Back in August ’08 I posted a tip on freezing egg yolks, so here is the other half of the story. Freezing egg whites doesn’t require any tricks; they freeze well and when thawed behave like egg whites that haven’t been frozen, even retaining the ability to be whipped into a nice foam. The trick for me was figuring out a good system for freezing egg whites.
photo by David Peterman
Over the years it seems that whenever I generated a lot of spare egg whites during a cooking project I would freeze them. I would even get around to using the frozen whites, but forgetting to label the container with how many whites it contained made using them annoying, as it required digging out a book to look up the measurement of a typical large egg white (2 tablespoons per white and 1 tablespoon per yolk). It was the single egg white that tripped me up. I would think, “I should freeze this,” but usually feeling pressed for time, I wouldn’t want to bother and would toss it justifying that it was just one egg white. Over time, I started feeling like those “it’s just one egg white” moments were adding up and it was bugging me.
What I needed was as system! Something easy to do in the middle of cooking that I would do every time I was faced with a spare egg white. Small Ziploc plastic containers were the answer.
I have a stack of these little bowls with snap-on lids (no spills) and anytime I separate an egg and will not be using the white, I separate the white into this container, snap on the lid and toss it in the freezer. Every time! Only one white is allowed per container. The next day, or the next time I open the freezer and have a moment, I process the frozen white. It takes all of about 30 seconds: run warm water over the outside of the container, pop the frozen white out onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap, date, toss in a zip-top freezer bag with the other frozen whites.
I now have a nice collection of frozen egg whites at the ready and have taken advantage of them numerous times when making buttercream frosting and various other things. Buttercream is particularly gratifying because I use six whites and don’t end up generating a bowl full of orphaned yolks in the process. The best part is it’s saving the random single white that really builds my stash. Having a system in place makes freezing them an automatic process. I feel good!
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I just found your website on TWD’s P&Q. Seriously, this is the best tip I have come across in a LONG time. I never knew you could freeze egg whites. Thanks so much for this wonderful tip!
What a great idea! I’ve been tossing my egg whites b/c I’ve been lazy.
What a fab tip, Carol! I always have loads of egg whites around and never thought about freezing them separately!
brilliant!! i’m sticking this in the file for sure. thanks for the great tip.
that is a great idea! i will keep that in mind. i do find that i use more whites than yolks, so i’ve been buying powdered whites, which have been working out pretty well.
Thanks you for another brilliant time and cost savings idea, Carol! After reading and implementing your zest strategy and now the egg whites I’m looking forward to what you’ll think of next!
I use an ice cube tray to freeze my egg whites. Then when frozen pop them into ziplock bag & date. When I need one, take out & defrost in frig…easy!
How many egg whites have I stuck in the fridge meaning to make an egg white omelete only to let it go bad…thank you so much for this great tip!
thank you for this. it will help in my kitchen.
your link to freezing egg yolks is not working.
Koneko – Thanks for the note about the broken link. It should work now.
Thank you for the tip I froze 8 eggs white after from our Thanksgiving dinner prep. and made a big mess. Now I was getting ready to use them and needed to know if they would whip – thanks fo the info and the freezing tips
So glad you were able to save all those egg whites and put them to use!
iwasgivensomeeggwhitesnowinowhattodowiththemthankyou
Thanks for the great tip. I finally heeded my cheapskate side and stopped throwing them away. Now I need to conquer my lazy side and start using your system to freeze and label them instead of tossing them all in one collective freezer bag.