Is it safe to eat whipped eggs?

Whipping does nothing to make an egg safe. For recipes calling for raw egg—mayonnaise, ice cream, custards—you can use pasteurized eggs to lower your risk of contracting foodborne illness.

So few eggs are unsafe, if handled correctly, that it’s not even really a concern, but if you want to make extra sure, choose pasteurized. There’s still no guarantee that they’re not contaminated, though. It’s worth the risk for the yums.

I assume you mean whipped egg whites, although if you mean actual whipped uncooked eggs, well the salmonella odds will be good info for you.

The concern with raw egg consumption is salmonella. From this page, Although it is possible for Salmonella to be in both the white and the yolk of the egg, the white does not readily support bacterial growth. Cold soufflés, mousses, and chiffons containing raw beaten whites require refrigeration to maintain their character, and added safety factor. Such dishes might be considered low risk for healthy individuals.

From this I conclude it’s less risky to eat uncooked egg whites than to eat a whole uncooked egg. If you are in a high risk group for salmonella (elderly, sick, there are others) you may want to avoid the small odds of getting it. However the odds of having a salmonella-infected egg are low to begin with, something like 1 in 20,000 eggs, and then for the white to be infected is another improbable event. So I would feel fine with eating both raw eggs and whipped whites.

I have yet to be killed by a lemon meringue pie.

You’re more likely to choke and die on that pie than to die from salmonella in the egg white meringue.

Of course that would be awful, we’d have copycat pies on the loose like no one’s business :)

Meringue is usually baked, so there would be no risk there. If you’re just whipping the eggs, as stated above, they will still be raw, but there is such a small chance that they are tainted with salmonella that I’d say go for it.

Okay. Then I have yet to die from eating cake and cookie batter.

And, for the last 30 years, at Christmas, I’ve ingested my friend’s eggnog with whipped uncooked egg whites floating on the top like a cloud. Heavenly. She, in turn, eats my steak tartare every New Year’s Eve. Maybe it’s a subliminal death wish, but both are delectible. After 30 years, we’re both still here.

I am very picky about mayonnaise, however.

Alfreda, the episode of Good Eats about Eggnog goes into great depth about the safety of uncooked eggs. You guys should keep an eye out for it, I’m sure FN will air it again soon.

@tinefaery: “Okay. Then I have yet to die from eating cake and cookie batter.” And I’m sure much like you…I’ve tried really, really hard.

Oh, I know. But I have to go sometime, and “death by eggnog” sounds so lovely, compared to dying slowly of Alzheimer’s… ditto the steak tartare, which I make with beef tenderloin, and keep well-chilled at all times.

Oohh – I choose death by chocolate chip cookie dough!