Egg salad is a very familiar dish today because it is easy to make and also provides many nutrients. This is an age-old snack that can be served with a variety of breads.
Many people ask me if they want to prepare egg salad for lunch on a family trip over the weekend, but only have time at the beginning of the week. Can they make and store egg salad in the refrigerator? Will frozen egg salad spoil or lose flavor?
Let’s find the answer in this article. Is it possible to freeze egg salad? And how to do that.
Egg salad- an easy meal full of nutrition
As for the reason people love egg salad, above all it is definitely because of the convenience of this dish. You do not need too many ingredients, do not have to process it, and take a long time to make egg salad. However, do not let that make you doubt the taste and quality of this dish.
Egg salad is very easy to make and is also nutritious because it contains eggs, a super nutritious food on the market today. This is a rather delicate combination of eggs and mayonnaise, forming a delicate flavor. This is especially a favorite dish for children.
This dish is rich in vitamins A, B2, B5, B12 and several other minerals, providing a rich source of high quality protein. Especially suitable for those who follow a low-carb diet.
How to make egg salad?
This dish is a mixture of eggs and mayonnaise. There are many egg salad recipes, each with its own combination of a few extra ingredients. However, with the classic style, only two ingredients are needed to make the complete egg salad.
The specific steps are:
- Boil eggs and cut them into bite-sized pieces and put them in a bowl.
- Put 1/4 cup of mayonnaise (can be replaced with Greek yogurt), minced onion, salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Mix and stir well. Then put it on a plate. You can decorate it however you like.
Further reading: What Are the Best Cheap Freezers for Home Use?
Is freezing egg salad bad? Why?
Egg salad if left for too long at room temperature will spoil and lose its texture. Pay special attention to your egg salads and don’t eat them if they appear out of the ordinary.
The best way to preserve egg salad is to freeze it. Frozen egg salad can be stored for 3-5 days. However, this is also not very recommended. Egg salad is something you should eat immediately after making it because freezing will make it less delicious.
After defrosting, egg salad will tend to become chewy, lose flavor, texture becomes hard and elastic, no longer have the fresh and chewy taste of mayonnaise at first. The bonds in the dish will be broken, losing the consistency of the broth.
Therefore, frozen egg salad is still okay, the dish will not be spoiled, but it will no longer have the original taste.
How to properly freeze it?
In case you want to store egg salad in the fridge then we will guide you on the best way to preserve the maximum flavor. This will keep your egg salad for up to 5 days.
Please use a box with a clean lid, make sure of the standard of the box because it greatly affects your preservation. Use a clean spoon and scoop the egg salad into a container, cover, and refrigerate. Only open if you use it, don’t check the inside often.
You may also like: Best Top-Freezer Refrigerator without Ice Maker
Ways to spot bad egg salad
In theory, frozen egg salad won’t spoil. However, you also need to consider a few things before eating frozen egg salad from the refrigerator.
The easiest way to tell if a frozen egg salad has gone bad is by its smell. Damaged dishes will have a very bad smell and bad smell, you must not eat them because it is easy to lead to poisoning, or accumulate toxins in your body.
If you eat egg salad after taking it out of the refrigerator, it only feels sour without a bad smell. It is also best to stop and throw away this part of the meal, because it is likely that they have been degraded and invaded by bacteria to form bad substances for the body.
Tips for freezing egg salad
Here are what you should know when freezing egg salad for better results.
- Choose fresh eggs for the salad. This will make your egg salad stay safe longer in fridge or freezer.
- Use less mayonnaise for your egg salad will help it retain a better texture once defrosted. Too much mayonnaise, the salad will be come watery when being thawed.
- Do not put the salad in room temperature more than one hour as bacteria can form quickly in this condition. You should place it in refrigerator as soon as possible to prevent the harmful microorganism.
- Discard the egg salad if it starts to be watery or smelly.
Related questions
What are the best containers for freezing egg salad?
If you want to ensure the quality of your egg salad, it is important to choose the right container. It’s best to use a freezer-safe container and airtight containers that have securely fitting lids. You should push the air out of the container as much as possible, a vacuum sealer is an ideal tool for doing this. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, just use a straw to suck the air out of the freezer bag. Then, zip the bag fully closed. If a lidded container is used, you should buy the lids with resealable air vents.
Can you freeze egg salad twice?
No. It’s best not to refreeze the egg salad after thawing as the mayonnaise loses its emulsion.
After thawing the first time, ingredients like the oils, vinegar or lemon juice are separated. This separation affects the texture and flavor of your salad, so you’d better make a new fresh salad. Therefore, you should make enough egg salad for each meal and finish it.
How to thaw frozen egg salad safely?
After being frozen, eggs don’t have the original flavor and texture, so it’s best you use it within a week after putting it in freezer.
Don’t use the microwave because the egg salad will lose its texture and consistency. Before serving, what you should do is to place the container of egg salad in the refrigerator to thaw overnight or you can it in cold water to defrost.
Conclusion
Egg salad is easy to make, requires only a few simple ingredients like hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper, but provides a great source of nutrition. However, they cannot retain their original flavor when stored for a long time. Therefore, you need to maintain it properly in an airtight container and should use it with 5 days.
Reference:
1. Freeze Egg Salad – The Answer May Surprise You, foodlovinfamily.com, Retrieved on Jan. 8, 2022
2. Freeze Egg Salad? You’ll Be Shocked At The Answer, simplyhealthyfamily.org, Retrieved on Jan. 8, 2022
