14 replies to this topic

[Staceyy]

Here is a link:

http://www.timebomb2...ad.php?t=286069

Edited by Cat, 18 April 2009 - 08:38 PM.
added no to title

[Stephanie]

That is very interesting, I have never even thought of being able to do that at home!

[Violet]

Sorry, but talk about a time bomb ! That is not safe to do at home.

[JCK88]

Similar directions are in the Enyclopedia for country living. I don't think I would try this, however. I've written too much about food contamination control to be comfortable with this process even though the eggs are cooked first.

[Stephanie]

So, it's not the instructions that are faulty, but the concept of doing it at home that doesn't lend towards safety.??

[Darlene]

First of all, that person at timebomb hasn't even ever tried it...it's something she found on the net, yet has no personal knowledge of.

Second of all, dehydrating eggs at home is NOT A SAFE PRACTICE and if anyone came into my home and said they wanted to dehydrate eggs, I'd say NO!

The risk of contamination in this procedure is glaringly unsafe and while I understand people's desire to do alot of these things that the commercial companies charge alot of money for, this one is a huge no-no.

Eggs are a very risky adventure and the home environment first of all does not lend itself to having the strict controlled environment that the commercial companies spend exhorbitant amounts of money to set up, nor do we have the equipment to do this in a safe manner.

I feel as if I'm being put in the position once again, where someone feels as if I'm raining on their parade by stating DO NOT DEHYDRATE YOUR OWN EGGS AT HOME. But y'all really scare me sometimes when I see these things. There's a ton of information on the net that advocates all kinds of things but that doesn't mean it's safe. The risk of samonella or bacterial infestation is alarmingly high with this particular practice, so it is not advocated here at this site.

Please be careful what you choose to believe while browsing the net. Preserving foods at home is very serious and whether we like it or not, whether we want to or not, everyone just needs to accept the fact that we cannot do some things.

[Stephanie]

Violet and Darlene for the safety warning.


I've been considering ordering the special on powdered eggs and now am more inclined to do so. I appreciate your concern and know that your concern motivates your cautions.!

[Staceyy]

Maybe you should remove this thread.

Stacey

[Staceyy]

Here is another link that discusses the safety issues of dehydrating eggs:

http://hikinghq.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-2206.html

[-6]

How long will pickled eggs last, wc

[Crazy4Canning]

"Pickled eggs will retain their quality for several months in the fridge."

This was taken from a WA State University Extension service pamphlet. The pamphlet also recommends the following for pickled eggs:

1. Use eggs that are clean with good, sound shells that are not extremely fresh. Eggs a few days old will peel better. Smaller eggs like quail eggs can also be used.

2. To boil eggs, cover eggs completely with cold water and bring to near boiling. Turn heat down and simmer for 15 minutes. (Always cook eggs at a moderate temp since overcooking makes them tough and causes a gray ring around the yolk). Cool eggs as quickly as possible by running cold water over them. Peel and rinse.

3. Pack a dozen or so medium eggs into a quart jar so the container will hold plenty of pickling solution. Any container that can be closed is also satisfactory.

4. Pour the hot pickling solution over the eggs, cover the container and put it into the fridge. Pickled eggs MUST BE stored in the fridge for safety. Be sure that the eggs are covered with the brine during storage. Pickling is complete when the solution has seasoned all parts of the egg. It takes at least one week for small eggs and 2-4 weeks for medium and large eggs.

5. Do not leave pickled eggs at room temp for more that 2 hours or while serving. Pickled eggs will retain quality for several months while in the fridge.

For the following recipes, heat the mixture to near boiling and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the solution over the peeled, hard-boiled eggs in a container that can be tightly closed. Cover and immediately store in the fridge until seasoned.

