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I'm going on a one day hike, and I want to cook an egg whilst on it. I'd like to avoid carrying excess water, and the route goes past a couple of waterfalls and several streams, so there is no problem in acquiring extra water. However, I don't know whether there would be risks from bacteria in the water getting into the egg, meaning I would have to purify the water first.

rlms
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    Chicken eggs shells are porous - this site which is to do with general egg production has some interesting information about washing eggs / bacteria poultryclub.org - I've never personally cooked an egg in dirty water, but do keep chickens and we always wash our eggs after they have been laid but that's it. – Aravona Sep 03 '14 at 10:07
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    Can you clarify do you mean dirty water or simply water that hasn't come out of a tap? –  Sep 03 '14 at 10:21
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    @Liam Either - I imagine that the water will be physically clean, but I'm not sure. – rlms Sep 03 '14 at 10:33
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    I'd believe that a random wilderness stream (upstream enough to not have sewage dumped into it from some habitats) will have cleaner and better water than anything I can carry from home. – Peteris Sep 03 '14 at 12:48
  • @peteris Even upstream brooks can be contaminated with Giardia (Beaver Fever). I'd still boil it for 15 minutes. – Chris Cudmore Sep 03 '14 at 14:14
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    @Aravona Interesting side-fact: In the USA, law requires that eggs are washed before they can be sold. They thus always require refrigeration. In the EU however, you are not allowed to wash them. This keeps the natural protective film intact which simply dries. Unwashed eggs don't need to be refrigerated for a couple of weeks. If you get eggs in the US, I'd thus hard-boil all the eggs before starting the trip. That way, they are also safe for a couple of days probably. – Holger Just Sep 03 '14 at 16:05
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    According to this boiling for 1 minute should be enough to deal with Giardia, boiling an egg will take longer. +1 on boiling the eggs before you leave, it's easier anyway :) – AVee Sep 03 '14 at 16:10
  • @HolgerJust interesting. All our eggs are fresh straight from the Hen, we was the immediately then leave them for up to two weeks before use - much sooner than supermarket eggs are generally used :) – Aravona Sep 03 '14 at 16:13
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    why would you not bring "extra" water with you if you're going to take the space and weight of a pot/pan? Cooking the egg(s) ahead of time will be much better :) – warren Sep 04 '14 at 13:34
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    @warren water is very heavy and you need a lot of it without bringing extra to cook. –  Sep 04 '14 at 13:41
  • @Liam - you're right: it's heavy. But so is the cooking vessel .. especially when compared to he weight of merely a precooked egg :) .. the benefit of bringing extra water, of course, is that you can still drink it when you're done (which you can also do with found water, provided a good source) – warren Sep 04 '14 at 13:43
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    If the water is not polluted in some specific way, then most relevant pathogens will have been killed by the boiling water. At reasonable altitudes, just boiling is sufficient (you don't have to wait a few minutes). So, if you are concerned, boil your water first, then boil your egg. I think the risks are often overblown, for example on short trips I often drink directly from streams (giardia is a risk, but takes many days to manifest itself and a little Flagyl will get rid of it). – copper.hat Sep 16 '14 at 05:31
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    If you are concerned, why not boil the egg before leaving? It would certainly be fine for the duration of a day-hike, even in warmer climates. – That Idiot Oct 01 '14 at 12:26
  • According to this boiling for 1 minute should be enough to deal with Giardia Any viable giardia cysts will be dead long before the water reaches a boil. Even upstream brooks can be contaminated with Giardia (Beaver Fever). I'd still boil it for 15 minutes. No, the need for some number of minutes is a myth. If the water is not polluted in some specific way, then most relevant pathogens will have been killed by the boiling water. All pathogens will have been killed, not just most. At reasonable altitudes, just boiling is sufficient At all altitudes, boiling is sufficient. –  Jan 19 '17 at 22:57
  • Related: http://outdoors.stackexchange.com/questions/1117/how-long-does-water-need-to-be-boiled-for-to-kill-all-bacteria-viruses –  Jan 19 '17 at 23:05
  • Tie your egg in a plastic sandwich bag and cook it in that. Just be careful by removing the egg not to contaminate the egg from the outside of the bag. – Willeke Dec 04 '20 at 17:42

3 Answers3

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First things first. You do not need to purify all water sources. Just because it is not out of a tap does not make it immediately dirty. Most fresh wilderness water (providing it isn't stagnant, etc.) is fine for drinking.

