To Wash or Not To Wash??

 

This is indeed a very common sight in the South East Asian countries where eggs are being found and displayed in shops, especially in the 'wet markets'.   For example,  you can find these pictures below, anybody can sell eggs..as an employee or an entrepreneur..and you do not need rocket science to do so..

 

 

The fresh chicken eggs stall's picture was from the Imbi Market, Kuala Lumpur and the picture is from ChopinandMysaucepan.com

 

 

Another fresh egg stall picture from careerdiplomat.blogspot.com

 

 

picture from www.21food.com

 As it was so convenient, as it shown above, I have bought a tray of eggs from the local sundry shop near Seremban 2 where I live.. A tray of A grade eggs consist of 30, cost me 11MYR.., the shop  owner would automatically take another egg tray and cover the top of the eggs,  

 

 

like this, and within seconds, he used 2 rubber band for each corner of the tray to 'tie and secure' the egg tray.. This is to assure the eggs were properly / supposingly 'protected' under transportation. He then slide the tray into the big plastic bag.. tie the knot and there you go..

 

 

 

 

Upon returning home, quickly I removed the top egg tray and discovered there were some signs of uncleanliness on some of the eggs.. That was not the first time.. I mean, these are highly hazardous to health if you do not handle them properly..

 

Having stayed in Denmark for nearly three decades, we were constantly reminded by the Danish Health Authority regarding its high risk of the Salmonella bacteria from the chicken.. Not only that, the eggs are on the table, on the open air in the shops with  high temperature around 36- 38C..Should they not be refrigerated in such hot tropical climate ??  And buying eggs from the supermarkets in Denmark and Sydney Australia, these eggs were in all in the fridges..

 

And the result is [almost] the same??

 

Now the question is :  To wash or not to wash..??

 

I have never thought of washing any eggs before and naturally never crossed my mind that eggs need to be washed before refrigerating.. But, with such a scenario, how could I not...!!

 

 

Immediately, I unloaded all  the eggs onto a sieve plastic bowl, where underneath was a bowl.

 

Turn on the running water and let it run for a few second, turning the bowl around..

 

 

Pour in some detergent, let the running water run into it.. form some bubbles, shake them around and let it sit for about l0 minutes.  Pour the soapy water away and gently wash them for a couple of time.  Be careful, they crack easily..

 

After a few round of washing, I drained it and let dry by itself.. 

 



 

Finally they were [almost] cleaned and dried. I have packed them in the plastic egg containers and put them in the fridge for use.  Make sure the eggs are not cracked when washing, otherwise they need to be used for either cooked, fried or poached. These washed eggs can be kept for about 2 weeks in the fridge.  All the doings took about an hour.  After all, it is already another routine task..