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Optimal consumption time for Thousand Year Egg (pei dan)


hzrt8w

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"Thousand Year Old Egg" (pei dan) is just a nickname. It doesn't take a thousand year to make them. Nor will they last a thousand year.

As with most Chinese food items, the package does not include any suggestion on the optimal consumption date, nor expiration date or production date.

I used to think Thousand Year eggs can last a long time in the cupboard. I obviously am wrong. Recently I discovered a couple of boxes of Thousand Year eggs hidden deep in my pantry. Maybe it has been over a year. Can't tell how long. One box: the eggs shrank and turned rubbery. Another box: the eggs turned "mouldy". The eggs are already fermented! I didn't think fermented food can turn mouldy. Not only dry, the taste had turned nasty.

So my question... if anybody knows: what is the optimal "consumption" life for Thousand Year eggs (pei dan) once bought from the store?

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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If by optimal consumption you mean shelf life well I have some which have been in the fridge for a few months but the last time we tried some they were a little too ammonia-tasting but still edible. However if by optimal you mean optimal taste and freshness My recommendation would be to consume them within a few weeks after purchase. I believe the quality of eggs also matter... that is, buying reputable brand.

Hope this helps

Cheers

I'm a plant-rights activist... I only eat meat!

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If the ashes are left on, do they last longer?

Years ago, when they were shipped from China, in the holds of ships, in those massive crockware containers, it must have taken quite a while. Even months before they arrived at the different Chinatowns and were sold. Or so I would think. So their 'shelf life' must have been fairly long.

BTW -- I have one of those beautiful containers. It is about 18"/18', is a dark brown glaze with an overlay of a dragon with shiny glassy eyes. It has twisted bamboo handles and wrapped in thick shipping cord to protect it from bumping into other containers during the trip in ship's holds. I bought it for $35, from a store in Montreal's Chinatown, years ago. They had several of them and were just trying to get rid of them!! I cherish it.

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BTW -- I have one of those beautiful containers. It is about 18"/18', is a dark brown glaze with an overlay of a dragon with shiny glassy eyes.

Wait, 18 inches by 18 feet? Or is that a typo?

I remember my mother buying 1000 year eggs from those crocks from when I was young. The eggs were covered in the mud that we'd have to scrape off. When did they stop selling them that way?

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OOPS! Shuo cuo le! Yeah -- typo! 18 inches 18 inches -- actually the depth is 16" or 17". But they are the ones that you would see on the floors in the smaller stores. This one has that beautiful carving I mentioned, and all the protective rope. I tried to google for a picture, but couldn't find one.

But the question is -- do the ashy ones last longer than without the ash, I wonder?

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I have two egg urns just like the ones you mentioned. I have "elephant ears" - ornamental taro planted in them. They sit outside during the summer, and I've brought them in to winter over as they take a long time to sprout. The taro is just like the edible ones, but not sure if these are edible. The leaves are big so quite suitable for this size of container.

I used to be able to get the eggs covered in light-coloured mud and grain husks. Then it was just very fine black ash-like dirt. They were such a pain to clean off. Now they are just wrapped in double plastic in styrofoam boxes of 6.

I don't think the shelf life is as long as they used to be when covered in dirt. The dirt covering might have prevent air and moisture in the air getting into the egg causing it to dry out or ferment. The shell would be porous. Possible?

I always keep my cartons in the fridge.

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Thanks for all the replies, everybody!

Yes I guess I was talking about "shelf life". I was thinking of more than that. See some fermented food becomes better with age. e.g. red wine, brandy, cheese, vinegar, etc.. I thought by chance it might be similar in the case of pei dan. Or at least I didn't think the quality would degrade over time. And definitely would not think something already fermented would go "mouldy". :)

Yes I believe that egg shells are porus. Maybe for air but not liquid. (The surface tension thing.) That's why the pei dan dries up over time.

And yes I believe that keeping the pei dan stuffed with ash (hi jo-mel mama!) will keep the eggs longer, preventing it from drying up. In the old days (60's - 70's) they used to sell pei dan still wrapped in ash and dry rice husks. Now they clean up the eggs before putting them in styrofoam boxes to sell.

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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  • 2 months later...

I just bought a name-brand carton of the eggs here in Metro in Beijing. I like to buy my normal eggs there too as it's the only place in Beijing that I've found that refrigerates their eggs. Anyway, the carton had an expiration date on it and if memory serves (I don't feel like getting up and going to the fridge right now) it was about six months after the date of manufacture. Hope that helps.

Maybe I would have more friends if I didn't eat so much garlic?

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