How long does it take for a raw chicken egg in the shell to dry out?

Answer 1

Eggs can be considered "fresh" for up to four weeks with proper refrigeration.

They will often last longer but should be "tested" after the four week period.

Testing a suspect egg is easy, fill a bowl with water and place the egg in the bowl, if the egg floats it is stale. If it sinks to the bottom it is still "fresh".

This happens because the air pocked at the wide end of the egg expands as it gets older, the fresher the egg the smaller the air pocket.

Farm fresh eggs direct from a local farm are often laid within a day or two of your purchase and have a distinctly better flavor.

When buying from a supermarket the "use by" or "best before" date stamped on the carton corresponds to the packing date.

Answer 2

If you do not blow out the egg, AND you do not varnish it, AND you leave it out in the open air (not shut up in a china cabinet or in a box), then the insides will dry out over time. You will notice, within 3-6 months, and depending on the humidity, that the egg is much lighter. The contents have begun to thicken and dry up, and an air cell is formed between the two layers of the membrane inside the egg.

As time goes by, the contents get thicker and thicker. At about a year, most of the egg content has become thickly gelatinous, and occupies only a small part of the volume of the egg. At two years' time, it has dried out completely, and is a solid mass along the walls of the egg or, less commonly, a small round ball that rattles around in the egg.

Not all eggs dry out nicely. Some rot and, rather than thickening, the insides turn green, lumpy, putrid and watery. These are the eggs that, when cracked or broken, will let out a horrible "rotten egg" odor.

If you varnish a whole raw egg, and/or you store it in a closed area without air flow, you run the risk of preventing the insides from drying out properly, and it is possible that the egg will self-destruct, releasing an extremely unpleasant gas.

Originally, Ukrainians did not varnish their eggs; they used pork or duck fat to make them shiny. Also, they did not keep them as art. Instead they used them for various magical and talismanic purposes, such as burying them in the fields to ensure a good yield of crops, or trapping evil spirits that enter a household. When a pysanka broke, the shell was destroyed in a ritual manner, to prevent witches or other evil beings from getting ahold of it.

Modern pysanka artists like to varnish their eggs to strengthen the shell, and also to make them look nice and glossy. To prevent unwelcome (and unpleasant) odors, they remove the insides first and rinse out the shell with a mild vinegar water solution, and allow the egg to drain. Eggs treated in this way will dry out in about 1-2 days.

Answer 3

I leave my eggs to dry in the shell for one year. If you candle a white egg, you can monitor the progression of drying. For most of my eggs, when it is perfectly dried, the remaining core will detach from the inside of the shell. That is one important thing to remember -- if you are drying the egg in the shell, have it positioned the way you want it at the end. You will always have a solid core left. This acts like a weight or anchor to keep the egg in position. If you dried it one way, and want it positioned another way, the egg won't be stable because of the core.

Answer 4

Fresh eggs can sit out until you wash them.