I can't imagine it is so much better that it is worth the price

Civet cats are weird critters & a strange sort of cash cow. Civet "extract" (a cleaned up version of the stuff those cats expel when agitated) is used as an ingredient in expensive perfumes. In the old days, it was shipped out of India in the horns of cattle. That stuff is also silly expensive, like a few hundred dollars per pound. It smells so bad, that I can't imagine how it ends up in perfume, but it does. The same with ambergris. Ambergris still fetches a pretty penny to this day, so if you see it floating, grab it (assuming that you know how to identify it correctly).

 

[Will Gilmore]

Civet cats are weird critters & a strange sort of cash cow. Civet "extract" (a cleaned up version of the stuff those cats expel when agitated) is used as an ingredient in expensive perfumes. In the old days, it was shipped out of India in the horns of cattle. That stuff is also silly expensive, like a few hundred dollars per pound. It smells so bad, that I can't imagine how it ends up in perfume, but it does. The same with ambergris. Ambergris still fetches a pretty penny to this day, so if you see it floating, grab it (assuming that you know how to identify it correctly).

This is great stuff Jim. Make a good post on @jssailem 's thread https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i...moves-you-to-share.190572/page-3#post-1444958

- Will (Dragonfly)