Shelf life of raw and boiled quail eggs

The shelf life of raw quail eggs depends on their freshness and storage conditions. First, you should study the labeling indicating the production date of the product. At a temperature not exceeding +8° C, the eggs will retain their properties for 30 days in their raw form. After cooking, the shelf life is reduced to 7 days.

How to choose fresh quail eggs

Only high-quality quail eggs will last for a long time at home. It must be taken into account that the product that arrived at the store from the poultry farm has already been stored there for some time. Therefore, first of all, it is worth checking the expiration dates determined by the manufacturer. The buyer should ensure that the specified date has not expired.

Here are a few more criteria to guide you by:

• The freshness of the egg will be indicated by its shape; it should be round and voluminous. The drying testicles become oval, with a pointed tip.
• There should be no damage to the shell. Even a small crack allows bacteria to enter. Because of this, products begin to deteriorate rapidly.
• Additionally, you can use the traditional method of checking freshness. The eggs should be placed in a container with cold water. If they are fresh, they will definitely drown.Those that have surfaced will no longer be stored.
• A light test will also help. A quail egg is brought to the lamp and looked into the light. If the air chamber inside is small, then the product is fresh.
• The average weight of a fresh quail egg is 12-15 g. If you have a kitchen scale, it is easy to check the weight. If the weight is less than 10 g, the product is most likely stale.
• If you hold a fresh quail egg between your fingers and shake it, you can feel the liquid contents quivering inside it. This does not happen with stale goods. Of course, this experiment is carried out only on raw eggs.

Such tests will help out when purchasing a dietary product from a private seller on the market. After all, the freshness of the products in this case can only be judged from the words of the seller.

Shelf life of raw quail eggs

The refrigerator is not an accidental invention of mankind. Products placed in it retain their properties much longer. This also applies to quail eggs. However, in some cases it is not possible to place the products in the refrigerator compartment, for example, if the eggs were purchased at an unfurnished dacha from neighbors in the area, or there is no free space in the refrigerator. In such a case, you definitely need to know exactly how and for how long to store the product at room temperature.

In a refrigerator

Modern refrigerators provide temperature control. For maximum safety of quail eggs, the temperature regulator should be set in the range from + 2° C to + 6° C. Since the shell of such eggs is very fragile, they must be handled carefully when laying.

Additional rules:

• Eggs should not be washed before placing in the refrigerator.Water will destroy the protective layer on the shell, which will increase the breathability of the shell and reduce the shelf life of the product.
• The best containers are a cardboard box or a special grid.
• Eggs will stay fresh longer on the refrigerator shelf than on the refrigerator door. Maintaining a stable temperature is one of the conditions for long-term storage.
• You need to put the eggs in the refrigerator as soon as you bring them home.

Quail eggs are a valuable food product. To get the maximum benefit from it, doctors recommend consuming raw poultry products. In this case, the storage period should not exceed two weeks. The countdown must be carried out from the date of marking at production. After this, the eggs are also suitable for consumption, but they will need to be boiled. In general, the shelf life in the refrigerator should not exceed 30 days.

At room temperature

Without a refrigerator, quail eggs can also be stored for some time, but not for long and observing a number of conditions:

• room temperature – no higher than +24° C;
• air humidity – at 70%;
• Direct contact with the sun's rays is unacceptable;
• correct installation - blunt end up.

If these requirements are met, the shelf life of quail eggs will expire no earlier than in 2-3 weeks. If the room is hot, the storage time is reduced significantly.

How long do boiled quail eggs last?

Heat treatment reduces the shelf life of quail eggs, although the opposite happens with other products. The method of preparation also matters. Eggs can be hard-boiled or soft-boiled.

In the first case, the cooking time is 10-12 minutes.To prevent the shell from cracking in hot water, the eggs are first heated to room temperature, having previously removed them from the refrigerator. With an intact shell, the dietary product will remain edible for up to 7 days. Those eggs with cracked shells must be eaten within the next two days. Peeled eggs, even in the refrigerator, will retain their properties for only 24 hours.

In the second case, when the eggs are soft-boiled, the risk of poisoning increases after just a few hours of storage in the refrigerator. This dish is best eaten immediately after preparation. The same can be said for fried eggs.

Conditions for extending shelf life

You can maximize the shelf life of quail eggs by freezing them. With this method, the product is stored for 6 months to a year. However, in this case, it is not the whole eggs that must be stored, but their liquid mixture.

Before freezing, the eggs must be washed, and then each of them should be placed in a glass bowl and gently mixed (but not beaten). The prepared mixture is filled into ice molds or small containers with a lid. Subsequently, the product is defrosted naturally and used to prepare omelettes, baked goods, various snacks and sauces.

Compliance with certain conditions will help extend the shelf life of eggs in the refrigerator:

• avoid temperature changes that shorten the shelf life of products;
• do not allow eggs to freeze; at temperatures below 0° C the shell will crack;
• also avoid high temperatures (more than +10° C), eggs dry out in heat and their nutritional value decreases;
• maintain the humidity level at 70%; if the packaging is sealed, this figure may be lower;
• Check the integrity of the shell before laying, do not store cracked eggs for a long time.

It has been noticed that the product is best preserved on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. If the eggs have been sitting for a long time, it is better to check if they have spoiled before using them for food.

Signs of product spoilage

If the quail eggs change shape, become lighter, or float in the water, they may have gone bad. Another sign of spoilage of a raw egg is that even if you break it carefully, the yolk spreads.

And of course, organoleptic indicators, as experts call them, will come to the rescue. That is, you need to smell the product and evaluate its appearance. A spoiled egg will smell unpleasant. After cooking, the whites of stale quail eggs acquire a gray or yellowish tint.

Questions and answers

If some eggs develop cracks during storage, can they be added to cold sauces or eaten raw?

Since damage to the shell may not be detected immediately, it is better not to risk eating such eggs raw. After all, they could lie like that for about a week or more. If the appearance and smell of the product are not changed, use it to prepare dishes that require heat treatment.

Do homemade and store-bought quail eggs last the same long time?

At poultry factories and farms, products undergo strict veterinary control, and you don’t have to worry about their quality. In addition, no one will falsify the factory labeling, so you can know exactly from what day to count the shelf life. This will not work with eggs from domestic quails. The owner of the product himself can guarantee its freshness and quality only in words. Therefore, it is better not to take risks and store such eggs in the refrigerator for no longer than 15-20 days.

It is not recommended to wash eggs before storing them, but what should you do if they are dirty?

Indeed, it is unpleasant to put a product with traces of dirt, even of natural origin, into the refrigerator. Just wipe the shell with a dry cloth, working carefully, without pressing.

I heard from a friend that quail eggs can easily sit in the refrigerator for 3 months and not spoil, is that true?

Such claims should be considered myths. Perhaps a friend had a similar experience. But the benefits of such testicles will be very doubtful. Even if the products were stored in the refrigerator in compliance with all conditions. Over time, moisture evaporates through micropores in the shell. There is less and less of it left, the internal contents dry out. Given the size of quail eggs, such changes can greatly reduce the quality of the product.

In order for quail eggs to bring maximum benefit, it is better not to store them for a long time. The dietary product quickly loses valuable substances. The longest shelf life will be achieved by storing raw eggs in the refrigerator. Boiled eggs can also be stored in this way, but they will last much less. After long-term storage, it is better to use the products for culinary purposes by heat treatment.