The British Egg Industry Council has indicated that eggs can be safely stored for an impressive 12 months. This means you could keep eggs stored away and readily available whenever you wish to enhance a breakfast dish or salad with an egg topping.
Traditional advice suggests that eggs are best kept in the fridge instead of being left out at room temperature. When placed in the refrigerator inside their carton, eggs maintain their freshness for roughly three weeks. Separated egg whites can be stored for up to three weeks in a sealed container, while yolks remain good for approximately three days when covered and chilled.
How to safely store eggs
The council offers advice on freezing whole eggs, as well as yolks and whites individually, to help reduce food waste. It stated that while eggs can be frozen for a year, it's best to consume them within four months to ensure optimal freshness.
The guidance is straightforward: "To freeze eggs whole, the white and yolk will need to be beaten together. Pour the contents into a container suitable for the freezer, label with the date, seal and freeze."
Freezing egg whites and yolks
According to the British Egg Industry Council, freezing egg whites is a "simple procedure". You simply need to transfer them into a container, combine them together, seal it securely and freeze. To speed up the defrosting process, it's advisable to freeze them in smaller portions. This guidance proves particularly useful when recipes require only egg yolks or whites, preventing you from discarding the remainder.
Nevertheless, freezing egg yolks requires additional steps. Initially, separate them and transfer into a suitable container. Because of their thicker texture, egg yolks will become gelatinous if frozen in their natural state, making them unsuitable for cooking.
Defrosting and using frozen eggs
To avoid this, incorporate half a teaspoon of salt, or one to one-and-a-half tablespoons of sugar per 240ml of raw egg. Opt for salt in savoury dishes and sugar in sweet ones. It is essential to ensure your eggs are thoroughly defrosted before consumption. Whatever their form (egg whites, yolks or combined), frozen eggs must be fully thawed and should only be consumed in properly cooked dishes.
They must never be cooked straight from frozen. To defrost, move the egg from the freezer to the refrigerator overnight to prevent bacterial contamination. For a faster approach, place the frozen container under cold running water. Finally, ensure you use the eggs immediately once they have thawed.
