Are Raw Eggs Safe?

[Revolution]

I am interesteed in making home made Mayonaisse, and also Egg Nog.

I remember a few years ago, there was a "Salmonella" scare or something?

Is it safe to use Raw Eggs in this way?

[Kitchen Witch]

It's a controversial subject.

According to the FDA eggs are safe as long as they do not have cracked shells.

But I won't go by that. As an egg ages it's shell becomes thinner. The thinner that shell gets - the greater the chance of bacteria/salmonella setting in. The moisture begins to escape and the air begins to get in - even though the shell is not cracked!

Never buy eggs that "stick" in the carton - that is a dead give away that they are old and the shells have thinned. the shells are porous.

When eggs are sold to the stores, they are washed - which removes the bloom of the egg. they are supposed to have a very thin coating of oil to remedy this - but I wonder if they do it before sending off to market.

I've got a long-winded post in Cooking Tips called EGGS - if you want to use the search and bore yourself with what I wrote.

I hope this helps.

KW

And depedning on the age of the hen that laid the egg will also depend on the thickness of the eggs shell.

[simrnz]

A great deal of disagreement surrounds the subject of whether it’s harmless to eat raw eggs. Some experts stress that the danger of getting a food borne sickness from raw eggs is very little. The major concern is that raw eggs could have bacteria recognized as Salmonella enteritidis which is identified to cause food poisoning. Statistics demonstrate that only about one in thirty thousand eggs have these bacteria, but there’s no way to tell by looking at it whether you have a “bad egg”. A number of people don’t believe that even this small possibility is worth putting their health at risk and decide to eat only cooked eggs.

[Henway]

You can try to "pasteurize" your eggs at home to eliminate any Salmonella concerns.

Pasteurization is simply a process of heating a food to a specific temperature for a specific amount of time - designed to kill specific bacteria. It is known that salmonella bacteria are killed at temperatures of 140 degrees in about 3 1/2 minutes (or a higher temperature in less time). If a room temperature egg is held in a bowl of warm water - say, 142 degrees to be safe - for 3 1/2 minutes, the bacteria will be killed. It takes 5 minutes for extra large or jumbo eggs.
Place the room temperature eggs in a colander, and lower them into a pan or bowl of 142-degree water. Use an instant-read thermometer to be sure of the water temperature, and leave the thermometer in the water, to be sure that the temperature is maintained. For medium or large eggs, leave them in the water for 3 1/2 minutes; for extra large or jumbo eggs, allow 5 minutes. Then remove the eggs, dry them, and refrigerate them, in a tightly-covered container.
Eggs begin to cook at about 160 degrees, and will be "scrambled eggs" at 180 - but if the 142 degree temperature is maintained, the result is a safe egg that will act like a raw egg in recipes.