A question about eggs..

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tomtom

Full Member
Dec 9, 2003
4,283
5
39
Sunny South Devon
Can enyone tell me roughly how long a boild and raw egg will take to go off in an avarage out door UK climate i.e. not to hot, out of direct sunlight im not looking for definative answers just a rough idea.

Cheers
TT
 
Tricky and as an ex-chef i should know this! :)

As most raw eggs have a "use by" date on them now that would be a good guide. This may be extended by a day or two in colder climates but i wouldn't push it much past that.

For boiled, i would say 2-3 days tops. The shell will crack during boiling and this will allow air to escape but also air at the egg. This will increase the rate of bacterial growth compared to a "sealed" raw egg. I would go with a degree of caution to be honest and say no more than 48hrs after it has been boiled.
 
I recently found a nest with 21 eggs in. Now i've only got 3 chickens left (thanks Mr Fox), but even if all 3 were laying in the same place, which they weren't, the oldest would be atleast 7 days old. The eggs weren't being sat on by any of the hens, just left hidden under some bracken in the woods.

We ate them all and they were still very, very fresh.

Hope this helps :confused:

Dave
 
Not sure if I am teaching you to suck eggs, but the egg will float in water if it has gone off. If it sinks, eat it........
 
The eggs from our chickens will keep for several weeks in a cool place. I'd say the 5 weeks it says on the BBC link is erring well on side of caution to allow for the time it takes the egg takes to get into the carton and to your fridge! Wouldn't surprise me if some of the still fresh eggs I've got are 6 or 7 weeks old, I'm not too good at keeping track of what was laid when! Just check like Jon says and you'll soon know if it is OK to eat.
 
Now I can't get a direct quote for this, but i'm sure I've read somewhere that if you coat a fresh egg in lard or fat to stop air exchange, it'll keep for up to 7 months, yes seven months without going off.
Supermarket eggs are anything up to 3 weeks old before they reach the shelves and then have a few weeks worth of "Sell by" left - perhaps to encourage you to throw the old ones and buy even more.
ArkAngel, I think you're being a bit overcautious by extending the sell-by by a "few days".

ATB

Ogri the trog
 
tomtom said:
Can enyone tell me roughly how long a boild and raw egg will take to go off in an avarage out door UK climate i.e. not to hot, out of direct sunlight im not looking for definative answers just a rough idea.

Cheers
TT

Don't know, I get round finding out by using powdered egg for raw egg and pickled eggs, decanted into a lightweight container, for boiled.
 
Ogri the trog said:
.
ArkAngel, I think you're being a bit overcautious by extending the sell-by by a "few days".

ATB

Ogri the trog
Yep,
Ignore the waste of time date stamp (I do with evey use by, have we lost the ability to tell if somthing is edible or off?), the if it sinks (still OK if it hangs somewhere in the middle of the water) eat it rule works fine.
 
Ogri the trog said:
Now I can't get a direct quote for this, but i'm sure I've read somewhere that if you coat a fresh egg in lard or fat to stop air exchange, it'll keep for up to 7 months, yes seven months without going off.
Supermarket eggs are anything up to 3 weeks old before they reach the shelves and then have a few weeks worth of "Sell by" left - perhaps to encourage you to throw the old ones and buy even more.
ArkAngel, I think you're being a bit overcautious by extending the sell-by by a "few days".

ATB

Ogri the trog
To use lard to coat the eggs, first melt the grease and cool it til it begins to solidify again. Dip each egg in the melted grease individually and set them on a paper towel to dry. When the lard is dry on the eggs, rub the eggs with a clean towel, removing excess solid grease. buff each egg. Now repeat the process, before the lard solidifies.

I'm sure that coating the eggs helps, I'd not use trust this method for more than 60 days, keeping them in the fridge helps more. I've read in several articles that 150 days is ok, (i.e. no better or worse than eggs stored in a cool cellar) try looking on the mother earth forum/ website
ETA
 
on our farm, we have to give eggs a 28 day shelf life from the lay date (although most get eaten within a week).

as a chef, the regulation for keeping boiled eggs in a fridge is no more than 3 days because of the high risk of salmonella. outdoors, a day would be pushing it.
 
Ogri

You're quite right i probably was being a bit overcautious judgeing by some of the replies this thread has generated.
I was going by what i used to do as a chef. As locum76 pointed out the regulation is 3 days no more. This was ridgedly enforced especally when i used to work for BUPA and cover sopme shifts in a nursing home.

At home we have eggs that are 14 days over the date at the moment, they are kept in the fridge and should be fine. I just did'nt want to get thrown off the forum for poisoning a mod :D

Now why do i fancy a cheese omellette for tea suddenly :rolleyes:
 
ArkAngel said:
For boiled, i would say 2-3 days tops. The shell will crack during boiling and this will allow air to escape but also air at the egg. This will increase the rate of bacterial growth compared to a "sealed" raw egg. I would go with a degree of caution to be honest and say no more than 48hrs after it has been boiled.

If the shell does not break 'cos of slow careful cooking, I have just found out that they last 3 days at least in tropical jungles which should give you a couple more days in the UK
 

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