# Would you wash your chicken eggs?



## velochic (Sep 26, 2004)

:?:  :?:  :?: 

I'm assured I don't need to, but since moving here, I always wash these chicken eggs.  They are not refrigerated (the only reason for chilling eggs is if they have already gone bad, locals tell me) and usually still have the feathers and (can I say this here... )  poop attached.  Everything is VERY organic, very WHOLE food (of which I very much approve), but I thought this was a little extreme.  So what if I have a broken egg here and there I have to toss out... wouldn't you wash your eggs too?  
 

 :?:  :?:  :?:


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## kyles (Sep 26, 2004)

Funny old place Europe......the EEC rules European Economic Community) I would say preclude the selling of eggs with poop. I live in England, but it it's fairly well known that we are the only country in Europe that tends to follow the rules.

My local free range egg producer now has to stamp the date on all her eggs, which I think is a shame, and has to wash them as well. You get the odd feather in the carton still but no poop.

I don't refrigerate my eggs, they cook a lot better at room temperature, especially for meringues and such where you need much air incoporated in them.

I am quite happy to have chicken dirt on my eggs, but it's becoming very rare!


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## Alix (Sep 26, 2004)

I wash mine. I get them from our chicken lady (insert own joke here) and they are covered in poop too. My thought is, if I wash em, I am less likely to have anything accidentally drop into my omelette. Also, would you want to eat a boiled egg that was cooked in poo water? Not me. Personal preference though.


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## kyles (Sep 26, 2004)

I tend not to boil my eggs, but if I was going to, I'd wash em first definetly. I am talking about trace poop rather than covered in poop!!! What a conversation!!!!!1


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## Alix (Sep 26, 2004)

LOL Kyles! Mine are definitely more than "trace poop". We are talking fresh from the nest.


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## mudbug (Sep 26, 2004)

Don't have that problem in the States.  Everything comes shrink-wrapped here, or sanitized to death.  We are one of the most germ-phobic cultures out there.  A little dirt is good for the soul...............(but I would rinse my eggs if they came with, well...you know)


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## crewsk (Sep 26, 2004)

Mudbug, I have a little saying about dirt... God made dirt so dirt don't hurt. Anyway, when my grandma raised chickens she wouldn't wash her eggs until she got ready to use them.


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## Claire (Sep 28, 2004)

I don't wash mine when I buy them from the grocery store.  BUt I live in farm land, and when I can get them from freinds and neighbors, I always give them a quick rinse.  I also give any veggies I'm giving away a quick rinse before handing them off to friends.  It is really funny sometimes to think what the younger generation must be like.  A few months ago I opened a dozen eggs at the store, and wiggled them each before putting the carton in my cart.  A young woman asked me why I did that, that she'd seen so many older women (good lord, guess I'm old now) do it.  I laughed and told her that you can tell if an egg is cracked that way -- it will stick to the carton if it is cracked.  We live in a largely rural, farming area with a HUGE tourist industry, so it was quite funny.


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## PA Baker (Sep 29, 2004)

I get my family's eggs from an organic egg farmer and quite often there's poop on the shells.  I rinse them off with cool water and pat dry before I crack them, just in case, like others of you have said, some of the shell would happen to fall into the egg.  Better safe than sorry, I guess!


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## Bangbang (Oct 4, 2004)

Never had poop on my eggs.....how does it taste?


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## middie (Oct 4, 2004)

nope no need to. they're clean when i get 'em


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## Bangbang (Oct 5, 2004)

The trick is not to let the egg inside touch the poopy shell outside when you break them.


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## pst1can (Oct 8, 2004)

*I would wash more than your eggs...*

I would personally wash the eggs, especially if buying them from a non traditional source. In our local papers about a month or so ago they were advising us to wash all our fruit also. I am not refering to the usual grapes, apples, peaches...etc I am refering to all types melons. The reason they were giving was where some of the product is being imported from actually rinse the fruit with there water. I guess the problem is it has in the past caused some breakouts of food poisoning, because of high bacteria and ecoli.


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## licia (May 21, 2006)

I wash mine before using - even if they come from the grocery store.


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## cloudybutnice (May 21, 2006)

Get my eggs from the young lad next door who keeps a few chickens. He washes the eggs before he sells them on, bless him, and they're excellent too.


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## Andy M. (May 21, 2006)

According to the egg-sperts, egg go bad 7 times faster if unrefrigerated.  That is, if it will last two weeks in the fridge, it's only good for two days on the counter.

I'd want to clean off the shells before I cracked the shells so I wouldn't accidentally get "stuff" in my food along with the egg.


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## bethzaring (May 21, 2006)

I am a little surprised that no one has responded with what I thought was conventional wisdom regarding egg cleaning.  I was always taught that you do not wash eggs, wash like scrubb with soap and water.  Eggs have a bloom that protects the porous aspect of the egg shell.  If you wash the bloom off, you wash off the protective covering, allowing any germs to penetrate the porous egg shell.  It is acceptable to wash the egg just prior to use.  But what is also common is to take a damp paper towel to remove poop from the egg shells before refrigerating.  And I do vote for refrigerating eggs, and not in those egg holders in the frig door because it is too warm there.  I store mine in a vegetable bin or on a shelf.  I also store the individual eggs large end up, in the carton, that also prolongs the keeping quality of the eggs.


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## Debbie (May 21, 2006)

Bangbang said:
			
		

> Never had poop on my eggs.....how does it taste?


