Room temperature eggs

*This original thread was started on 3/25/12.*

I saw on an episode of Doomsday Preppers where a lady was able to store eggs at room temperature for 9-12 months. She said that she coated them in mineral oil and just set them on the shelf.

When chickens lay eggs, there is a substance surrounding the egg called the Bloom. This is a kind of membrane that seals the porous shell of the egg and prevents bacteria from getting inside of the egg and spoiling it. As long as the bloom is not washed away, eggs can be stored at room temperature for several weeks, as they apparently do in many parts of Europe.

In the US, eggs are washed before being sent to stores, thus opening up the pores of an egg's shell. The only way to keep them fresh is by refrigeration. The idea behind the mineral oil, is that it mimics the bloom and keeps the egg sealed from bacteria.

I decided to conduct my own experiment to see how well this works with store bought eggs in the US. I purchased a carton of six eggs from the store and took them home to store them at room temperature. The purchase date was 25 MAR 12. I coated all six eggs in Bag Balm, as I do not have any mineral oil, and marked the box. At the same time, I selected two eggs from my refrigerator, also marked them with the date, and set them inside an opened sandwich baggie to prevent them from rolling away.

The plan is to eat one bag balm covered egg each month, so that by the last egg, it will be 6 months old. The two eggs in the bag will be eaten if I think they are safe.

**It has been brought to my attention that any marking of eggs directly on the shell should use pencil instead of Sharpie, so as not to leach chemicals from the Sharpie into the egg. It was also mentioned that any chemicals in the Bag Balm could leach through as well.**

Here are the pictures:

The six eggs to be coated and eaten:
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMAG0406.jpg

The eggs all prepared:
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMAG0407.jpg

Where they will be stored:
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMAG0409.jpg

Someone chimed in on the original thread that there is a simple rule of thumb test that I can use to determine if the eggs have gone bad. When placed into a pot of water, a good egg will sink to the bottom and lay flat, while a spoiled egg will float. The egg may stand on one end as it starts to go bad.

I am thankful for this test being mentioned, as my control egg that was uncoated and stored in the open baggie immediately floated and was definitely bad. I've taken some videos to show. I'll post the rest of the videos and the pictures tomorrow.





Here they are cooked. In both of these pictures, the "old" egg is the one on the right half.
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMAG0514.jpg
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMAG0515.jpg

Okay, it has been just over 12 hours since I ate the 1.5 month old egg, and I have not died or vomited.

Did you eat them with green ham, Sam I am?

I had 12 strips of control bacon for this experiment.

Very cool. Interesting that the fresh egg (control) was on end.

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Originally Posted by Irving

I had 12 strips of control bacon for this experiment.

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Bacon makes everything right.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by roberth

Bacon makes everything right.

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It sure does. I have 10 lbs curing right now. Next Tuesday it gets smoked. Yummy.

Okay, all videos and pictures are up.

Was about to head to the gym, looks like a trip to IHOP is an order.

Thanks for redoing your post on the eggs as I really wanted to see the outcome. What was the control bacon?

Turkey bacon from Costco. I didn't store the bacon at room temperature. I look forward to eating the rest of the eggs. I'm pretty impressed that my 1.5 month egg was better than the fridge egg. I mean, that is just a fluke, but it made an impression on me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GilpinGuy

It sure does. I have 10 lbs curing right now. Next Tuesday it gets smoked. Yummy.

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Do you have a bacon recipe for how to cure, smoke times, etc?

I'd also like to get ideas for a source for pork belly (is that what you use for bacon?).

This egg experiment has me quite fascinated. After being taught all of my life that eggs need to be refrigerated to be kept fresh (but not for long, apparently), I'm amazed that an egg coated to prevent air entering the shell could possibly be edible 1.5 months later after sitting on the counter the whole time.

This certainly changes things.

I believe a large supply of mineral oil may be in order for my supply list.

I'm offended this test did not include this "control bacon"

http://cmmginc.secure-mall.com/item/...cal-Bacon-1325

Haha, perhaps it should have. My lab assistant (cat) suggested the control bacon at the last second.

I'm surprised that not a single person has commented on the two easter eggs in the first video yet.

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Originally Posted by theGinsue

Do you have a bacon recipe for how to cure, smoke times, etc?

I'd also like to get ideas for a source for pork belly (is that what you use for bacon?).

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PM Sent.

When I was in New Zealand and Australia I noticed they did not have their eggs in the refrigerated sections in any of the markets. I don't know how long they stored them though & I didn't get sick eating them.

The "Fresh" egg half floated again; while the "Old" egg sunk straight to the bottom and laid flat. Although, I just checked the date on the side of the carton in the fridge, and it says Apr 14, 12. So I guess they are a little old. Here are some pictures, video of the float test tomorrow.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-i...3/IMAG0624.jpg

"Old" egg is the one on the top.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z...3/IMAG0625.jpg

"Old" egg is again on the top. I broke the yoke when I tried to flip it.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-M...3/IMAG0628.jpg

Float test:

In the What to watch next section at the end of your videos are "How to make homemade popsicles" and "Perfect French Macaroons" . . . a few more videos and Food Network might me calling.

