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If the eggs are little bit old, and I used the egg whites to make Italian meringue, is it safe to it ?

Egg whites could contain salmonella, and especially in my country where eggs are sold locally from local farms without being tested. I have the eggs in the refrigerator since 2 weeks, and sometimes I make scrambled or boiled eggs with them, but could I eat meringue with them that is made by adding hot syrup (Italian meringue) ?

The syrup will cook the whites or there still a danger of eating it ?

alim1990
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  • Are you trying to pasteurize the egg whites, or what are you trying to achieve? And what kind of risk/spoilage are you trying to mitigate that way? – rackandboneman Mar 28 '17 at 13:24
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    I had old eggs in refrigerator..eating raw egg whites would give you salmonela right ? So the syrup totally cook the whites and make it safe ? – alim1990 Mar 28 '17 at 13:35
  • How old are the egg whites? How old were the eggs before you separated them? Have they been stored in the refrigerator the whole time? More info is needed – canardgras Mar 28 '17 at 14:29
  • 2 weeks old and not separated ? They are whole. Does the sugar syrup cooks them or not ? – alim1990 Mar 28 '17 at 14:31
  • How hot (in celsius) will the mixture be after the syrup is added (mind that a colder container will absorb plenty of heat), and how quickly will the temperature drop? – rackandboneman Mar 28 '17 at 14:48
  • If you make italian meringue you will know that the syrup is about 118C when added to the whites – alim1990 Mar 28 '17 at 14:53
  • The food safety rule is: you cannot turn back. Once your food becomes unsafe, it cannot be made safe again by heating. It doesn't matter if it's egg whites, meat, or anything else. So I'm closing it as a duplicate. The tag wiki for food-safety probably also has an explanation of it, it is a good read for those who are sometimes unsure if something is safe. – rumtscho Mar 28 '17 at 16:50
  • Wait on @rumtscho the egg whites are not old and unsafe. I am speaking about if it is possible to eat them as italian meringue without getting salmonela because they are not fresh eggs – alim1990 Mar 28 '17 at 18:14
  • Are the eggs still whole they're just older? Are they past their use-by date? – Catija Mar 28 '17 at 18:51
  • @droidnation your eggwhites are either safe or unsafe. If they are safe as they are, then heating them changes nothing about it. If they are not safe, then heating them again changes nothing. So, your question is still superfluous. – rumtscho Mar 28 '17 at 19:06
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    @rumtscho Superfuous-ness doesn't make a question close-worthy. Just because it's obvious to some doesn't mean it's obvious to others. There are lots of questions I think are silly... that doesn't mean that they aren't a real question. – Catija Mar 28 '17 at 19:10
  • @Catija I agree about it being a real question - I just find that it is a duplicate, since it is a very common misconception, and I am sure we have addressed it multiple times. I picked the most highly upvoted duplicate target which explains the basic principle - even though it mentions meat in the title, it is not restricted to meat, and giving the same answer for hundreds of foods is impractical. I don't know if we might have a better named question which can serve as the duplicate target. – rumtscho Mar 28 '17 at 19:29
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    If you disagree that the duplicate answers your question, please feel free to [edit] the question to explain what you're trying to ask more thoroughly, particularly explain why the duplicate does not meet your needs. – Catija Mar 28 '17 at 23:30
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    @rumtscho it's not a duplicate. Egg whites could contain salmonela, and especially in my country where eggs are sold locally from local farms without being tested. I have the eggs in the refrigarator from 2 weeks ago, and sometimes I make scrambled egg or boiled eggs with them, but could I eat meringue with them that is made by adding hot syrup (Italian meringue) ? If you know how italian meringue is made you will understand why I am asking this question. – alim1990 Mar 29 '17 at 05:28
  • @catija thanks for the support. I don't think this question should be closed. Salmonela is harmful especially in egg whites – alim1990 Mar 29 '17 at 05:29
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    Wouldn't eggs *unsafe for raw consumption* be just as unsafe if they were fresh? – rackandboneman Mar 29 '17 at 08:25
  • Salmonella dies at 705 degree C or higher, plus the answers on the post suggested by the admin don't speak about raw eggs, so it is not duplicated. I will not accept to put this post as duplicated and I will contact the admins @rumtscho – alim1990 Mar 29 '17 at 10:47
  • OK, I will reopen because of the "not for raw consumption" angle. Still, it seems to me that you did not understand the point of the other question, so I would suggest that you read it too. From your question, I cannot really tell if your eggs are safely stored or not. – rumtscho Mar 29 '17 at 19:16
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    It seems like the actual question here is simply whether it's safe to make Italian meringue with those eggs - as others have said, if they're unsafe due to salmonella when a bit old, they were unsafe when fresh too (the salmonella was already there). You might consider editing to focus more clearly on that. – Cascabel Mar 29 '17 at 19:18
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    I assume you mean salmonella dies at 70 or 75 degree C, and not 705 degree C (which is hot enough to melt aluminum). – Peter Shor Mar 30 '17 at 02:04
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    Salmonella will not look at your egg's use by date and suddenly pop up I think - if they are in the old eggs they were in the new eggs, maybe in a lesser amount and making you less sick , but there and making the egg unsafe in the first place. – rackandboneman Mar 30 '17 at 07:37
  • Okay and I am in country that they sell eggs without saying if it is free of salmonella or not, how to know if it is safe to make italian meringue. You're right@Jefromi – alim1990 Mar 30 '17 at 08:11
  • Yes @PeterShor I mean 70 to 75C – alim1990 Mar 30 '17 at 08:11

1 Answers1

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In short, if they are safe to eat cooked still they are likely safe to eat in a meringue.

There is a higher chance of salmonella on the outside of shell than the inside. 2 Weeks for eggs in the fridge is not very long. To find out a bit about the bacteria actions within the egg, submerge the whole egg fully in 2 cup a measuring cup of water. Make sure there is a couple inches of water above the egg when you first put it in. If the egg stands up, it is not super fresh, but also not spoiled, if it floats then it is not very fresh. If it jumps straight to the top of the water and bobs around, I wouldnt make meringue with it.

As the egg ages and bacteria develops inside, gases are released which will make the egg float. Eggs that float are still edible, but not super fresh and should be cooked more thoroughly.

This is a rough guide, but it has always served me well, I learned it from dumpster diving.

Jon Church
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