egg (idea)

Storing Eggs

Short-term (refrigerator)

Regrigerated eggs last about three to four weeks in their shells, although it is recommended to use them within seven to ten days to avoid unwanted bacterial infection. The integrity of an egg is severely compromised when it is removed from its shell. Eggs refrigerated without shells last only three to four days. This is because of the quick rate at which egg yolks become rotten. Separating the yolks from the egg whites allows one to refrigerate the yolks for three to four days and the whites for up to a week.

Freezers unlock the potential to store eggs for up to an entire year. Freezing eggs in their shells is simply out of the question. When frozen, egg yolks expand to the point that their shells would crack. This leaves two acceptable methods of freezing eggs: beaten or unbeaten. Unbeaten eggs should be stored in small quantities of one or two eggs in a Ziploc bag. If they were stored in greater quantities, the purpose of leaving the eggs intact would become obsolete. Beaten eggs are appropriate for the cases where many eggs are to be cooked at once. Beaten eggs may be frozen in either Ziploc bags or plastic, Tupperware containers.

Thawing becomes the next question concerning long-term egg storage. The best way to thaw frozen eggs is simply to return them to the refrigerator until completely thawed. Two to three tablespoons of thawed, beaten egg is the equivalent of one egg. To help the thawing process, sugar or salt may be added to the beaten egg mixture before freezing. A teaspoon of sugar (for sweet dishes) or salt (for main dishes) per cup of egg will suffice to keep the yolk from gelatinating.