You should be familiar with the source of the water. Just because the river looks clean doesn't mean that an industrial unit isn't dumping into it upstream. I always check a river on a map before using it. Generally a mountain stream above human habitation will be fine.

Providing the water is fine for drinking there is no reason not to boil an egg in the same water, if anything it's going to be safer.

If the water is actually dirty (e.g. polluted, stagnant, in a built up area, etc.) Then no, don't boil your egg in it.

Most bacteria should be destroyed by the boiling, but things like heavy metals, etc. will survive boiling and this can either enter the egg (though the shell) or be passed onto the inner egg from the shell when you break it (cross contamination)

Community
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    Liam -- regarding the first part, based on what I've read in the past, shouldn't one be wary of all wilderness water (even fast-moving) because of the potential for things like tapeworm eggs from animal droppings? – Daniel Sep 03 '14 at 18:04
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    Most "fresh wilderness water" is far more "fine for drinking" than the processed concotion for which you pay $x per bottle at home. Nature is better at this than we are. – Lightness Races in Orbit Sep 04 '14 at 00:27
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    @Doc: based on what I've read in the past, shouldn't one be wary of all wilderness water (even fast-moving) because of the potential for things like tapeworm eggs from animal droppings? Where have you read this, and what wilderness areas do you have in mind? There is copious evidence that, e.g., water in the Sierra does not need to be treated. Are you thinking of giardia or other protozoan cysts, and perhaps misremembering this as tapeworms? In any case, there is no known disease-causing organism present in backcountry water that would survive boiling. –  Sep 04 '14 at 03:12
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    @Doc In my experience this risk is significantly overplayed. The geographic location needs to be taken into mind but providing it's a fresh, fast flowing mountain stream over stoney ground there is very limited chance of disease. Your biggest issue is human pollution. Almost all bacteria and parasites cannot live for long periods in fresh water and any that do will be so diluted your chances of contracting one would be minuscule. Many, many people (including long treks where carrying water isn't practical) rely on none tap water. –  Sep 04 '14 at 10:36
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    Now now people. Arguments should be conducted in the chat room –  Sep 04 '14 at 13:11
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    @BenCrowell I believe I read that in this book, and was also cautioned by DNR on a trip to Isle Royale. It was tapeworm eggs I'm thinking of because Moose are in large quantities on the island. – Daniel Sep 04 '14 at 13:15
  • @Ben Crowell: Are you saying that there are no risks of giardia or other protozoan cysts in Sierra water? – That Idiot Oct 01 '14 at 12:30
  • @ThatIdiot: Are you saying that there are no risks of giardia or other protozoan cysts in Sierra water? I wouldn't choose exactly those words, but yeah, pretty much. For a careful attempt to describe the situation accurately, with scientific references, see http://lightandmatter.com/article/hiking_water.html –  Jan 19 '17 at 15:49
  • Most bacteria should be destroyed by the boiling All organisms capable of causing disease through drinking water are destroyed in a matter of seconds at temperatures much less than boiling. Bacillus and Clostridium have spores that can survive boiling, but you can't get sick from drinking water containing the spores. –  Jan 19 '17 at 16:02
  • @BenCrowell: some bacterial toxins can withstand being boiled, but admittedly a person is highly unlikely to encounter those situations anywhere worth camping. – whatsisname Jan 19 '17 at 20:01
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As someone with +10 years experience as a boy scout, I have never had an incident or heard of an incident where cooking with wilderness water led to bacteria infections, sickness, etc.

You should take care not to use stagnant water (this was also mentioned in other answers) and I'd personally avoid very shallow streams, to avoid dirt and bacteria from the ground polluting the water.

If you want to be as safe as possible, make sure the water has been boiling for some time before putting the eggs in it.

On a sidenote:

Since it is supposed to be a one-day hike and you don't mention anything else, I assume that the trip will be somewhere near to you. If you are visiting a foreign country, I'd definitely make sure beforehand that the water sources there are safe to drink from (i. e. I probably wouldn't do this without proper water filtration in some African or South-American (or even European) countries).

Ken Graham
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barghest
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Yes you can but the question you need to ask yourself is should you ? If the water is dirty it will contaminate the egg (some toxins are horribly bad for you)

Most fresh (flowing) spring water is VERY clean if above human habitation areas

James Ferguson
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