Saving egg yolks till later?

May 13, 2021 9:00 AM

I’m making a complicated recipe that has several steps and involves separating eggs. I’d like to do the egg white portion tonight and the egg yolk component tomorrow afternoon or possibly Saturday (dessert is frozen in between stages so this shouldn’t be an issue for the end result). What’s the best way to store the egg yolks in the meantime? Or is this nuts?

The last part of the recipe is making a cremeux - mixing the egg yolks with sugar, then adding a boiled cream mixture to it and cooking it together before pouring it over chocolate, then pouring the entire mixture into a mold on top of the other layers.

I am a clumsy person and there is a non-zero chance that the yolks will be broken during the process, even though I can keep them out of the whites. Is my best course of action to stir all the yolks together and then seal them into an airtight container or bag? To mix them with the sugar as well? It calls for 7 yolks - is this doable? In the US, so assume eggs are normally refrigerated.

posted by Mchelly to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

Best answer: I would separate the yolks into a sealable container, refrigerate them, and use them the following day without a second thought.
posted by gauche at 9:02 AM on May 13, 2021 [24 favorites]

Best answer: I do this all the time. I usually separate the yolks into a clean jar, lid it, and put it in the fridge.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:03 AM on May 13, 2021 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I would absolutely store yolks in an airtight container in the fridge and use them within a day or two without a second thought. It won't make a difference whether the yolks are whole or broken and stirred together. I wouldn't bother mixing them with the sugar until you're actually making the cremeux, but again, that probably won't really make a difference either way.
posted by spielzebub at 9:09 AM on May 13, 2021

Best answer: I've done this, sometimes putting a small spoonful of water over the yolks before storing them.
posted by Hypatia at 9:14 AM on May 13, 2021 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Egg yolks won't last nearly as long once separated as if they were kept in the shell. But a few days is definitely fine. Longer than that, especially if broken, they can spoil.
posted by wnissen at 9:22 AM on May 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

But ... what is the recipe?
posted by RoadScholar at 11:30 AM on May 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Recipe. Wish me luck.
posted by Mchelly at 12:22 PM on May 13, 2021 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Just to pile on ya. We even do this to go camping.... or if we make a merengue we will keep the yolks in the fridge for yadda yadda.
posted by chasles at 12:39 PM on May 13, 2021

Best answer: Mixing up with the sugar in advance is the right answer if you need to freeze the yolks. In the fridge - either way works.
posted by janell at 7:19 PM on May 13, 2021