I've taken too long to make my macarons and my egg whites have been aging in a sealed container in the fridge for a month, is this too long to use?

Peter
  • Posted by: Peter
  • July 12, 2013
  • 24776 views
  • 12 Comments

12 Comments

beejay45 July 18, 2013
I've read that Pierre Herme ages his egg whites for macarons at room temp for a couple days, so yours being in the fridge should be good to go. Properly stored they should be safe, and if they whip up properly, it seems like there shouldn't be an issue. Enough weasel words in there for you? ;)
 
Rebecca V. July 12, 2013
Well, USDA also advises against eating raw eggs and a lot of other things people, including myself, do all the time (and maybe some egg lobby is paying off USDA, who knows). My rule of thumb for home cooking -- not in places where HACCP applies/Health Dept comes to do inspections, or private cheffing, as the case may be -- is that if it doesn't smell bad or look like something is growing in it, then if it tastes ok it is ok. I use this across the board, whether it's for brewing, fermenting, the bowl of pesto in my fridge that was fine after a month, what have you; following USDA guidelines religiously with a magnifying glass is often wasteful as they err extremely (/luxuriously) on the side of caution (how many people on the planet would take those eggs right now?). So, Peter, if they smell ok, it may not be the best omelet ever but I think it would be tasty enough if you decide to make it :)
 
ChefOno July 12, 2013

Eggs in the shell (properly handled and stored) are good up to 80 days from packing. Once deprived of their protective layer, the USDA recommends using them within 4-5 days. That's "days" not "weeks"...

 
Rebecca V. July 12, 2013
For the purposes of making macarons, I would start with new egg whites. However, as long as these smell ok and there does not appear to be anything growing in them, I agree with Monita that consumption after sufficient heating sounds reasonable. In food safety terms, eggs keep forever in the fridge (even while certain preparation-specific but food-safety-unrelated aspects degrade/improve) so it really just depends how clean the container is and how clean your hands were when you separated them. Omelette sounds delish & good luck w the macarons!
 
Rebecca V. July 12, 2013
("Forever" was hyperbole, but eggs do keep, in food safety terms, for a very very long time in the refrigerator.)
 
boulangere July 12, 2013
The ovalbumen (the principal protein in egg whites) degrades with time, as does any protein for that matter. They won't be able to give you the results you need, which is beside the point that doing anything other than making a trip to the dumpster with month-old egg whites is frankly alarming.
 
ATG117 July 12, 2013
Most month old foods that aren't meant to be aged would scare me.
 
LynneT July 12, 2013
Let's face it, your egg whites are now a month old. Eggs are cheap. Use fresh eggs. Better all around.
 
nutcakes July 12, 2013
That's not safe to eat. Toss.
http://www.stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/17137
 
Monita July 12, 2013
Fresh egg whites are best for baking. But use the ones you have to make a yummy egg white omelette
 
Monita July 12, 2013
I'd start with fresh whites
 
Peter July 12, 2013
They smell fine and look just like normal egg whites. I have a very cold fridge... still no dice?
 
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