Egg yolks are often left over when baking, especially in the run-up to Christmas. Anyone who has had enough of egg yolk omelets after baking cinnamon stars and macaroons can easily freeze the excess yolks and preserve them for several months.
Eggs should be as fresh as possible for freezing
Prepare egg yolks for freezing
The be-all and end-all when freezing eggs is freshness: In order to prevent bacterial contamination, the eggs must be absolutely fresh when they go into the freezer. After just two hours at room temperature, the raw egg yolk can be spoiled.
Egg yolks tend to form a tough skin when thawed, which can be troublesome depending on the intended processing. To prevent this, mix the egg yolks with either a little salt (one teaspoon for ten yolks) or with sugar (one tablespoon for ten yolks).
If you have not yet planned what you want to use the yolks for later, you can freeze them in two portions: one salty portion for savory dishes, one portion with sugar for desserts.
Portion optimally
You should freeze egg yolks in small individual portions in order to be able to portion them optimally during later processing. There are three options for storing yolks that you want to freeze:
- tightly lockable plastic boxes
- freeze bag
- ice cube molds
plastic boxes
The downside to plastic boxes is that most are too big for small egg servings. The boxes don't have to be filled completely, but even half full they take up a lot of space in the freezer. If you decide to use plastic boxes, put labels on them that indicate the amount of yolk, what to add (salt or sugar), and the date it was frozen.
freeze bag
You can fill freezer bags with small amounts of egg and then freeze them flat, which takes up very little space in the freezer. Before filling, label the bags with the freezing date, amount of egg yolk and the words "salt" or "sugar".
ice cube molds
Egg yolks portioned in ice cube molds are particularly convenient for later processing. An ice cube is about the same size as an egg yolk, so you can easily get the amount you need. As soon as the mass is completely frozen, you can transfer the egg yolk cubes into previously labeled freezer bags.
What is important when defrosting?
Hygiene is particularly important when defrosting eggs, as raw animal foods are particularly susceptible to harmful germs. It is advisable to let the yolks slowly defrost in the refrigerator. In this way, the cold chain is not interrupted and the microbes have no chance of contaminating the egg.
Consume the frozen egg yolks after ten months at the latest and cook them before consumption by baking, roasting or boiling.
The garden journal freshness ABC
How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?
The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:
- as a free PDF file to print out yourself