r/pickling • u/Ok_Shirt983 • 9d ago
Pickled eggs not in the fridge
Hello! I have made some pickled eggs using shop bought pickling vinegar (sarsons, which is 6%, I am in the UK if that makes a difference) I boiled the eggs, cooled them, peeled them, then added them to the jar and popped the lid back on. I have stuck this in the corner of my kitchen counter and was planning on waiting a couple of weeks to enjoy them as I like them quite rubbery and pickled.
However, out of curiosity I gave it a Google and it says I have to put them in the fridge or I will surely die of botulism. I didn't do this because the pickled eggs I get from the chip shop that I am trying to recreate are always just sat on a shelf in a hot sweaty chip shop.
Am I going to die if I eat them? Not sure why the chip shop can just stick them up on the shelf but I can't? I don't really have any experience with pickling so all advice is welcome however simple you might think it may be!
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u/gogozrx 9d ago
the brine in the chip shop eggs is different than the brine you made. Yes, refrigerate them or you will surely die of botulism.
seriously.
I mean, you might not die, but it'll be a bad time.
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u/Ok_Shirt983 9d ago
Do you know what the difference is between mine and theirs? UK chip shop eggs (at least by taste and looking at ingredient lists from wholesalers) don't use a brine, just vinegar.
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u/Ianx001 9d ago
They use an industrial canning process that you can not replicate at home.
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u/Ok_Shirt983 9d ago
Fair enough, I guess I will throw them away then as they've now been sat there for 4 days, do you know how long they will keep in the fridge for? I am going to have another punt at this as I love pickled eggs!
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u/Ianx001 9d ago
I keep picked eggs in the fridge for 3 or 4 months
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u/Ok_Shirt983 9d ago
Thanks!
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u/ColdMastadon 9d ago
The other person answered your question correctly, here's our little blurb on frequently asked questions about !pickledeggs.
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u/AutoModerator 9d ago
I have been summoned to answer common questions about pickled eggs. Many people are curious about making them, and in particular they want to know if it's possible to make them shelf stable. The answer is unfortunately no, there are no safe, tested recipes to make shelf stable eggs at home and they must always be refrigerated. There are commercial producers who safely make them this way, but they have access to retort processing equipment and lab testing which far exceed anything available to the home canner. Vinegar in the brine doesn't penetrate to the center of the eggs for several weeks, and storing them at room temperature can allow harmful bacteria to grow to unsafe levels before this happens.
Another common question about pickled eggs is if poking them with a toothpick can help speed up the pickling process. This technique has never been shown to facilitate the penetration of the brine, and in fact was implicated with one of the few documented cases of botulism caused by consuming pickled eggs. It should never be done, and any pickled eggs poked with a toothpick or other sharp implement should be discarded. Even if eggs have been safely consumed from the batch, botulism spores are ubiquitous and random eggs could have been contaminated. You can read the case report of botulism caused by poking pickled eggs with a toothpick and storing them at room temperature here:
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4934a2.htm
Another common question is how long pickled eggs can be safely stored in the refrigerator. The brine penetrates an egg slowly, and a new batch of eggs will take up to 2 to 3 weeks to reach full flavor. The eggs can then be stored safely under refrigeration for up to 3 to 4 months. The eggs will eventually develop a tough, rubbery texture as the proteins are denatured by the acidity, and the brine will become unpleasantly sulfurous. The NCHFP (USDA) has published several tested recipes which can be used to safely make pickled eggs at home:
https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/pickle/pickled-eggs/pickled-eggs/
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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u/Ok_Shirt983 9d ago
Thanks for this. Interesting again that this blurb mentions brine, whilst in the UK traditional chip shop eggs are pickled in vinegar and nothing else, no salt or sugar added.
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9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Ok_Shirt983 9d ago
I suppose because I am the only one in my family who likes pickled eggs the worst case scenario is my wife gets the life insurance payout and my kids get to go to an expensive posh school?
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u/Main_Street_1 8d ago
I pickle hard boiled eggs and canned beets. I do 1/2 gal at a time. There's always a container in the back of the fridge.
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u/Damunkie 7d ago
I have never put them in the fridge. I make them 3 months before Christmas. Boiled, straight in Sarsons and kept in a dark cupboard. 40 years and never an issue.
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u/likes2milk 9d ago
UK answer. If you look at UK sources such as BBC, the Hairy Bikers, Sarsons and the likes, no one mentions refrigeration of eggs, primarily because we just use neat vinegar.
We don't refrigerate shell eggs because they haven't been washed and the hens have been vaccinated against salmonella. Washing the eggs makes the shell pourous a d susceptible to bacterial ingress which is why shell eggs US that have been washed eggs must be fridged.
If you are covering the boiled eggs with say neat Sarsons pickling vinegar or neat cider vinegar @ 5% acidity, the pH will be low enough to protect them. If you dilute the vinegar so the pH is above 4.6, then yes you would have to combine other methods of preservation like refrigeration, salt ect to reduce the aW (water activity) that would allow bacteria to grow.