These are recipes for ONE QUART of pickled eggs:

DILLED EGGS
1 ½ Cups of white vinegar
1 C water
¾ tsp of dill seed
¼ tsp white pepper
3 tsp salt
¼ tsp mustard seed
½ tsp onion juice
½ tsp minced garlic

SWEET & SOUR EGGS
1 ½ C apple cider
½ C cider vinegar
1 pkg red cinnamon candy (about 12 oz)
1 tbsp mixed pickling spice
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic salt

SPICY EGGS
1 ½ C apple cider
1 C white vinegar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp mixed pickling spice
1 clove peeled garlic
½ tsp mustard seed

DARK & SPICY EGGS
1 ½ C cider vinegar
½ C water
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp mixed pickling spice
¼ tsp liquid smoke or hickory smoke salt
2 tsp salt

RED BEET EGGS
1 cup liquid from beet pickles
½ C cider vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
A few small, canned red beets (can be sliced)

[Violet]

Miss Crazy, you get an "A" !! Good job of posting the information on the pickled eggs.
She is a student in our food safety preservation class. I feel confident in her ability to answer questions.
Thank you for the "eggcellent" post.

[Crazy4Canning]

I learned from the best! ((Lady Violet))

[Darlene]

And I taught Violet everything she knows.



rofl

NOT

lol

[JCK88]

Yeah..the instructions to do it at home are faulty. They should be saying "DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK" "DO THIS AT YOUR PERIL." I can't imagine anyone would want to do and this was surprised to notice recently that these instructions appear in a reputable reference for country living. I think this is like the Amish who can rice...people do it, but it's not a good idea.


Pasteurization is the only process that kills bacteria properly in any dairy product. The temperature at which food is dehydrated is not sufficient to kill the bacteria in eggs or milk.

Salmonella might not seem so bad to some people--a little intestinal discomfort, they think.Yet it can kill you. Botulism could kill you. And, if your body goes into a huge immune reaction to a foodborne pathogen, it can cause you lifelong harm--if it doesn't kill you.

My father in law loved raw oysters despite that his wife, a nurse, warned him not to eat them, especially in third-world countries. He ate raw oysters in South Africa...and there, a common foodborne pathogen is Campylobacter jejuni. He was ill, with flu-like symptoms, vomiting, etc. But then, he lost his balance and fell. They were camped out at Victoria Falls at the time. Doctors thought he reactivated an old neck injury and wanted to operate. But what had actually happened was that his body had such a huge reaction in his immune system that it set up Gillian Barre Syndrome, which basically fries your nerve endings so electric messages can't get to your brain. If left unchecked, you stop breathing and your heart stops beating because your brain can't send the electrical impulses necessary to the organs keep them going. If my MIL had listened to doctors there, and allowed them to operate, the anaesthetic would have killed him due to the syndrome.

Well, he's alive, but almost died getting out of Africa on a stretcher. My MIL had to buy six tickets because the stretcher took up room on the plane...and then we had to hire an air ambulance to get him to Los Angeles from Atlanta.

If I hadn't been writing about foodborne pathogens for years, the doctors would not have known immediately what was wrong. I asked my MIL soon as she got to the US if he had eaten raw oysters and she confirmed. She had not connected this to the oysters because that was a week earlier--but the incubation period of the severe reaction is about 7 to nine days..

I told her to tell the docs he likely had a reaction to a pathogen from eating raw oysters. I told her he probably had Guillian Barre. She immediately agreed and began berating herself for not thinking of it herself. Within hours of their landing at the medical center, doctors confirmed Gillian Barre--and said that us telling them about the raw oysters and possible jejuni strain likely saved FIL from dying. He was only hours away from total shut down, they said. They said without us knowing those facts, they would not have filtered his blood right away like they did.

At that point, nobody else had thought about this possiblity. In South Africa the strain of Campylobacter jejuni is often linked to that syndrome!

He needed transfusions, too. It was too late to keep him from being completely paralyzed, but it did save his life. He can walk in a limited way but now has to use a scooter to get around.

So...if you think Darlene is raining on your parade, just ask me for more horror stories about foodborne pathogens. I made my living writing about this stuff. I could curl your hair and then straigthen it again....

And what goes on in the food industry that you don't hear about is enough to make you want to grow your own, can your own, dry your own. If I were not a prepper, I would still be doing this because at least I know I'm following proper procedures.

Be glad we have the FDA. At least there are some regulations.