 

Omg  ewwwwwwww   lol


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## IcyMist (May 21, 2006)

EASY STOMACH, EASY.......I WAS eating before I started reading this ummmmmm very interesting conversation.


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## marmar (May 21, 2006)

My cousin washes them right before use.
In case she drops an egg shell or something...
Especially if she's separating the eggs.

If the outside of the egg shell might touch the inside, then I'd definately wash them.


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## BreezyCooking (May 21, 2006)

I raised chickens for eggs for quite a few years, & here's my take on it.

First off - eggs should be collected frequently - especially in warm weather -  & refrigerated asap without washing.  As posted previously, when eggs are laid they are covered with a protective bloom that prevents bacteria from permeating the porous shell, thus protecting the developing chick inside.  Removing this bloom earlier than just before use removes this protection, thus allowing the egg to absorb odors & Lord knows what else.  It also shortens shelf life.

As far as the refrigeration part, why oh why would you want to consume an egg that is quickly on it's way to becoming rotten, & how will you know that it's turned until you crack it into a pan?  Yuck.  Also - if you're purchasing your eggs from a local source that has one or more roosters in the flock, keep in mind that a "fertilized" room temperature egg will continue to develop for a few days.  Again, yuck.  My mom once had the interesting experience of cracking a locally produced (not one of ours) egg & having a partially developed chick drop into the pan.  How delightful!!  Refrigerating locally purchased eggs halts this development.

Right before using, I just gently rinsed my eggs under cool running water & dried them with paper towels.  I don't bother washing regular supermarket eggs, as they've already been washed in an antibacterial solution.

Frankly, I would not want to eat anything containing eggs that hadn't been refrigerated, and I'm definitely not a germophobe.  Refrigeration doesn't harm the quality of the egg at all, & for cooking purposes, you need only remove the egg ahead of time to bring it to room temp for merangues & such.  No biggie.


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## Constance (May 21, 2006)

velochic said:
			
		

> :?:  :?:  :?:
> 
> I'm assured I don't need to, but since moving here, I always wash these chicken eggs.  They are not refrigerated (the only reason for chilling eggs is if they have already gone bad, locals tell me) and usually still have the feathers and (can I say this here... )  poop attached.  Everything is VERY organic, very WHOLE food (of which I very much approve), but I thought this was a little extreme.  So what if I have a broken egg here and there I have to toss out... wouldn't you wash your eggs too?
> 
> ...



I just talked to my friend who raises chickens.

First of all, discard any cracked (leakies) or broken eggs. 

She says: DO NOT submerge fresh eggs in water, as the shell is very permeable. 
If they have feathers and/or poop, just wipe them off with a damp rag that has been moistened in soapy water with a bit of Clorox in it. (We're talking just a few drops of soap & bleach). Only do that just before you break them.

We had scrambled eggs at her home this morning made from country eggs. They were accompanied by bacon and sausage form her own hogs, and they were awfully good!


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## sparrowgrass (May 21, 2006)

I know a little about eggs--I worked briefly as a USDA poultry grader, and I now have my own chickens.

I wash mine in warm water with a drop or two of dish soap if they are so soiled that a wet paper towel doesn't work. 

According to USDA regs, eggs should be washed in water a bit warmer than the eggs--cool water causes the shell to contract and draw bacteria into the egg.  Commercially produced eggs are washed in a sanitizing solution.

If I want to boil my eggs, I wash them and let them "age" in the fridge for a week or two--fresh, unwashed eggs are nearly impossible to peel after boiling.

I do refrigerate my eggs--I like them over easy in the morning, and the yolks break easier if they are warm.


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## -DEADLY SUSHI- (May 21, 2006)

In my life.... I have NEVER seen an egg with anything but white on them.   Poop on an egg?!?!?!


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## sparrowgrass (May 22, 2006)

Well, Deadly darlin', I guess you never have had eggs right out of a chicken's butt.  

Commercial egg production facilities are set up so the egg does not stay in the nest for long--the floor of the nest box is slanted so as soon as the hen stands, the egg rolls down a chute to a collection area.

Those eggs are washed in sanitizer and sometimes lightly oiled before they are packed, so no chance of poo.

My girls lay their eggs in a straw lined nest box, and when they get up, there might be two or three other hens waiting in line to use the same box. Especially on rainy days, they have muddy, poopy feet that touch the eggs already in the box, so poo happens, in my henhouse.

Betcha never saw a 'tater with mud on it either.  I think you need to come out to the country more often--come on over, I will let you gather the eggs for me, and dig the taters.


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## CharlieD (May 22, 2006)

"Would you wash your chicken eggs?"

 Well, if it was my chicken i wouldn't I'd trusat her to make sure to give me nice clean aggs. On the other hand if it was stranger's chicken the I would have to carefully exsamen them before.


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## katluvscake (May 22, 2006)

I always wash my eggs and I buy them from the market I heard that if you are going to get food poisoning it comes from the outside of the egg.


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## CharlieD (May 22, 2006)

I know this isn’t going to be funny for you, Americans (well some might consider vulgar, so forgive me), but I just can’t help my self but laugh. You know those things you call nuts, well, … we call them eggs... Sorry, I just have to laugh some more.


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## sparrowgrass (May 23, 2006)

Katluvscake, that is not necessarily so--the salmonella comes from the hen, and can be inside the eggs.

Not usually a problem for healthy folks but tots and and immune deficient folks should probably avoid undercooked eggs.

Gimme mine over easy, however.


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