Alright y’all, let’s talk farm fresh eggs for a second.
When you have a fortunate supply of eggs sitting on your counter from your own chickens, they can get a little questionable at times. I mean, everyday you gather and everyday they pile. When it comes time to washing them and storing them in the fridge, you want to make sure those bad boys are safe to eat.
This is a skill that will come in very handy once you have a plethora of eggs coming into your kitchen. And if you haven’t figured it out by now, we are all about building the skills to better the quality of life.
Right? Right!
Before we talk about one sure way to put them to the “are you safe to eat” test, let’s answer a few frequently asked questions.
How do you store your farm fresh eggs?
Farm fresh eggs can be safely store out of the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Now, I have to exaggerate the words “farm fresh.” Eggs are laid with what is called a bloom on it. This is a natural protectant layer that does not allow any bacteria to enter into the egg. Eggs are actually porous so when that bloom is washed off, like store bought eggs, they MUST be stored in the refrigerator.
Can you store duck eggs on the counter also?
Yes! The same concept as our farm fresh chicken eggs applies to our farm fresh duck eggs.
What do I do once I want to eat my eggs that have been sitting on my counter?
You will do the “float” test which we will get into in just a second but first it is best to gently rinse your eggs in cool to luke warm water. If your eggs are really dirty, like duck eggs, you can take a soft wash cloth and gently scrub off any debris while running the egg under water.
It is not advised that you use any soap during the rinsing process. We just learned that eggs are porous right, so it is highly possible that soap residue can seep into your egg.
Now…for the “float” test! To float or not to float, that is the question.
Here is what you do:
Fill a nice size bowl with cool water.
After rinsing your eggs, place egg in the bowl of water.
If it floats…..IT IS BAD.
If it sinks…..IT IS GOOD.
If one end rises while the other end is touching the bottom of the bowl……HOMIE IS ON IT’S WAY OUT. Y’ALL BETTER EAT IT QUICK.
What does our float test actually mean?
If your egg stays at the bottom of your bowl, then the bloom is still protecting the egg from any bacteria. There is no air or possible contaminates getting through that shell.
If your egg floats that means the egg has been sitting on your counter for too long. Once this happens the bloom has disintegrated, allowing air and possible contaminated to be trapped inside causing the egg to…well…float!
Our routine is…
We gather eggs daily and place them in a tin bowl in our open working pantry. Each day the bowl is filled. Once every two weeks or so, I rinse and scrub all our eggs (I have to scrub because we have mostly duck eggs. And ducks are just the dirtiest little F-ers ever) I lay them out on a towel to dry and then I place them in a carton and put them in the fridge.
I’ll also preserve them if necessary.
If we have more than two 18 count cartons in the fridge, I will preserve the remaining eggs using our freeze dryer. ***Side note, if you have ever contemplated getting a freeze dryer but the price has stopped you…GET THE FREEZE DRYER. It is a huge investment but one of the best investments we’ve made on our homestead yet. Well, besides our garden tractor. Freeze drying is the SIMPLEST way to preserve food and from someone who loves all things food preservation, this is our main way to preserve now.
With the remaining eggs, I simple whip them up as if I were making scrambled eggs pour them into the freeze dryer trays place them in the freeze dryer and that is it! Once they are done it turns them into what looks like a styrofoam sheet. I crumble it up until it turns into powder, place it in a mylar bag and they are good for the next 25 years!
Yes you heard that right….25 years!
If you want to take the leap into the freeze dryer world head on over here. (affiliate link)
That is it y’all. I wish I had something a little more philosophical for you. I know we are all looking for the answer to life especially in the world we live in today, but all I got for you is whether that egg you got sittin’ on your counter is safe to eat or not!
Till next time…
Keep that dirt under your fingers nails!
Leave a Reply