old and people with weakened immune
systems. The best way to reduce the already
small chance of using a badly contaminated
egg is to buy only refrigerated eggs and to
speed them into your own refrigerator. Cook
all egg dishes sufficiently to kill any bacteria
that might be present. This generally means
holding a temperature of at least 140ºF/60ºC
for 5 minutes, or 160ºF/70ºC for 1 minute.
Egg yolks will remain runny at the first
temperature, but will harden at the second.
For many lightly cooked egg dishes — soft-
boiled and poached eggs, for example, and the
yolk-based sauces — it’s possible to modify
traditional recipes so as to eliminate any
salmonella that might be present (see box, p.
91).
Pasteurized Eggs Three safer alternatives to
fresh eggs are eggs pasteurized in the shell,
liquid eggs, and dried egg whites, all of which
are available in supermarkets. Intact eggs,