Generally, freshly laid chicken eggs are dirty, often covered with mud, feathers and even poop. How do you clean these chicken eggs? Here is some advice.
Inspect the egg
Inspect the egg thoroughly; if it has any breaks or cracks, then discard it. Why? Because bacteria would have probably entered the egg and it wouldn’t be safe to eat. What if the shell is clean? Rarely so, but if it’s anywhere near clean, then leave it as is. Cleaning chicken eggs too much may harm the natural protective coating around them.
Use a sponge to clean the eggs
Most of the dirt on an egg can easily be removed if you gently rub them with a dry sponge, cloth, loofah or sandpaper across the surface. Other items like emery cloth, steel wool or toothbrush would also do. Keep rubbing the egg carefully until all dirt is off it. While doing so, ensure that you don’t crack the egg. If an area of the egg is already clean, then don’t rub it so that the natural coating remains intact. If you use a sponge or toothbrush to clean the egg, then sanitise the tool after each use. This would prevent bacterial transfer.
Wash the egg
If a dry piece of cloth or sponge doesn’t remove the dirt, then you may have to wash the egg. Before we go ahead, keep one thing in mind: washing the egg removes the natural coating around it, making it more prone to be affected by bacteria, and this decreases its shelf life. However, unhealthy eggs also have their own health risks, so you may be better off washing them. Just make sure, you store the eggs properly and use them within an acceptable time period.
Take two bowls, and fill them up with warm water. Add a small amount of an egg cleaning product in one bowl, and some bleach in the other one. Wear some gloves before you begin washing to prevent any skin irritation. Note the water temperature; it should be warmer than the dirty egg. Water which is 11 centigrade warmer than the egg is recommended. Dip one egg at a time in the cleaning agent. Use a small brush to remove dirt. Now rinse the chicken egg in warm water to remove the cleaning agent, and then dip it in bleach or another sanitising agent. Place the egg on a clean paper towel, and let it dry.
By the way, you can wash eggs with plain water as well. But we suggest you to wash it in mixture containing equal quantities of water and vinegar so as to sanitise the egg.
Please note that whichever way you wash the egg, you shouldn’t be doing it with cold water. This causes the inside contents to contract, which create a vacuum, a potential space for bacteria to lure. On the other hand, if you use warm water, the egg contents are expanded, pushing the microbes out.
