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Egg Safety
- Eggs can harbour a bacterium called salmonella. Salmonella can cause food poisoning and even death.
- The only way we can be absolutely certain of not being infected with salmonella is by only eating eggs that are well cooked, with hard yolks (yolks not being runny at all).
How to Tell if an Egg is Old
- Eggs are formed with space for air to collect at the wide end. It's the amount of air in this space that determines the age and quality of the egg and how best to cook it.
- In newly laid eggs, the air pocket is hardly there, but as days or weeks pass, more air gets in and the pocket grows while at the same time the moisture content of the egg begins to evaporate.
- Eggs are freshest when the yolk looks rounded, plump and sits up proudly. The white has a thicker, gelatinous layer that clings all around the yolk and a thinner outer layer. After a week the yolk is flatter and the two separate textures of white are not quite so visible.
- If you want a lovely neat, rounded shape egg when you fry or poach it, use only the freshest eggs.
- To see if an egg is fresh, do this simple test: Place the egg in a glass of cold water; if it sinks to a completely horizontal position, it is very fresh; if it tilts up slightly or to a semi-horizontal position, it could be up to a week old; if it floats into a vertical position, then it is stale. However, this test will not work if the egg has even a hairline crack that would allow air in.
How to Buy and Store Eggs
- Buy your eggs from a supplier who has a large turnover.
- Check the 'best before' date on the pack.
- Eggs are best stored in the refrigerator but when you are making a cake or if you want a good omelette, remove the eggs from the fridge at least half an hour before using them.
- Buy eggs in small quantities if you are not using them often.
- The very best way to store eggs is to keep them in their own closed, lidded boxes.
- Egg shells are porous and therefore the eggs can absorb the flavours and aromas of other strong foods, so close the boxes and keep them fairly isolated, particularly if you're storing them in the fridge.
- Don't wash eggs before storing them. Washing may remove the invisible protective coating surrounding the shell, allowing bacteria to enter.
- Wash hands and utensils thoroughly after handling raw eggs.
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- Cook eggs thoroughly. To kill bacteria, fry an egg for three minutes per side, poach for five minutes in total, and boil for at least seven minutes. Cook until both yolk and egg white are firm. Scramble eggs until they're no longer runny. Sunny-side up eggs with runny yolks are a health risk.
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