The “Rocky Balboa Effect”

We all remember the Rocky scene. He wakes up, stumbles to the fridge, cracks a bunch of eggs into a cup, and drinks them like it’s the most disciplined thing a human can do before sunrise. Half of us watched that and thought, that’s disgusting. The other half thought, that’s dedication, and suddenly raw eggs became this fitness-era badge of honor.

Fast forward to real life: raw eggs are still hiding in plain sight. Meringues. Tiramisu. Homemade mayo. Caesar dressing. And the one that truly caught me off guard, cookie icing made with powdered sugar and raw egg whites. I’m not judging anyone. I’m just saying… I didn’t expect uncooked egg whites to be part of my craving for sweet delicious cookies. At some point, to avoid the eggs, we even tried pivoting to aquafaba, the liquid from canned chickpeas, and let’s just say it did not give us the results we wanted.

Then I went down a sous vide rabbit hole and saw a casual suggestion that stopped me mid-scroll: “If you want safer raw eggs, pasteurize them.”

Pasteurize… eggs?

And that’s how this whole thing started.

Pasteurized Eggs: Same Egg, Safer Lane

Pasteurized eggs are eggs that have been gently heat-treated to knock out harmful bacteria, mainly Salmonella (and sometimes others), without actually cooking the egg. They’re typically warmed in a controlled water bath around 130°F long enough to reduce pathogens, while keeping the egg basically “raw” for cooking and baking purposes.

Characteristics:

• Heat-treated, not cooked 

• Designed for recipes that use raw or lightly cooked eggs

• Lower-risk option than untreated shell eggs in raw applications 

Important note: “pasteurized” doesn’t mean invincible. It means safer than untreated eggs for raw-ish situations. You still store them cold and handle them cleanly.

“Probably Fine” Isn’t a Food Safety Plan

Fresh, clean eggs can still carry Salmonella. That’s straight from the FDA, and it’s why egg safety rules exist in the first place.

And if you’re making something where the egg stays raw (or barely warmed), pasteurized eggs are one of the simplest ways to lower the risk. 

FoodSafety.gov specifically calls out using pasteurized eggs for:

• Hollandaise

• Caesar dressing

• Tiramisu

The FDA also recommends using pasteurized shell eggs or pasteurized egg products for recipes that call for raw or undercooked eggs when served. This matters even more for people who are more vulnerable to foodborne illness (kids, older adults, pregnant people, anyone immunocompromised).

Where Pasteurized Eggs Make the Most Sense: “Anything That Stays Raw-ish”

This is the whole point. If you’re making something where eggs don’t fully cook, pasteurized eggs are the move.

How we’d use them at Brimly:

• Royal icing (because yes, people really do use raw egg whites for this… we see you, Martha Stewart)

• Caesar dressing

• Homemade mayonnaise / aioli

• Hollandaise / bearnaise 

• Eggnog / cocktails with egg white foam (if you’re into that vibe)

• Tiramisu and other no-bake desserts 

If the egg is going fully cooked (scrambled, baked into cake, hard-boiled), pasteurization is usually more of a personal comfort choice than a must.

When It’s Not Always Ideal

Pasteurization is gentle, but it still does something to the egg proteins. One common complaint is that pasteurized egg whites can whip slower and sometimes don’t reach the same volume as quickly, which matters when you’re making things that rely on perfect egg-white structure (meringues, soufflés, some sponge cakes). (Serious Eats)

So if you’re making something where the whole success of the recipe depends on egg whites, pasteurized eggs may not be your first pick.

How to Pasteurize Eggs at Home

If you can’t find pasteurized shell eggs, sous vide is one of the more controlled DIY methods people use to reduce risk. A commonly cited range is holding eggs around 135°F (57°C) for about 60–90 minutes.

A practical at-home approach (sous vide):

1. Start with clean, uncracked eggs.

2. Preheat your water bath to 135°F (57°C).

3. Gently lower eggs into the bath (fully submerged).

4. Hold at temp for about 75 minutes (within that 60–90 minute window).

5. Transfer eggs to an ice bath briefly to stop the warming.

6. Dry them, mark them, refrigerate them, and handle them like regular eggs.