With the increasing awareness related to organic food, a lot of people are shifting to home-grown eggs over the ones available at the supermarket. These eggs are obviously healthier as you have better control over the feed and care of your chickens – but they aren’t that clean – there’s mud, chicken poop, and feathers on them which needs to be taken care off before these eggs go to your kitchen.
Here’s a quick 5-step guide to help you clean those eggs properly:
Step 1: The Sanding
Gather your eggs. Do it twice every day. This will prevent your nests from overcrowding and reduce the chances of breakage. Next, you need ultra-fine sandpaper. Separate the eggs that appear clean, or don’t have too much dirt on them and sand them using the sandpaper. Continue till all dirty specks and spots are removed and then store them. DO NOT wash these eggs as they no longer have the bloom on them and may rot easily.
Pro tip: change the straw lining of your chicken nests on a weekly basis. This will ensure that your eggs come out generally cleaner than they do now.
Step 2: The Scrubbing
For the remaining eggs that didn’t make the sanding cut, gently scrub the eggs using a soft brush (if required) and an egg detergent. Scrub away the soil and dirt making sure you do not damage or break the egg. Then move on to step 3.
Pro tip: for scrubbing, always use a sanitised scrubbing brush to prevent your eggs from any sort of bacterial damage.
Step 3: The Washing
Once you are done with the scrubbing, dip the eggs into tepid water. Make sure the water temperature is at least 20 degrees higher than the eggs so that there is no vacuum created inside the eggs - this would be somewhere around 32°C. Don’t soak your eggs in water for a long time. Just dip them in, allow the detergent to wash off and then remove immediately.
Step 4: The Sanitising
To sanitize your eggs bleach them in a diluted solution made by adding 1 tablespoon of ordinary household bleach in 1 gallon water. After that, carefully place the eggs in a colander and rinse properly under running water (water should be hotter than the water temperature used for washing).
Step 5: The Storing
After thoroughly rinsing the eggs, pat them dry with a soft, clean towel. Once the eggs are dried, keep them in the fridge. Do not place your damp eggs in an egg container or any closed box. It may cause the eggs to rot.
Pro tip: Using the right technology can save you a great deal of both time and eggs. The market is full of efficient egg washers that can help you clean hundreds of eggs at a time for far less effort than currently required.
That said, washing and cleaning your eggs properly can be a long cumbersome process. Thankfully, the world has advanced enough to bring us products like the Rotary Egg Washer. The product with its thermostatically controlled bucket, motorised egg basket and base has the capacity to hold 100 eggs at a time. It is quick and efficient – definitely something that can make cleaning eggs and your life a lot easier than it is right now!
