leaving raw egg in the fridge to use later

[mamacoffee]

i read somewhere recently, it may have been in one of gordon ramsey's books but i'm not 100% sure, that if you need to use an egg yolk you could keep the egg whites in teh fridge for using later.

since all the salmonella stuff i haven't done that for years, i remember only doing that when we were kids, but not since then because of fears of food poisoning.

so my question is, is this safe? if so, how do you store it and for how long?

and can you do the same for egg yolks?

it would be great if this was ok because i consciously avoid recipes that require just egg yolks or just egg whites because they seem to me such a waste, only to be avoided if i can cook something else at the same time which requires just teh other part of what i'm using as well, which requires far too much organisation than i can muster these days

I have had success freezing egg whites and/or egg yolks, a friend suggested using breastmilk storage bags (unused of course!). I just write on them how many egg whites / yolks are in there.

oh that would be even better! and a great use for those bags that never got used...if i can find them that is!

how did you defrost them?

thank you

In the fridge. Then I left them to go to room temp before I used them. Made meringues and they still worked!

great, thats really useful, thank you!

Don't see any difference between leaving a separated egg in the fridge and an egg still in its shell tbh. Although I'm another one who freezes any left over white/yolk, just because it's easier to keep in a bag in a freezer than a bowl in the fridge.

I just leave them in the fridge and try to use withing a week or so....

The yolks need covering well as they get a dry skin on them if left open so tend to use them quicker than the whites which seem to last forever!

I put a little bit of water over the yolks to keep them from getting that skin on them.

I was told by a pastry chef that the problem with eggs is in the yolks and that the whites alone are unable to grow bacteria or whatever.

So egg whites can be kept. Egg yolks can too, but obviously theres the same worry over salmonella as an uncracked egg.

wannabedomesticgoddess did your cheffy friend advise how best to keep egg yolks to avoid salmonella risk?

Cant really remember it was so long ago.

But, a different pastry chef that I watch online writes

"To store unused egg whites, I find the best way is to keep each one in an ice cube tray. Once frozen you can store each ?cube? in a ziploc bag for up to 2 months

Egg yolks are not that easy. The gelation property of egg yolk causes it to thicken or gel when frozen, so you need to give yolks special treatment. If you freeze them as they are, egg yolks will eventually become so gelatinous that they will be almost impossible to use in a recipe. To help retard this gelation, beat in 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar or corn syrup per 1/4 cup of egg yolks (about 4 yolks). Then freeze in a container labeled with how many yolks are inside."

From here

BTW she is American. Corn syrup isnt that easy to get in UK. The brand is Karo and is available online I think. So sugar probably best.

Isn't corn syrup most similar to golden syrup? That's what I always substitute in recipes?

Corn syrup is the work of the devil.

The problem is that an egg is an ideal growing environment for bacteria and when you crack it open you contaminate the white (and often the yolk too), so when you put it in the fridge the bacteria start to proliferate. The cold environment slows the growth but does not stop it. I think the official guidelines are 3 days for egg whites and 2 for yolks, but I tend to try and use them sooner or throw then away.

My DP gets through lots of egg yolks, and leaves the whites in the fridge for me, every few weeks I make coconut macaroons or an omelete with them. So I'm certainly happy to keep them for weeks...

allinatizz I'd say golden syrup as much more flavour than corn syrup which is pretty tasteless - just sweet.

thank you, this is really useful. i need to order some of those little bags now (i think the ice cube thing will be too fiddly for me lol)

Home Bargains does breastmilk storage bags at a really good rate.

great, thanks for that!