Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: oborne27 on December 23, 2009, 18:34
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Hi, Can someone please end an argument we are having here at home.
The question is 'How long can we keep an egg in the fridge for before it goes off'
thanks
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I have just used an egg that was laid on 22/11 it was fine. so at least 4 weeks!
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i did a search when we first got our girls and its been between 28 and 35 days. its best to keep them in the fridge as they age much quicker if left out :) may vary slightly but thats what we go on :)
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Thank you.
Its given me brownie points here at home........
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The eggs for sale in the supermarket as fresh can legally be up to 21 days old. I suspect that they can last for quite a bit longer than that.
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Has anyone heard of or used isinglass?
I can remember having the job of dipping eggs to keep them fresh. This was more than 50 years ago when I was around 5 or 6 so it is probably now declared "dangerous" / "illegal" against EEC regulation number something-or-other.
It seemed to work though. ;)
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apparently isinglass isn't available anymore, like you say, probably dangerous.
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:) Ive read the following -
Farmers have 30 days to get eggs to market.
Grocers have 30 days to sell them.
They may be in the fridge for a month.
It's possible that in April you could be eating eggs laid on Christmas.
:tongue2: Merry Christmas everyone!
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apparently isinglass isn't available anymore, like you say, probably dangerous.
Surely not - it's used as a fining agent in beer & wine
http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Finings.html
I can remember my mother preserving eggs in an old zinc bath using isinglass. It's a natural product obtained from the air bladder of cod.
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Eggs get eaten long before I have to worry about their age. But if I was concerned I wouldn't eat it if it floated in water. :)
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I use isinglass for clearing my wine, but only when it is difficult to clear------Fred
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sorry, don't make beer etc so wan't aware you could get it for that. An old farmer I know was bemoaning the fact that he could no longer get it for eggs.
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My dad explained to me, as a nipper, that the isinglass seals the shell and slows the eggs' ageing.... Rather like vacuum packing without the vacuum I suppose!
As for whether it's available or not anymore ???
Floating eggs in water is a pretty reliable test... those that sink are fine... those that float high are not. Those that wobble around mid water = use for cooking. This has worked for my mum for the last 70+ years and she's been fine!!
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According to an article in yesterdays paper up to 8 weeks :)
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Mine don't go in the fridge, they stay on the kitchen windowsill. I aim for about 3 weeks in my head, but we never get that far anyway before they are all eaten or pickled!
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hi, you will find everything you need to know here
http://egginfo.co.uk/page/home :D
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Many years ago I had a shop and the eggs I bought from the wholesalers had a 12 week shelf life. I was horrified when I realised how old some of the eggs we buy in shops potentially are!
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Many years ago I had a shop and the eggs I bought from the wholesalers had a 12 week shelf life. I was horrified when I realised how old some of the eggs we buy in shops potentially are!
It doesn't leave you feeling eggsactly confident does it! :(
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When my girls are hiding their eggs, I often find a clutch that I dn't know how old they are. I can't bare to throw them away so I float test them first and all those that sink are used. Of the floaters, I crack them individually and if they are off believe me you know about it and if they smell ok, I use them only in dishes where they get thoroughly cooked.
Obviously I would never give them to people in an at risk group, children, elderly, pregnant.....
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When my girls are hiding their eggs, I often find a clutch that I dn't know how old they are. I can't bare to throw them away so I float test them first and all those that sink are used. Of the floaters, I crack them individually and if they are off believe me you know about it and if they smell ok, I use them only in dishes where they get thoroughly cooked.
Obviously I would never give them to people in an at risk group, children, elderly, pregnant.....
This makes a great deal of sense and is just what my family did long ago in the dark ages even before the little red lion appeared magically on shop bought eggs. ;)
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The use by date is 28days from lay and eggs are recommended to be kept in their boxes in a fridge.
There's no simple way of determining the exact point in time when an egg is "off" as it depends on the bacterial content which is effected by many factors including, the health of the hen, how clean was it when laid and how porous was the shell, how sanitary have the conditions been since lay, how much have the bacteria multiplied since lay which depends on time in storage and temperature of storage. The 28 days rule of thumb is what is considered a safe period for a clean egg stored in a sanitary way below 20 degC. Given clean initial condition and good low temperature storage they can last much longer than this but I'd only use them thoroughly cooked for example in baking and then not if they floated or were over 8 weeks. Eggs which float in water have a large air sac content and are likely not to be fresh.
Heavily soiled eggs or any with cracks should be discarded. Lightly soiled eggs should not be washed though dry wiping or brushing lightly is ok, should be used as soon as possible and with in 4 days and stored in the fridge.
