Forum: cooking.stackexchange.com
Tags: <food-safety><eggs><boiling>
Title: Can I boil eggs in the same pot I'm boiling something else?
Question: I know cooking the eggs kills the salmonella and  that the risk is small even for raw eggs . However, I stopped boiling the eggs in the same pot I'm boiling something else, like potatoes, when I learnt the salmonella is in the shell.  Obviously, I'm not eating the shell and the eggs are washed. I wonder if I can boil everything in the same pot or not.

Answers:
sents: text: Salmonella can't survive boiling water, it would get killed at that temperature.
text: It should be fine to boil everything in the same pot.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1675/Manako
score: 20
sents: text: As soon as one of the eggs gets cracked you might get a true mess, so it is safer to boil them separated from the rest of your meal.
text: Otherwise there's no problem with it (taken the eggs are clean).
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/3144/RBloeth
score: 8
sents: text: I personally reckon it's fine.
text: Couple of points I like to make here are: Hygiene of eggs
text: : Make sure you wash your eggs before you cook as surface of egg can be very dirty Maybe put the eggs in with cold water, otherwise, put the eggs when the water is hot may crack the eggs
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/2951/Foodrules 
score: 7
sents: text: If you are cooking the eggs hot enough to kill Salmonella (above 160 F), then you are also cooking the egg shell hot enough.
text: Egg white becomes solid and firm at 170 F, so that is a good gauge.
text: Of course, observing your water at a rolling boil is also a good gauge (212 F).
text: Keep in mind the average consumer will encounter one contaminated egg in a lifetime.
text: Unless you are in the habit of cracking your eggs open and letting them sit raw for hours at favorable temperatures, you will probably not encounter this issue.
text: There may be confusion with instructions for sterilizing drinking water.
text: To prepare outdoor water for drinking, it is recommended a full rolling boil for 10 minutes.
text: This addresses a wide potential range of bacteria, spores, parasites, etc.
text: Although there may be the odd pond water parasite that needs ten minutes of boiling, these are not creatures found in your egg carton.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/4428/J. Win.
score: 7
sents: text: Yes.
text: We've made potato salad with the eggs and the potatoes boiling together for generations.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/3158/cabbey
score: 2
sents: text: I've had no problems boiling eggs in the same pot as my rice or pasta.
text: I usually place them very gently into the boiling water.
text: Haven't had any crack so far, but I'm guessing
text: that's more good luck than good planning.
text: The most important thing for me is that it saves on pan usage.
text: I don't have very many, and using an entire pan/burner for an egg is a little overkill, compared to this alternative.
text: The less washing up is nice too.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/3229/Jack Scott
score: 1
sents: text: Yes I would have thought this would be fine.
text: Though I've never done it myself.
text: The only issues i can see are getting it soft boiled (for which my technique requires the eggs starting in cold water).
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/2010/NBenatar
score: 0
sents: text: I have recipes from cookbooks that combine-cook eggs (with green beans, for example).
text: I'd therefore imagine it'd not be a problem.
text: (Although my cookbooks can be wrong as well, of course).
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/8457/Tobias Op Den Brouw
score: 0
sents: text: Boiling eggs along with noodles, water for tea, and many other things has taken place for years.
text: Its only people's recent phobia of germs that causes one to be apprehensive.
text: There is no harm in it.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/9795/Agnus
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
This cooking method has long been used with pasta, tea and other foods, and since salmonella can't survive boiling water, this would not be a risk. However, it could be a good idea to wash your eggs in water before boiling them and to make sure that they don't crack.
This is generally fine as long as the water is hot enough to kill bacteria and the eggs don't crack in the pot.