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Egg Storage Experiment – Week 1 Results

Last Monday I posted about my interest in storing eggs with mineral oil for long term storage. FYI, I have one carton of eggs stored with mineral oil and one carton as a control group (no mineral oil) both of which are setting out on my countertop. Well, week one is over (I actually started this experiment a week ago on Friday night) and here are the results…

This is the control egg (no mineral oil):

egg1-wk1

And this is the mineral oil egg:

egg2-wk1

As you can see, neither egg floated (floating is bad) so that suggests they are still good. Just to be sure, I cracked both open, sniffed, and laid them out on a plate:

eggs-wk1

So, which one is which? I would have known the difference but for the record, the egg on the left is the mineral oil egg. Had I not already eaten eggs that morning I might have given it a shot eating them… will have to try again next week.

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Damian Brindle

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Comments

10 responses to “Egg Storage Experiment – Week 1 Results”

  1. Pam

    Millenniumfly – As long your egg doesn’t float, even when they start standing on end as long as they don’t lift off the bottom of your measuring cup, I would be fine eating it.
    Americanmaid – If I boil an egg laid today, it will be impossible to peel because the outer layer of albumin or white hasn’t started ‘breaking down'(for lack of better terminology). We’ll see in this experiment we’re watching, that as time goes on, the whites become watery. Next, the second, thicker layer of albumin thins and the yolk membrane loses it’s integrity. You are absolutely right not to throw those eggs out, it’s only a sign of age, not rotten. What was the temperature of the room you kept your tote in?
    Prudent Prepper – Would describe the bad farm eggs you got? Usually home growers have a rooster with their hens. Sometimes you will notice a small spot in the yolk. This spot is called the germinal disk and is where the egg is fertilized. When fertilized eggs are not gathered daily, left in a warm nest (or under a hen), the chick will start to grow giving the impression that the egg is not good. Occasionally an egg is overlooked for a couple of days and when you crack it there will be a small streak of blood. My dad ate ketchup on scrambled eggs because he said, “If they’re scrambled it’s because your aunt didn’t gather the eggs soon enough and there was blood in it. If you put ketchup on it, you don’t see it.” I’m starting to think that my eggs didn’t last as well as Americanmaid’s because they were fertilized…

    Reply
    1. millenniumfly

      Thanks for the info, Pam. Really would be nice to see an article from you one day maybe “everything you didn’t know about eggs”?

      Reply
      1. Pam

        I’ll have to ponder that, I may have already told you everything I know, LOL

        Reply
  2. americanmaid

    We bought 20 dozen eggs last Easter when they were on sale for $1/doz. We coated them with mineral oil and placed them in a dark color plastic tote. We use a lot of eggs in our diet. They lasted 3 months, but near the end they were still good, just not for frying.! We do this anytime we catch a good sale on eggs!

    Reply
  3. Prudent prepper

    I have never had problems eating eggs not refrigerated for a couple of weeks (dont go longer than that). Unfortunately my husband refuses to eat “farm fresh” eggs as we have had bad egg after bad egg — from several sources. Bummer. I just crack the eggs into another bowl one by one. He however just freaks out and won’t eat any fron the carton. I don’t know of a one of my friends that have had such continued bad experiences. I STILL prefer the homegrown variety, but frankly don’t know of another source since 4 sold me bad eggs.

    Reply
    1. millenniumfly

      Bad eggs from four different people? That doesn’t sound right at all. Maybe you can test a few eggs from each supplier again before buying?

      Reply
  4. Bev

    If it doesn’t float, eat it!

    LOL You remind me of my son! He actually checks the meat packages to make sure they come from the store! No antibiotic, organic meat for him! Actually, he is worried that it might be possum or coon or horse! LOL

    Bev 🙂

    Reply
  5. Pam

    I applaud you for doing this experiment and will watch for the results each week.
    We raise our own eggs, sell surplus at the farmers market during the summer and in the fall I prepare for ‘molting’ season (several weeks) where the chickens slow or stop laying, lose feathers and physically prepare for winter just like other animals who grow a winter coat. I prepare for slow production by stockpiling the surplus without washing the eggs before I put them in the refrigerator. I wash whatever poo that I couldn’t brush off before I use them. I have used eggs up to 6 weeks old.
    Some years back, I’d heard of your coating idea but they used paraffin instead. I coated 144 (8 – 18 packs) and put them in the root cellar where they would stay dry and at a constant 55 degrees. I was told they should last 6 months in these conditions. Three months later the root cellar emitted an odor that told me this procedure hadn’t worked. The children and I threw the eggs as hard as we could at a near-by hill with utter delight as they literally exploded (loudly) like miniature bombs on contact. I suddenly understood the miscreant “throwing rotten eggs” at the neighbors house thing much better.
    Since then, for LONG TERM storage (not years), I thoroughly scramble a dozen eggs and pour them in an ice tray. Once they are frozen solid, I pop them out of the tray and store them in the freezer in a zip-lock bag. They work great for anything you use beaten eggs for but you have to plan ahead to allow time to thaw either in the fridge or covered at room temperature. Obviously, for a SHTF scenario without power, this won’t work. For truly long term storage, powdered eggs is the only way to go.

    Reply
  6. Bev

    Just a comment on the whole egg thing.

    I don’t know if you got your eggs fresh or not. Do you realize that any eggs you buy in the store are at at LEAST 1 to 2 weeks old already and may be up to 5 months old! That, on average, is how long eggs will keep, as is, refrigerated. About a week or three unrefrigerated, kind of depends on the temperature. So one carton could be three months old already and the other could be a week old. Just an FYI

    What a waste of good eggs! I hope you at least fed them to the dog–promotes a shiny coat!

    Don’t mean to sound negative. You know I love your site! But sometimes city folks don’t realize how old the “fresh” food they are getting really is! Kudos to you if you actually bought from a local farmer, or better yet, they are from your own chickens!

    Bev 🙂

    Reply
    1. millenniumfly

      We normally like to buy farm fresh from a lady that has several hens but for this experiment I didn’t want to waste any “good” eggs and choose to go cheap from the grocery store. Now, I just have to convince myself that it’s still ok to eat eggs that haven’t been refrigerated!

      Reply

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