Eggs – How long Pasteurized Eggs can be refrigerated

eggsfood-safetypasteurization

I routinely pasteurize eggs in batches of 12 so if I don't have time for a full breakfast in the morning, I crack a few open in a glass of milk with some protein powder.

The approach I've been using so far is like so:

  • To pasteurize large eggs, place them in a saucepan filled with water and fitted with a digital thermometer.
  • Turn on the heat and bring the water up to 140F.
  • Keep the water temperature at 140F for 3 minutes (and no more than 142F), reducing the heat on the burner if necessary.
  • Remove eggs from hot water and rinse thoroughly with cold water.
  • Store in the refrigerator until needed or use right away.
  • Jumbo sized eggs need to 5 minutes in 140F water.

I've been doing this for several years now, and haven't had any issues. It also lines up with the method proposed in other similar posts on Cooking.StackExchange.com. Additionally, I bring the eggs up to the target temperature of 142F slowly over the course of about 15 minutes, using a simple dairy thermometer to keep track of the temperature. My theory is that if the eggs reach the target temperature slowly, it gives more time for the temperature inside the egg to match the temperature of the hot water, so the thermometer reading is indicative of the actual temperature of the inside of the egg.

How long is it safe to keep pasteurized eggs (using the method outlined above) in the fridge before I should toss them out? I've kept them in the fridge as long as six days prior to drinking them. Most posts I've read on cooked eggs suggest eating them within a couple days, but I don't know how that applies to heat-pasteurized eggs, since they aren't technically "cooked".

References

  1. How to pasteurize eggs at home, Accessed 2014-09-03, <http://bakingbites.com/2011/03/how-to-pasteurize-eggs-at-home/>
  2. What's a good technique for pasteurizing eggs?, Accessed 2014-09-03, <https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/4265/whats-a-good-technique-for-pasteurizing-eggs>

Best Answer

The lower bound seems to be at 2 to 4 days in the fridge. The upper bound is probably at 7 to 10 days in the fridge at less than 4°C (32 F) 1

1 Source: Swiss journal about poultry farming. This information refers to the storage of whole eggs. Two sentences before, the text says that cracked eggs stored at 4°C must be cooked within 48 hours to be conformable to Swiss law. I am not sure whether the information about pasteurized eggs is coverd by Swiss law or is just a recommendation of the article's author.

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