Some large restaurant chains no longer offer sunny-side up eggs to customers, and many institutions such as hospitals and nursing homes use only pasteurized egg products already removed from the shell. But if L. John Davidson , president of Pasteurized Eggs L.P. in Laconia, N.H., has his way, shells will crack and yolks will run in kitchens around the nation. Pasteurized Eggs in June debuted its new process for pasteurizing shell eggs in Lancaster, Pa., the heart of the state's giant egg producing and processing industry. The machine itself is a marvel of engineering know-how and patience. After about three hours of tinkering and tweaking to assure that the demonstration would proceed without flaw, FPS unveiled the equipment to the public.
Eggs arrive for pasteurization via conveyer.
The actual temperatures and times of the baths are closely guarded company secrets. Davidson says the key to the process is allowing the heat to slowly penetrate to the center of the egg. While the pasteurization of eggs taken from the shell is commonplace, technical difficulties have stymied past efforts to pasteurize eggs still in the shell. The trick is to get the center of the yolk to the same temperature without hard-boiling the egg. As anyone who has cooked an egg knows, the albumin, or white part of the egg, is especially sensitive to heat due to its density and chemical composition.