Mayonnaise, tiramisu, chocolate mousse, royal icing: all of them taste best with raw egg, and all of them come with the same nagging question about salmonella. Learning to pasteurise eggs yourself settles it. You need a pan of water, a thermometer and a little over an hour.
One thing to get straight first, because the two are often confused: dipping an egg in boiling water only treats the outside of the shell. It does nothing to the yolk and white inside, so it is not a substitute for pasteurising.
Contents
Before you start
The whole thing hinges on holding a narrow band of temperature. According to the USDA, pasteurising an egg in its shell takes about an hour in water held between 54 and 60°C (130 to 140°F). It takes that long because the heat has to travel through the shell and the white to reach the centre of the yolk, where salmonella sits, and getting there alone takes more than 20 minutes. At home the figure to work to is 57°C (135°F) for 75 minutes. The few minute method that circulates online applies to eggs already cracked out of the shell, not to eggs still in it.
- A digital kitchen thermometer is not optional. Without one you cannot hold the temperature closely enough for this to mean anything. It is a cheap tool that pays for itself the first time you use it.
- Bring the eggs to room temperature. Take them out of the fridge at least 20 minutes ahead. Cold eggs heat unevenly and need longer.
- The critical band is 57 to 58°C (135 to 136°F). Above 62°C (144°F) the white starts to set; below 57°C (135°F) nothing is pasteurised. Adjust the heat so the reading holds steady for the full 75 minutes.
- Have a bowl of iced water ready before you begin. Chilling the eggs immediately stops the carry over heat and keeps them from setting by accident.
- Allow 75 minutes, whatever the size. Over that long the difference between medium and extra large stops mattering, because the whole egg equalises with the water.
Pasteurised eggs in the shell, step by step
Pasteurised Eggs in the Shell
Ingredients:
Equipment
Instructions
- Take the eggs out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before you start.
- Pour water into the saucepan and heat it to 57°C (135°F), watching the thermometer the whole time.
- Lower in the eggs and hold a steady 57°C (135°F) for 75 minutes – the same time for every size from medium to extra large.
- Move them straight into the bowl of iced water and chill for about 10 minutes.
- Mark the eggs with a pen. Use them right away or keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yolks and whites out of the shell
Some recipes call for pasteurised yolk only, or white only. Pasteurising in the shell will not help you there, because you cannot separate the egg afterwards without breaking it. Each part has to be treated separately, in a bain marie.
Pasteurising yolks
Whisk the yolks with 2 tablespoons of water or lemon juice for every 4 yolks. Set the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, with the base of the bowl clear of the water. Whisking constantly, bring the yolks to 61°C (142°F) and hold them there for 3.5 minutes, which is the USDA figure for plain yolk. Keep the thermometer in and do not let them pass 63°C (145°F), or they will thicken too far. Done properly they thicken slightly but stay pourable.
Pasteurising whites
Whites go into the bain marie at 58°C (136°F) for 6.5 minutes, again whisking without stopping; the white needs noticeably longer than the yolk. Do not go past 60°C (140°F), because the white starts to set at around 62°C (144°F), so this is the one to watch closely and not walk away from. Pasteurised whites still whip, though the foam is a little softer than one made from raw white.
Pasteurising methods compared
There is more than one way to do this at home. They differ mainly in how tightly you can hold the temperature, and how long you have to wait.
| Method | Temperature | Time | Precision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pan and kitchen thermometer | 57°C (135°F) | 75 min | Medium | Recommended without special kit, but needs watching |
| Water off the boil, no thermometer | impossible to know | n/a | None | Does not pasteurise: do not use |
| Sous vide | 57°C (135°F) | 75 min | Very high | The most reliable, and no watching needed |
| Oven | 55°C (131°F) | 180 min | Low | Hot air heats far more weakly than water |
Without a kitchen thermometer you cannot pasteurise an egg in its shell at all. Water taken off the heat cools continuously, so after a few minutes it is either too hot (above 62°C / 144°F the white sets) or too cold (below 57°C / 135°F nothing happens), and holding 57°C for 75 minutes without measuring it is not possible. Buy shop bought pasteurised eggs instead, or pasteurise yolks and whites out of the shell, where 3.5 minutes really is enough.
How to store pasteurised eggs
How long they keep depends almost entirely on whether the shell is still intact.
- Pasteurised eggs in the shell: 3 to 5 weeks in the fridge, the same as raw eggs.
- A whole pasteurised egg, cracked: 3 days in a sealed container in the fridge.
- Pasteurised yolks: 3 days in the fridge.
- Pasteurised whites: 3 days in the fridge.
Always mark pasteurised eggs with a pen, or keep them in a separate labelled box. Once they are back in the fridge they look exactly like the raw ones, and there is no way to tell them apart later.
Common mistakes
- Letting it go above 62°C (144°F). The white starts to set. Watch the thermometer and keep adjusting the heat.
- Using eggs straight from the fridge. They heat unevenly. Take them out at least 20 minutes beforehand.
- Not enough water. The eggs need to be covered by at least 2.5 cm (1 in) or they will not heat evenly.
- Cutting the time short. Taking the eggs out early can mean the bacteria survived. Hold the full 75 minutes.
- Heating too fast. A sharp rise is impossible to catch in time. Use a low flame and bring the water up slowly.
- Not marking the eggs. Afterwards they look identical to raw ones. Mark them or keep them apart.
Frequently asked questions
Can you pasteurise eggs in the oven?
Yes, but it takes far longer than water: heat the oven to 55°C (131°F), put the eggs on a rack and allow 180 minutes. That is the tested combination – Hou et al., Food Microbiology 1996, 13(2): 93–101 measured a 5 log reduction of Salmonella enteritidis in intact shell eggs heated at 55°C in a hot air oven for 180 min. Hot air carries heat far less efficiently than water – the egg alone takes over an hour to reach 55°C – and over that long the contents can start to dry out, so a water bath is the safer bet. Check with an oven thermometer that the temperature really is holding steady, since oven dials at that end of the scale are often out.
What if the egg set during pasteurising?
It means the temperature went too high, above 62°C (144°F). The egg is perfectly safe to eat, it just will not work in anything that needs a raw texture. Treat it as a soft or hard boiled egg instead.
Can you pasteurise eggs without a thermometer?
No. Pasteurising in the shell means holding 57°C (135°F) for 75 minutes, and you cannot judge that by eye: water off the heat cools without stopping, so it either sets the white or does nothing at all. If you have no thermometer, buy shop bought pasteurised eggs.
Are pasteurised eggs safe for pregnant women and children?
Pasteurising is exactly what makes raw egg dishes usable for people who are advised to avoid them. If you are cooking for someone in a higher risk group, pasteurised egg is the safe route, and shop bought pasteurised egg is a reasonable alternative if you would rather not do it yourself.
Eggs also behave in useful ways in an air fryer: see air fryer eggs and air fryer poached eggs without vinegar.
Polish version: Jak pasteryzować jajka w domu. For a full overview of pasteurisation, see Pasteryzacja – co to jest (in Polish).
