Can You Freeze Eggs?

Eggs in their shells should not be put in the freezer. Most of the contents are water, which expands as it freezes; the shell cannot stretch and cracks. The egg contents that leak through the cracked shell come into contact with air in the freezer, and that air can enter the egg. One egg with a cracked shell can therefore dry out or become contaminated and is not considered safe. For the same reason, one egg accidentally left in the freezer and found cracked must be discarded; even a hairline crack makes no difference. The only correct way to freeze an egg is to remove it from its shell first.

Once removed from the shell, the two parts of an egg behave differently. The white is made almost entirely of water and protein; its structure does not change when frozen and thawed, and it can still be whipped and used just like fresh egg white in recipes such as meringue, soufflé, or cookies. The yolk is rich in fat and protein, and its proteins bind together and gel as it freezes. After thawing, it does not return to its former fluid state; it remains pasty and lumpy. This gelling is not spoilage, but it can make the yolk harder to mix into a recipe.

Preventing the yolk from gelling is easy. Lightly beat the yolks in a bowl and stir in one pinch of salt; the salt prevents the proteins from binding, so the thawed yolk stays fluid. For yolks intended for sweet recipes, sugar does the same job and is added instead of salt. Be sure to label which one was added, since a yolk prepared with salt will not work in a dessert, and one prepared with sugar will not work in a savory dish. To freeze whole eggs, beat the white and yolk together and add the same ingredient; take care not to whip in foam, since air bubbles can spoil the texture when frozen.

The freezing method determines how the eggs can be used. An ice cube tray is the most practical option: put an egg-sized portion in each compartment, then, once frozen, remove the portions from the tray and transfer them to a resealable bag. Label the bag with how many compartments correspond to one egg. That way, you can take out the amount a recipe calls for. Divide larger amounts among small containers. Labeling the quantity is essential: after an egg mixture has been frozen and transferred, there is no way to tell how many eggs it contains. An unlabeled bag would force you to guess when using it in a recipe.

Hard-boiled eggs should not be frozen; there are no exceptions to this rule. The white’s structure is irreversibly damaged by freezing, and after thawing it becomes rubbery, spongy, and watery. The yolk holds up better, but it is not used on its own without the white. Thaw frozen raw eggs in the refrigerator, not on the counter, and use them within one day after thawing, cooking them thoroughly. Do not use them in a recipe that is eaten raw, such as a sauce or dessert cream.