Is It Safe To Eat Frozen Eggs?

It can happen to the best of us. You're putting groceries away after successfully navigating a trip to the grocery store, talking to a friend on your cell, and yada, yada, yada, your eggs end up in the freezer. Of course, you don't realize you put the egg carton in the freezer until the next morning when you go to make scrambled eggs for your kids before they head off to school. But after one Redditor wrote, "I had a brain fart and accidentally put eggs in the freezer instead of the fridge. Throwing them away seems wasteful on a tight budget," many began to wonder, "Are frozen eggs safe to use?"

With the rising cost of food and the unreal amount of food waste — 108 billion pounds or over $408 billion, per Feeding America – Americans are guilty of, no one wants to be lackadaisical when it comes to getting rid of food. That said, clearly, you do not want to risk your family's health over a few dollars, nor do you want to throw money down the drain or into the circular. So, what is the right course of action when it comes to frozen eggs and safety?

The answer is: It depends. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, you shouldn't be freezing your eggs in their shells; however, if you do so, the government agency states that if the shell has cracked during the freezing process, you need to throw them away. But, if upon examining the frozen eggs you discover their shells miraculously survived the freezing process with no cracks, they say you can safely keep the egg frozen until you plan on using it. When you are ready to use the frozen egg, allow time for it to defrost in the fridge. 

Of course, the recommendation for how you use eggs that have been frozen may not align with your culinary needs. The USDA notes that when frozen eggs are thawed, their characteristics change, especially the yolk. Just Cracking explains that the yolk changes when it freezes, solidifying and turning gel-like, and it doesn't magically change back when you unfreeze it. They go on to share that the egg white is fairly easy to use, but they describe the yolk as being "too firm" to blend, which may cause you some headaches if you are trying make a birthday cake or, gulp, need them for your recipe for perfect scrambled eggs.