Poo covered eggs.

[MrsWalton]

What do you do with yours. I know your not supposed to wash them, but how do you stop the crap from dropping into the bowl when you crack them?

[fryalot]

I brush off the worst of it then I'm careful when cracking them into a bowl or pan.

[SoupDragon]

Why shouldn't you wash them?

[curious]

[MrsWalton]

That's pretty much what i do squonk, i like a boiled egg sometimes for my brekkie, so i do wash those just before i put them in the pan.

Soup dragon, eggs have a natural 'bloom' which protects the inside from any nasties coming through the shell. If you wash them, you remove the 'bloom' and germs can be absorbed. Or at least that's my understanding.

[SoupDragon]

Surely you can wash them just before you use them though?

[ProfYaffle]

Oh I didn't know that, I just wash any pooy eggs. Ours get used up quite quickly though so can't see vast quantities of germs getting through.

[ProfYaffle]

Or if you only washed them just before you use them, that should be ok shouldn't it?

[MissGreatBritain]

We've always washed ours (about 6 years of chicken-keeping) and never had any germs as far as I know.

[madlentileater]

we wash ours- but I know there's something about the temperature- water should be either colder or warmer than the egg....and I can't remember which
in any case we all seem to be fine

[neversaydie]

Egg shells have pores in them, and under some circumstances bacteria on the shell surface can be pulled into the egg through the pores. One of the most effective ways of making this happen is to cause a sudden cooling of the egg contents, which makes them contract. If this happens when the egg is washed in cold water, then water and whatever is in it (including bacteria, and potentially salmonella from the poo) will be sucked into the egg through the pores.

Mrs Walton is also right about the 'bloom' which is a protein coat on the egg surface which also helps to protect it from contamination.

So if you need to wash an egg, do it with water that is hotter than the egg contents, preferably just before you use it.

[MrsWalton]

Now that explaination, neversaydie, is eggsactly (sorry) what i wanted to hear.

Never knew the temperature issue.

Thanks everyone.

[madlentileater]

thank you never say die
have just told dp to double our chances of remembering

[MrsWalton]

madlentileater, i did just the same thing.

Just asked him again to see if he remembered, and he did. He's so smart.

It means, i'll never remember now though.

[madlentileater]

have just asked, too!
he remembered!