How to Store Cracked and Broken Eggs: The Tips and Tricks to Preserve Both Yolks and Whites

Oh, no! Your egg's broken or cracked! What should you do with the yolks and whites? We can store them correctly to avoid food waste while keeping their organoleptic and nutritional properties intact and always have them available for our recipes: doing so is very simple but, as always when we talk about raw foods and therefore easily subject to deterioration and bacterial proliferation, it is essential to follow some simple rules. If when you open the package of eggs you notice that some have broken or if after cooking, there are yolks or whites left, you just need to follow our advice to store them easily and without errors, in the refrigerator or freezer.

How to Store Egg Whites

The egg white is the white and gelatinous part of the egg that we find around the yolk: it has a protective and preservative action, it is rich in mineral salts and proteins and low in calories. Egg whites are mainly used in pastry making, they can help us bring nutritious and tasty dishes to the table but we often find ourselves having to preserve them: how to do it?

Storing raw egg whites is very easy and safe, but you need to follow some simple rules to prevent them from deteriorating quickly, becoming easy prey to dangerous bacterial proliferation. In particular, here's how to store egg whites:

• Container: egg whites should be stored in clean and well-sanitized containers, preferably glass or plastic. Make sure the container is clean and that the lid fits tightly, in this way you can avoid the presence of oxygen and the activation of the oxidation process, the sworn enemy of long-term storage.
• Storage location and times: egg whites must be stored at low temperatures, therefore in the refrigerator or freezer. In the refrigerator we can store egg whites for a maximum of three days, but if we decide to freeze them the storage times increase to six months. To properly defrost egg whites, just leave them in the refrigerator overnight to avoid excessive and potentially harmful temperature changes.
• Label: if we choose to freeze the egg whites, don't forget to put a label on them showing the storage date.

How to Store Egg Yolks

Very often recipes require separating the egg whites from the yolks and using only the white part: in these cases we can choose to recycle the yolks and make them the protagonists of tasty dishes or store them in the fridge or freezer. Let's see in detail how to do it:

• Refrigerator: we can store egg whites in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, strictly in a sanitized and hermetically sealed container.
• Freezer: to preserve the yolks for a longer time, we can freeze them. In this case, we will have to beat them lightly and add a pinch of salt or sugar (one or two grams for each yolk will be enough): the grainy component tends to stabilize the yolks which at low temperatures tend to become grainy. Alternatively, we can place them whole in ice cube trays, remembering to always add a gram of salt.
• Time: if frozen correctly, egg yolks can be stored for up to six months, taking care to defrost them in the fridge to avoid sudden changes in temperature.

How to Deal With Broken Eggs

What to do if, once you get home, you notice that the eggs have broken and that the shells have cracks and dents? Eggs are very delicate ingredients and easily subject to bacterial proliferation, which is why you need to be very careful: if we are sure that we bought them whole and that they most likely broke on the way home, we can simply open them in a bowl, seal with cling film and keep them in the fridge for 24 hours. If we even have the slightest doubt that the eggs were broken when we bought them, let's not think about it too much: the eggs should be thrown away.