It's not easily possible to determine how contaminated with bacteria an egg can be before it might cause you a health risk. It depends on how effectively it's cooked and how fit and healthy you are, A rule of thumb is, very young children, pregnant women, the elderly or people suffering from an illness or any health risk group should only be given fresh, well cooked eggs ie not foods made with raw eggs or with runny yolks.
Regards
HF
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apparently isinglass isn't available anymore, like you say, probably dangerous.
it is apparently safe and you can buy it from some chemists. At the musuem I work at (Kent Battle of Britain Museum which of for those who might not know is all 1940), I have done a Dig for Victory garden which includes chickens (of course!), we have an original lidded pot used for this purpose! "During the war..." eggs were preserved in several ways but I have also heard that eggs can be kept up to 9 months!! I personally haven't kept eggs for that long though!! :D
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apparently isinglass isn't available anymore, like you say, probably dangerous.
it is apparently safe and you can buy it from some chemists. At the musuem I work at (Kent Battle of Britain Museum which of for those who might not know is all 1940), I have done a Dig for Victory garden which includes chickens (of course!), we have an original lidded pot used for this purpose! "During the war..." eggs were preserved in several ways but I have also heard that eggs can be kept up to 9 months!! I personally haven't kept eggs for that long though!! :D
Hi Chookster,
I'm interested to hear you work at the Battle of Britain Museum as I've done a little internet research on the role of chx in the war and particularly the dig for Victory campaign which served to introduce chicken keeping to the masses as well as encourage allotment keeping. I'm particularly interested in the advice given to chicken keepers and would dearly like to get hold of a copy of the leaflets I believe the government issued about chicken keeping as I'd like to see if there are practises that have survived through to today. I believe chicken keeping was encourage and people were actually issued with special ration allowances for keeping them in exchange for supplying eggs. There were expert keeps who were encouraged to breed layers for use on allotments or in the kitchen garden and these people were given additional allowances to produce the poultry.
I'm sure it would make some fascinating research. If you know of any source material I'd be very interested to hear.
Regards
HF
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apparently isinglass isn't available anymore, like you say, probably dangerous.
it is apparently safe and you can buy it from some chemists. At the musuem I work at (Kent Battle of Britain Museum which of for those who might not know is all 1940), I have done a Dig for Victory garden which includes chickens (of course!), we have an original lidded pot used for this purpose! "During the war..." eggs were preserved in several ways but I have also heard that eggs can be kept up to 9 months!! I personally haven't kept eggs for that long though!! :D
I was born just a few years after the war... my parents kept the chickens in London to help off-set rationing of food. At the age of 5 it was my job to dip the eggs and place them on a drying rack. Not the most eggsighting job for a 5 year old! ???
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I use isinglass for clearing my wine, but only when it is difficult to clear------Fred
I thought it was waterglass that was used for preserving eggs and the isinglass is something entirely different :)
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I use isinglass for clearing my wine, but only when it is difficult to clear------Fred
I thought it was waterglass that was used for preserving eggs and the isinglass is something entirely different :)
Well I thought isinglass was what Surreys with a fringe on top had for windows that you could roll right down in case of a change in the weather. At least that's what isinglass was used for in Oklahoma according to Rogers & Hammerstein. :wacko:
HF
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it is apparently safe and you can buy it from some chemists. At the musuem I work at (Kent Battle of Britain Museum which of for those who might not know is all 1940), I have done a Dig for Victory garden which includes chickens (of course!), we have an original lidded pot used for this purpose! "During the war..." eggs were preserved in several ways but I have also heard that eggs can be kept up to 9 months!! I personally haven't kept eggs for that long though!! :D
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Hi Chookster,
I'm interested to hear you work at the Battle of Britain Museum as I've done a little internet research on the role of chx in the war and particularly the dig for Victory campaign...
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Well it would be fab if you ever make it down to the museum - it's only open from Good Friday til end of sept / oct though so do check in advance before making a journey - it's also closed on a monday unless bank holiday.
Anyway... for those interested ( I will try not to bore others!)... waterglass is a strong solution of silicate and soda. You must dilute with water to the right ratio as well.
There are two ways of preserving eggs with waterglass...
the first is to dip the eggs in the solution and wipe dry - this will keep them for a few weeks. But far better use is to dilute as per instructions (I think it had to be first clean, boiling/boiled water) and use this solution in a special pail fitted with a wire basket. Sufficient solution must be used to cover the eggs. Eggs should be laid carefully in the basket in the pail and filled to a third with the waterglass solution. Lower the basket carefully and if necessary fill to cover the eggs. Of course any cracked eggs should be removed and used straight away.
If a basket wasn't available, use a pail - carefully put a layer of eggs in the bottom, cover, and continue until the pail is full.
Freshly laid eggs could be kept quite fresh for at least 6 months. Apparently even after 12 months they were eaten to no ill effects! So there you go! It's really about stopping anything going through the pores, eg air, bacteria etc.
