Common Shailos: Egg Checking

QUICK/SHORT POST

April 2012

Why do we need to check eggs for blood spots? And, if we are obligated to do so, how can we eat hard boiled eggs without checking?!

M.G. -Cleveland, OH

What an egg-cellent question! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)

When we eat eggs we are relying on many halachic factors. We are trusting that these eggs come from a kosher bird, and that the eggs are not ‘ova’ eggs, which are eggs taken from slaughtered chickens (which would be cause the eggs to be considered either meat or treif, depending on how the fowl was slaughtered).

Being that halacha has worked out the above, what remains is the concern of blood spots.

Fertilized Eggs

Eating a chick embryo is forbidden, as is eating any blood found in eggs. This is not due to the issur of eating blood proper, rather because the blood may be due to the beginning stages of the egg’s embryo (Chullin 64).

In Vietnam there is even a delicacy called Balut, which is a seasoned egg where the embryo is partially developed –yuk!

Because of the complexity of this halacha –and debates as to when and where it applies –some had a minhag of cooking three eggs at once (see shu’t Vayiverech Dovid 1:92, bottom of p. 317), this was likely due to balla bustas wanting an assumption of the majority being non-blood eggs, and so that if a blood spot is indeed found in one of them the other two would be ok to eat due to their majority standing (this minhag may also be based on a literal translation of the Rama 66:4).

 Nevertheless, it may surprise some to learn that even checking such eggs for blood was but a minhag, since the majority of even such eggs do not have blood spots (refer to Shulchan Aruch Y’D siman 66:6).

The Shulchan Aruch states that they would therefore eat roasted eggs even though they could not first be checked.

Nevertheless, the Rama records the minhag of checking such eggs, although allowing one to eat a mixture that contains an egg that had blood in it, bdieved (66:4,6).

Battery Eggs

Today’s eggs are laid by hens alone, without roosters. Meaning, they are not fertilized and the egg can’t ever turn into an embryo! Blood found in today’s eggs (which is rare since Grade A and Grade AA eggs are checked for blood before sale) is caused by fissures in the ‘mother’ hen that gets transferred into the egg.

Due to maaras ayin we hold that such blood should still not be eaten (cf. Shach). However, by the letter of the law, only the blood spot need be thrown out, and the rest of the egg may be consumed. However, the minhag seems to be to throw out the the entire egg (Igros Moshe YD 1:36).

Even though we should not need to check our eggs today –as even when we ate fertilized eggs, checking was but a minhag –many poskim hold that we should not abandon this minhag.

The customer should be warned however that it is still possible to purchase fertilized eggs, and if such an egg were to have a blood spot then, by basic halacha, the entire egg must be thrown out.

Conclusion:

1 – Unless one has a specific minhag, there is no need to cook today’s eggs in pairs of three

2 –If one finds blood in today’s eggs, one need not kasher the pot according to most poskim (cf. Taamei D’Krah, minhagei Chazon Ish) (Some have the minhag of leaving such a pot idle for 24 hours before using it next)