Raw eggs in recipes

[Keva]

I had someone ask me how they can adjust an old cake filling recipe made with raw eggs. I know there are pasturized eggs available but I can't find them in my area. I thought there was a process where you could heat eggs over a double boiler just enough to kill bacteria but not cook them. Then they can be added to uncooked mousses or fillings without a problem.

Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with this?

Thanks

[phatch]

Powdered eggs can work. Get a good brand. These are sterile.

I've seen instructions for the stove top method, but can't find them right now. Sorry.

Phil

[Headless Chicken]

There is a technique to heating up the eggs over a double boiler for 1 of my buttercream recipes to use as the icing on a cake. I can't remember off by hand what temp the eggs have to reach though.

[scott123]

Eggs are pasteurized by bringing the centers to and holding them at:

140 degrees for 3.5 minutes
135 degrees for 30 minutes

Eggs will begin to coagulate at around 144 degrees (the white portion first).

Adding other ingredients to eggs (such as in a creme anglais) is supposed to raise the coagulation temp.

This is how commercial egg handlers pasteurize eggs:

QUESTION: How are eggs pasteurized in the shell? Are they safe?

ANSWER: Pasteurizing procedure - The eggs are heated in the shell in a water tank at about 136 degrees F. It takes about 30 minutes for the center of the egg to get to 135 degrees F, and then they are held at room temperature for 30 minutes. They are then removed from the water bath and cooled in a refrigerator. This process results in a 5-log reduction in Salmonella, that is, it reduces the bacterial load from 100,000 to 1. Supposedly one cannot tell that the egg has been heated. Cloudiness of the egg material can result due to the egg being heated and is not an indication of poor quality.

Pasteurized eggs can be used raw. The potential problem with these eggs is contamination during handling. Therefore, when they are used, apply other safe food handling principles -- use clean surfaces, utensils, and hands to prevent the introduction of other contaminants.

The eggs, though pasteurized, are not commercially sterile, so they must be refrigerated. Any recipe made with these eggs can be potentially hazardous. Therefore, do not consume egg-based foods that have been left out for over two hours and refrigerate foods made with the eggs as soon as possible.
Source: Angela Fraser, Food Safety Specialist, North Carolina State University.

So, 30 minutes at 135 degrees or 3 1/2 at 140. As, you go higher, the time frame necessary to kill salmonella drops (160 is instantaneous).

Water has a tendency to hold heat for quite some time. Especially large amounts of it. If you heat, say, a stockpot with 16 quarts of water to 141 degrees and cover it, I am quite certain that it will retain a 135+ degree temp for at least an hour (long enough for pasteurization). So, with a good electronic thermometer, a large stockpot and some time on your hands, you too can pasteurize eggs.

It really depends on who will be consuming the eggs. Will the products containing them be consumed by the sick, the aged or the very young?