So do you think quail eggs could be used at extended time scales like this? After all, this is part of the reason we're not allowed to personally sell eggs to restaurants and pubs etc... hmmmmm 8)
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The eggs for sale in the supermarket as fresh can legally be up to 21 days old. I suspect that they can last for quite a bit longer than that.
... I thought they were all about 3 weeks old when they reached the supermarket??
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Mine don't go in the fridge, they stay on the kitchen windowsill. I aim for about 3 weeks in my head, but we never get that far anyway before they are all eaten or pickled!
;)yep, I think I pretty much do the same :)
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I use isinglass for clearing my wine, but only when it is difficult to clear------Fred
I thought it was waterglass that was used for preserving eggs and the isinglass is something entirely different :)
Wow - I don't suppose you have a photo at all of you doing this as a child do you? I know people took photos far less then than now but you never know. :)
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I'm particularly interested in the advice given to chicken keepers and would dearly like to get hold of a copy of the leaflets I believe the government issued about chicken keeping as I'd like to see if there are practises that have survived through to today.
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Hi HF - contact the Imperial War Museum (Lambeth location) and get in touch with their archive department. See what you can get from them - they keep copies on wartime leaflets
www.collections.iwm.org.uk
Let me know how you get on :) I really need to get a few bits from them myself!!
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here's a good pic from the internet of an egg pail similar to those used in the war (ours is stoneware I think with a metal and wicker covered handle)...
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I use isinglass for clearing my wine, but only when it is difficult to clear------Fred
I thought it was waterglass that was used for preserving eggs and the isinglass is something entirely different :)
It is the same thing :) During the war it could be bought as a viscous, clear liquid which you added water to, usually cold water but there is talk of boiling the water first.
To answer some other queries that came up...
Ration cards were given regarding chickens. I have a good few friends who grew up during the second war and one of them remembers going down to "Honours", an agricultural merchants where they would buy "Brand" in paper sacks with coupons issued to them specially.
Apparently it looked a bit like demerara sugar but dry - they would make it into a paste and then add boiled scraps to it. This was called "chicken meal".
The display I have produced at the museum is a Dig for Victory garden which shows how people literally dug up their gardens (and local parks!). A few chickens are kept in the garden too and their "surplus free range eggs" (as we know they must be labelled properly within the guidelines of today!!) sold in the shop.
You can see a picture of my wartime garden and chickens on www.knobblyveg.co.uk or www.kbobm.org.uk :)
Interestingly, by the end of World War II, approximately eleven and a half MILLION hens were being kept by "Backyarders" (people who kept chickens in their backyard/garden/balcony). Just before the war and at the beginning of the war this number was nearer 5 million. It is said that if BEER had been rationed it was stated by Lord Arnold of the House of Lords at the time that there would be enough barley available to feed nearer 18 million hens which would provide the equivalent to around 4 eggs per family a week and there wouldn't therefore have been an egg shortage - or the necessity for dried eggs come to that!! Didn't dried eggs make a comeback into supermarkets this year by the way??? Or was that something else on the milk shelf????
History lesson endeth herewith! sorry :tongue2:
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Chookster, are you sure it was called "brand" and not "bran"?
We used bran to add to boiled & mashed potato peelings which, when cooled, the chooks loved. Occasionally minced fish-heads were also added (with the bran mix). It was a wonderful job (???) turning the mincer handle and finding several fish eyes still looking up at you once the rest had been minced and dropped through to the bowl below.
The joys of childhood!! ;) I think I can still recall the smell of steaming potato peelings :blink:
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Chookster, are you sure it was called "brand" and not "bran"?
oh my goodness - yes, that's what you get when you sit for hours reading through market research to do with farmers markets and supermarkets LOL!! :tongue2: thanx L :D
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Interesting stuff, i like to learn how things were done in the past. I`d heard of keeping the eggs in a bucket of isinglass but not about the dipping and drying method.
Keep going with the fascinating facts from the old days . :)
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I'm particularly interested in the advice given to chicken keepers and would dearly like to get hold of a copy of the leaflets I believe the government issued about chicken keeping as I'd like to see if there are practises that have survived through to today.
Hi HF - contact the Imperial War Museum (Lambeth location) and get in touch with their archive department. See what you can get from them - they keep copies on wartime leaflets
www.collections.iwm.org.uk
Let me know how you get on :) I really need to get a few bits from them myself!!
Thanks chookster I'll let you know how I get on. I'll enquire in the New Year.
HF
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Interesting stuff, i like to learn how things were done in the past. I`d heard of keeping the eggs in a bucket of isinglass but not about the dipping and drying method.
Keep going with the fascinating facts from the old days . :)
Not quite that old.... yet but I am working on it! ;)