What Happens When Eggs Freeze?


Consider this Part One in a new series, “I Could Really Use a New Fridge, But I’m Renting.”

On any given day, certain things in my fridge freeze. It could be my expensive organic baby greens mix. It could be my milk. Maybe 4 cartons of strawberries (that really made me mad…)

Or perhaps a full carton (or three) of eggs–

I love science in the kitchen so instead of being furious (I was a little mad), I thought I would see what a frozen egg looked like inside.

About the same, only frozen. I watched it as it thawed. Great entertainment for a food nerd.

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25 Comments

  1. That is very interesting…in a totally gross way. ;)

    So…does it ruin your eggs if they freeze, or can you let them thaw and still use them?

  2. Oh cool! Makes me want to put some eggs in the freezer…

    And I went through the whole random freezing thing with our fridge too a while ago. Very bizarre, and rather annoying at times.

    But your post kind of makes me wish some of my eggs had frozen at some point. Just so I could take my own food geek photos. :)

  3. Well, I must say, that your post about “frozen eggs” was a bit different . . . perhaps an original.

    Most interesting, however.

    Have you tried to adust that little knob (temperature control) on your fridge?

    Of course, that may or MAY NOT work. But if you are a renter, I could also suggest that you call your landlord and request a new fridge.

  4. cool!
    in a similar vein, in elementary school i remember soaking eggs in vinegar. it turned the shell totally squishy and translucent so you could see the interior. now i want to try it again…

  5. i’m pretty sure you can still use the egggs (maybe even milk, not lettuce though) because different cooking shows etc often suggest putting the other half of the egg – like when you only need the white/yolk – into the freezer to use in the future.

  6. You can still use the eggs, I think…I have used them and they’ve been fine. What I mean to say is that this is not the first time!!!

    I have adjusted the knob, but it doesn’t do much. My landlord still thinks the fridge is “new” at thirteen years and counting…

    Oh, well.

    Stay tuned though–I dug out an old issue of Cooks’ Illustrated that tells which shelf to store which food item. Pretty interesting…maybe my eggs will be safe!

    Thanks for all the comments!

  7. I’ve gone through the whole “I’d do xyz, but I’m renting” dilemma before, as well.

    Consider this, however. In my case, I’ve rented a loft for about 7 years. I’ve done quite a bit to fix it up to suit me, and the owners have done precious little. The fridge was the least expensive model of a small apartment fridge they could possible find — perhaps $300 at best, no ice maker, short, barely adequate. But what are you going to do, right? You’re not going to buy your landlord a new fridge. You’re not going to “improve their property” beyond the basics, right?

    So, I lived with that piece of cra* for six years, until I wised up. I was punishing myself, every single day, based on their choice to put in a bad fridge. I didn’t even have the freezing problem you had. Just undersized and underpowered. I finally realized, I live there 24/7/365, maybe even will do so for several more years. I was punishing MYSELF by not upgrading my fridge, myself, to improve my daily life and my environment.

    I got rid of their tiny fridge on Craigs List. I sold it for $50.00. It wasn’t worth much. I could replace it with a new one at a cost of $300 at most, or a used one for perhaps $100. That’s a bargain, and nothing at all in comparison with the daily irritation I was suffering. I purchased a nice, big fridge, and put it in myself.

    If I move and need it, I’ll take it. If I don’t, I’ll sell it. I’ll replace it with a cheap used fridge like the one they stuck me with at the time I leave.

    Cost to get my landlord a new fridge when I leave? Maybe $100?

    Having a good, clean, bright, upgraded fridge for every day you live in your apartment, and no frozen eggs? Priceless.

    Make the investment. You won’t be sorry, and they may even buy it from you when YOU leave!

  8. I love that you thought of taking pictures of the eggs and then posting them for all your food obsessed readers! Very, very cool! Thank you! :) Hope you get a new fridge though!

  9. I knew I was going to be in a hurry today, so I scooped my yogurt out into a bowl last night and set it in the fridge. I’m now eating the not-so-smooth kind of frozen yogurt. I feel your pain!

  10. That’s happened to me before- with everything you mentioned- milk, eggs, baby greens and strawberries! It even happens in our nice, new fridge. I think I’m still getting used to adjusting the temp. Or I’m just cursed with the freezing fridge!

    Great pics.

  11. Rental fridges are always crapola. Here in our cottage we have a bar size fride and a matching freezer. Thank goodness we also have a huge American Sized one of our own. You can use frozen eggs for cooking I believe and the whites will still whip up perfectly also.

  12. Cool post! Actually, if you have a fridge in your apartment, I guess you should consider yourself lucky… maybe. Here where I live, landlords do not provide fridges.

  13. You may just need to clean the freezer drain. It gets clogged over time. It is a 1 hour fix tops. If you have ice or dripping from your freezer you ought to look into it. Every rental we’ve ever lived in had that problem. My husband is a pro at fixing it now! Lol. Basically thaw the freezer and clean the drain (usually clogged with hair or lint or something similar-though how it gets in my freezer I don’t want to know…) good luck! (Sorry I don’t know you. I was searching for what to do with my frozen eggs-my daughter put them in the freezer. :)

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