How to Pasteurize Eggs at Home

Many times, favorite recipes call for fresh, raw eggs. Recipes like Egg Nog, Orange Julius, Spaghetti a la Carbonara and many more simply can't be made with cooked eggs. But raw eggs may be a carrier for the dread Salmonella, a.k.a. Food Poisoning. How can you make your favorite recipes and stay safe and healthy? You could go out and buy pasteurized eggs, though it's not always easy to find them, OR you could pasteurized them yourself, at home! It's so easy you won't believe it!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A pan for heating water, large enough to hold both eggs and water.
• A jelly or candy thermometer
• Eggs
• Water enough to cover eggs
• stove or other heat source
• timer or reliable clock

1. Bring the eggs you plan to pasteurize to room temperature. Starting at room temperature makes sure that the eggs reach the target temperature for killing any salmonella in them all the way to the center.

2. Put the water into the pan and put it on the stove. Make sure to use a large enough pan so that the eggs will fit along with enough water to completely cover them.

3. Clip the thermometer onto the side of the pan so it will measure the temperature as it rises and is easy to read as you heat the water. Do not allow the thermometer to rest on the bottom of the pan.

4. Heat the water to between 145 and 160 degrees. Add the eggs to the water in the pan.

5. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to stand for 3 minutes. That's all you have to do! Remove the eggs from the water and refrigerate. Use as you would any other eggs.

Tips & Warnings

• Buying the best quality eggs you can afford makes a huge difference in the likelihood of spreading salmonella, which is caused by unsanitary conditions where the eggs are produced. Happy, healthy hens are less likely to have salmonella germs.
• Salmonella is a mild form of typhoid fever; you may have had it and not known you had it.
• If you have immune system problems, or are otherwise vulnerable to illnesses, be very careful not to eat raw, unpasteurized eggs or meat products, as there is a slight possibility of contracting salmonella, which could be very dangerous to someone whose health is already compromised.
• There have been reports that pasteurized eggs have a slightly less rich flavor than raw eggs, but many people could not tell the difference. In any case, it's better to be safe.

[fodder4food]

on 1/19/2009 I'm currently schooling for my Dietetics degree, and we talked about this during one of my Human Nutrition courses. I'd still think twice and be wary:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Focus_On_Shell_Eggs/

However, there are pasteurized eggs that are sold in some markets--I haven't checked much in the East Coast, though. There's that conflict of possible money grubbers in the industry to make us believe we can't do things ourselves, but to be safe (for now), I'd purchase those goods at the market.

[Wasatch]

on 12/29/2008 Interesting article. We have had chickens in the past, but never done this.

[MotherDove]

on 12/16/2008 Wait a minute - I didn't know that you could pasteurize your own eggs and I sure didn't know that you could heat eggs up to 160 degrees without cooking them! Thanks for this data. Btw, I always cook my egg nog because I worry about eating raw eggs.

[waiting4rain]

on 12/16/2008 Wonderful information! I will definitely pass this one along.