Saving yolks from making egg white cocktails

[Kent Wang]

It seems like such a waste to just toss out the yolks. There are quite a few desserts that call for egg yolk, creme brulee perhaps the most prominent.

If you're saving at home, how long do yolks keep, keeping in mind that they've been handled by your hands (assuming you separate yolks by hand, and not with yolk separator) and possibly broken.

I've never seen a bar do it, but they go through so many eggs that they could either be pumping out tons of creme brulee -- maybe even make them free bar snacks -- or sell or donate to a nearby bakery.

[slkinsey]

I always keep them. Just toss them in a resealable plastic container that you keep in the freezer. Later on you can thaw (they will be thicker than they were before they were frozen) and use in custard or, if you're me, egg yolk pasta.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Look for Jacques Pepin's first US cookbook (I don't know if he had others before), coauthored with Helen McCully , The Other Half of the Egg, which is a compendium of recipes for only whites and only yolks.

I usually use spare yolks for Filipino-style ensaimadas (essentially made from a brioche paste using all yolks), ice cream, and custards, and occasionally other things like thickening a sauce or egg noodles.

[philadining]

We were just thinking the same thing at a local bar, watching lots of egg yolks get tossed. It's probably not very practical in a fast-moving bar workflow, but it seems like there must be something they could do other than just discarding them. We thought it would be nice if they made zabaglione for everyone who was still hanging around at the end of the night...

[slkinsey]

From a legal and food safety standpoint, I have my doubts as to whether a bar could keep the yolks from eggs that were cracked and used during service. Frankly, even by my significantly more relaxed standards, I'm not sure I'd want those yolks myself.

[Splificator]

Only one solution: Pousse l'Amours all around.

[slkinsey]

Heh. Is there a single pousse-café that isn't revolting? I remember one New Year's Eve at Pegu Club when Brian Miller must have spend 20 minutes creating a 15-layer pousse-café for my wife. It was truly a spectacular work of "specific gravity art." But after a few sips she asked whether she really had to drink the whole thing.

[phil_v]

Heh.  Is there a single pousse-café that isn't revolting?  I remember one New Year's Eve at Pegu Club when Brian Miller must have spend 20 minutes creating a 15-layer pousse-café for my wife.  It was truly a spectacular work of "specific gravity art."  But after a few sips she asked whether she really had to drink the whole thing.

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You could use egg yolks in a flip - classic recipes - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_%28cocktail%29

Egg yolk is also the main ingredient in Advocaat - Snowball anyone?