So, how it tasted?

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Originally Posted by Waywardson174

In the What to watch next section at the end of your videos are "How to make homemade popsicles" and "Perfect French Macaroons" . . . a few more videos and Food Network might me calling.

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That's funny because eggs are about the only thing that I can cook, and I still screw them up. Those for sure aren't my videos.

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Originally Posted by Dr_Fwd

So, how it tasted?

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They tasted just fine. I added salt and pepper to them after I took that first picture of them in the pot. They did taste different, but it was because I broke the yoke on the "Old" egg so it had a different consistency.

So it wasn't different because of petroleum jelly?

Not that I could taste. My theory on this is that the shell is porous, but since the whole thing is sealed up, there should be no reason that anything will transfer into, or out of the egg. Remember that the shell may be porous, but the yolk still doesn't leak out. Petroleum jelly has a much more thick consistency than the yolk, so it shouldn't seep through to the inside either.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Irving

Not that I could taste. My theory on this is that the shell is porous, but since the whole thing is sealed up, there should be no reason that anything will transfer into, or out of the egg. Remember that the shell may be porous, but the yolk still doesn't leak out. Petroleum jelly has a much more thick consistency than the yolk, so it shouldn't seep through to the inside either.

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Nice!

This experiment rocks, by the way. I'm looking forward to the next several months' eggs. It takes me back to my Biochem lab in college. We took old (over a year old) eggs and did a bunch of tests on them, then extracted the cholesterol from the yolk at the end. I don't remember them smelling bad or looking any different than any other eggs, although I wouldn't eat 'em.

If you get a bad one though, it may be a fluke. I would bet that, because the shell is porous, some stuff may have gotten through the shell before it got to the jellied stage. Great experiment, keep it up!

Thanks for watching. I planned to do this on the 25th of each month, but now that the eggs are at 80 days at room temperature, I think that is old enough to get the point across and not worry about the date.

So last night I clumsily knocked my egg container onto the floor, cracking two of the remaining four eggs. Not a huge deal since today would be the day for eating month three.

*side note* I think the petroleum jelly helped keep the shell together *

I threw the two eggs into the water for the float test and did not use an egg out of the fridge as a test. I didn't want to eat any eggs, let alone three eggs. Both eggs sunk to the bottom. One of the eggs had the slightest tendancy to stand on one in, but so slight you might not even notice. Certainly leds than the "fresh" eggd from the last two months. Also, one of the eggs didn't keep the yolk together when I cracked it open. I don't know if the shells being compromised caused the partial float and runny yolk.

I cooked them up and ate them. They both tasted fine. I've still got two eggs and two months to go.

Lastly, I have access to fresh, unwashed eggs from someone with some chickens in Boulder if I want. I didn't want them to know what I was doing with the eggs in case they freaked out about me sueing them if I got sick. However, they know the expirement I'm doing and WANT me to do it with their eggs to see how long their eggs will last compared to store bought.

This thread is awesomely instructive. Hope you don't die. ;) Thanks for posting!

good stuff

It was my understanding (which could be wrong) that the floating/sinking thing has to do with the air space in the egg. The older the (unsealed) egg, the larger the air space as the contents lose moisture. I'd guess that your sealing them has helped with that.

There are multiple threads about storing eggs without refrigeration on the survivalpodcast forum. Here is just one.


http://thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/...?topic=33576.0

i pickle my eggs i want to store long term. my family loves my pickled eggs ;)

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Originally Posted by jreifsch80

i pickle my eggs i want to store long term. my family loves my pickled eggs ;)

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Do you also fuel your generator with the byproduct from consuming pickled eggs ? [LOL]

Found this article done by Mother Earth News where they do a test with 60 dozen eggs.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Susta...resh-Eggs.aspx

Recently the wife and I acquired 5 hens and a rooster. Awesome layers for sure and they can produce more than we can eat in a week so Saturday I grabbed an 18 pack carton and applied some mineral oil to the eggs. They're in the top of the pantry right now and we'll see how things go in 1 month's time for starters.

I think the long term trick will be figuring out safe storage for them. Not sure if the mineral oil will attract insects, rodents, etc., just yet. Guess we'll find out.




Badger

Badger, if you have fresh eggs and dont wash them they are supposedcto keep 6 monthes withoutvthe petrolium jelly. So, you may have a natural advantage having your own hens. We have had hens and fresh eggs for years. Ive never tried for 6 months but i know we have left the eggs on the counter unwashed for 2 weeks with no issues when eating them.

Wow, thats a lot of bacon! Interesting idea storing eggs like that too. Ill have to give it a go sometime. Eggs are the best part of breakfast (besides the bacon of course).