r/fermentation • u/bangorma1n3 • Aug 08 '26
Other Fermented eggs
Instead of pickling eggs I decided to ferment them.
Picking spices, 7 or 8 cloves sliced garlic, 2 tablespoons of thyme and 2 tablespoons of sugar so the ferment had something to feed on.
They are tangy and really good. Somehow they seem lighter and less dense than pickled eggs
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u/RadBradRadBrad Aug 08 '26
OP these are not safe. You’re really rolling the dice.
The garlic is the only thing contributing LAB and it tends to have a low LAB load compared to other veggies.
Eggs are risker than veggies because egg protein acts as an acidic buffer. There’s a good chance the yolks will never get to a safe pH.
Low LAB to start + low carbohydrate load + buffering = slow or limited acidification and a risky end product.
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u/THEpottedplant Aug 08 '26
Ive made pickled/fermented soft boiled eggs before. I used old ginger beer that turned very acidic and some salt. I use this for veggie pickles too, usually goes that after a couple days, the salt content in the brine becomes low enough for fermentation to resume while in the fridge, the end result is lightly carbonated as well as pickled. The eggs would end up with a slightly crystalized and carbonated yolk, and id eat it with a bit of a hot honey ferment id make. Shit was so good
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u/bangorma1n3 Aug 08 '26
Everyhting is good. I started with brine from a previous ferment, and I added sugar for the bacteria to feed on and create acid
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u/nss68 Aug 08 '26
Eggs are entirely protein and fat. They don’t lactoferment. You would need to add enzymes like koji. Even then, though, you’d have to process them because it wouldn’t. Penetrate the whites.
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u/bangorma1n3 Aug 08 '26
Dunno. I'm eating them and they're nicely fermented
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u/nss68 Aug 08 '26
The eggs definitely didn't lactoferment -- not possible.
What IS possible is that you fermented other things in the brine with the eggs. Those items fermented enough to acidify the brine to the point that the eggs are pickled. But I promise you that microbes aren't consuming and changing the eggs (fermentation).
It doesn't look like you have much in the jar besides eggs so I suspect they're not even pickled.
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u/bangorma1n3 Aug 08 '26
I promise: they taste great, and I pickle eggs all the time and these are different
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u/nss68 Aug 08 '26
As in not pickled?
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u/bangorma1n3 Aug 08 '26
Yeah. Fermented not pickled. Similar result but different method leading to a different flavor and texture
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u/RadBradRadBrad Aug 08 '26
Whether or not they’re safe would be partially dependent on the starting pH of the existing brine you used.
Also acetic acid (vinegar) and lactic acid (lab fermentation) don’t penetrate things equally.
The NCHFPs guidance for eggs is only refrigerated, vinegar-based pickled eggs. Which relates back to acidic buffering and the amount of time it takes for acid to penetrate the yolk.
It tastes like it fermented because the existing brine is seeking equilibrium with the eggs. That is not a sign of safety.
You’re playing with a lot of variables here.
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u/bangorma1n3 Aug 08 '26
Oh of course they're different. Just similar. I don't think there are that many variables: Cooked eggs, salt, low ph.
And while I appreciate that NCHFP's recipies are good, if they don't have guidance on this partilicular item and method: that doesn't mean it dosen't work or is unsafe
I could take a ph reading when I get home if you're interested
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u/Deppfan16 Aug 09 '26
the issue is the center of the eggs takes too long to get fully pickled, so you risk botulism and other foodborne illness. it's high risk, low reward when it's just easier to stick it in the fridge. l
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u/CrazyEyedFS Aug 08 '26
Of course they taste different from the usual pickled eggs. You're using a different acid.
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Aug 08 '26
Did you test the pH after fermentation? I saw you added some sugar too. As long as you're at or below 4 you should be good.
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u/bangorma1n3 Aug 08 '26
I didn't test it, my taste buds said it was sour enough. But based on your question and another I'll probably test it later today
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Aug 08 '26
Always better to be safe than sorry!
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u/bangorma1n3 Aug 08 '26
Ph of 3.5
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Aug 08 '26
Nice! Yeah that's completely safe then.
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u/bangorma1n3 Aug 08 '26
I know now that they're not truly fermented- they're really just pickled in lactic acid. From the outside it's a subtle difference that resulted from the same steps. You and a couple others were calm and informative, instead of just yelling and saying it's impossible. Thanks for that, I'm always happy to learn ✌️
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Aug 08 '26
I mean that's splitting hairs at that point. It's not like you used straight up vinegar. Then I'd say go over to r/pickling haha
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u/CrazyEyedFS Aug 08 '26
If you're staying with brine from a separate ferment, then you're just pickling them in lactic acid instead of vinegar.
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u/zingroo123 Aug 08 '26
Add beet roots to give them the typical pickled eggs look. Yellow/purple whichever.
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u/Cargobiker530 Aug 08 '26
It also takes care of the sugar sourcing issue. Either steamed or boiled beets, or raw beet in slices or sticks.
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u/Ok-Jelly604 Aug 08 '26
any salt? sounds great.
I’ve been soaking them in my leftover brines. the absolute is the leftover brine from fermented jalapeño slices. yuuuuum.
i agree they don’t go as hard as eggs done in vinegar
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u/itoddicus Aug 08 '26
If there is no salt, these are just rotten eggs.
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u/nss68 Aug 08 '26
Even with salt, eggs are entirely fat and protein. You aren’t lactofermenting eggs. You can culture them by fermenting other things until the brine is acidic enough; then you pickle the eggs in it.
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u/bangorma1n3 Aug 08 '26
Hmm. That's an interesting distinction. I'll have to look into that more. While my terminology may be incorrect, the eggs are delicious. Any idea why these eggs would have acidified 2-3 times faster than using boiling vinegar?
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u/nss68 Aug 08 '26
What’s the pH reading of the brine to back up your claims of acidification?
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u/bangorma1n3 Aug 08 '26
They became acidic and yummy in a fraction of the time of my vinegar pickled eggs. Those take 2-3 weeks to become good and these took like 1
It look like lactic acid is stronger than acetic acid in general. That must have helped them transformed so much faster
I'll check the ph when I get home and I have a jar of pickles I can compare them to
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u/itoddicus Aug 08 '26
Dude. You added 2 tablespoons of sugar. That is where the most of the acid came from.
Plus eggs have a tiny bit of sugar in them naturally. .05-.5 grams.
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u/itoddicus Aug 08 '26
Sugar content in eggs varies greatly depending on chicken breed and diet.
Somewhere between .05 and .5 grams per egg.
But that isn't the point. Did you notice OP added 2 tablespoons of sugar?
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u/nss68 Aug 08 '26
No I did not miss that. A small amount of complex carbohydrates locked away in the yolk of a hard boiled egg is not going to contribute to the lactic acid bacteria.
White sugar isn't something LAB love either -- yeast, yes, but not lactic acid bacteria. To acidify the entire jar, brine and all, you'd need more than 2 tablespoons anyway.
On top of that, lactofermentation takes at least a week to get pH to drop to safe levels, let alone penetrate into the eggs to preserve them. Salt alone can't do that. Would you eat hardboiled eggs that sat on the counter at room temperature for a week? Because that is essentially what OP has done.
So even if lactofermentation was vigorous -- you still have cooked eggs sitting at room temp for a week before the environment is acidic enough to pickle them.
When I see posts like OPs, I know they're fermenting based on vibes rather than knowledge of what is actually happening inside the jar.
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u/bangorma1n3 Aug 08 '26
I know now that they're not a ferment; that they pickled in lactic acid. From the outside it looked similar. Same ingredients, same method, very similar looking result. The Ph range is safe and they're really good, and I learned a new thing: lactic acid pickling 😁✌️
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Aug 08 '26
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u/Free-Entertainer255 Aug 08 '26
How are you going to stop them from rotting without salt?
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Aug 08 '26
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u/Free-Entertainer255 Aug 08 '26
How do I keep getting Kahm yeast on my ferments then? Its literally the first thing you learn when you start fermenting. Without salt it will literally grow harmful bacteria on it.
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u/Interesting_Bee6682 Aug 08 '26
Kahm yeast is the result of oxygen, not salt. It would form with salt or without salt. First thing you learn when you start fermenting is that fermentation is an anaerobic process. The moment you let oxygen in, is the moment everything goes wrong. Checking on your ferment, stirring every day, bad seal, are thing that give you Kahm yeast. And I wasn't talking about Kahm yeast. Salt in ferment is to avoid alcohol production.
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u/polkacat12321 Aug 08 '26
Salt is added to suppress the majority of the bad bacteria who hates salt to give the good lactic bacteria a chance to thrive and thus the fermentation process happens. If you ferment without salt, chances are that the bad bacteria is given free range to do whatever it wants and thus you end up with rotten food
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Aug 08 '26
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u/polkacat12321 Aug 08 '26
milk ferments without salt because milk is ALREADY filled to the brim with specialized starting cultures that ferments it. Other foods (like most vegetables), dont. Neither do boiled eggs since the boil kills the bacteria so there's no starter culture that can cause fermentation. At least do some research before being confidently so wrong 🙄
Anyways, the starting culture in milk is the same reason grapes dont need extra yeast when making wine since they already naturally contain it, while other fruits do need the extra added yeast when making wine since they dont. Just because something works for one thing doesnt mean it'll work for the other
And fyi, lacto ferments have ABSOLUTELY no added acid. What youre talking about is pickling, and it's a whole other thing, so yet another thing you're wrong about there
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Aug 08 '26
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u/tetheredvoid Aug 08 '26
Sterile?! You think milk comes out of the cow with no microbial life whatsoever?
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Aug 08 '26
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u/tetheredvoid Aug 08 '26
No, go back. We aren't at the pasteurization step yet.
You said it's sterile coming out of the cow. What you are describing is not sterile by any definition of the word that I know.
Do you think that there is nothing in that udder that could potentially make the calf sick, just because it came directly from the cow?
There are so many things that can be transmitted through milk that are just there by nature of existence. Nothing from a biological source is sterile from the source.
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u/jello_pudding_biafra Aug 08 '26
That is crazy talk. Brewing and lacto fermentation are completely different things
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u/Interesting_Bee6682 Aug 08 '26
I don't know what are you talking about. What brewery has to do with it? You making things up and then calling it crazy talk . :) Yogurt is lacto fermentation. Where did you see salt in there?
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u/DontVoteForMe Aug 09 '26
I never post here, but I showed this post to my wife and she started literally gagging. So I thought I'd share that.
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u/12_Ton_Brick_of_Weed Aug 08 '26
I’m too scared to add thyme or anything that makes tiny floaties come to the top 😔
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u/nss68 Aug 08 '26
Floaters don’t matter if you manage your oxygen properly. Eggs can’t lactoferment though.
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u/bangorma1n3 Aug 08 '26
It's hard to see but most of the thyme at the top is under a glass weight. I fill the brine until it comes out the gasket before I put in the airlock so there basically no air in the jar. It means I allways get some mess out of the top of the airlock as it ferments, but I think it's safer
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u/GallusWrangler Aug 08 '26
Good stuff, I make these often. Been meaning to out up something instructional since somebody asked me to last season. Sorry that hasn’t happened yet if that person reads this.
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u/BoringPrinciple2542 Aug 08 '26