Would You Make Poached Eggs With Tap Water?

[OliverKlozerof]

Kind of a silly question I guess...but I've done this twice recently, after always using distilled drinking water previously. Well, I haven't died (obviously), but I'm kinda wondering if the bit of indigestion I've been feeling lately could be from this, or something else. Seems like it would be OK to use tap water (which I normally don't drink, but have always used for brushing teeth, with no apparent issues), because, 1) the water gets boiled, which would kill bacteria, and 2) not much water stays on the egg after I pull it out of the pot anyway (I use a spoon with holes in it). 
But I know little about the tap water here, nor have I ever been very adept at science and biology, etc. Anyone able to cite some data about this? Thx
--
BTW, I live in BKK and was going to post this in the BKK forum...but this new 'asean now' site appears to have changed the BKK subforum. The categories there now (see below), don't seem to be appropriate for this sort of post, whereas before I could discuss pretty much anything Bangkok related there:
Bangkok News
Bangkok Events & Offers
Sanitized Businesses in Bangkok

[impulse]

I'd suspect a bad egg before BKK tap water. 

 

It leaves the water plant just fine.  How it enters your home depends on the age and condition of the pipes along the way.  Most specifically, in your building, where it may sit in a pressure tank that's poorly maintained.  Of course, I can't comment on the conditions in your home.

 

Eggs, OTOH, may have spent a lot of time in the Thailand heat even before you buy them.  I always broke my eggs one at a time into a bowl before putting them into a frying pan.  That way, I could inspect the yolk before they got commingled.  I'd estimate I binned one out of 20, but that's just a guess.  Some days, I binned the entire lot- one at a time.

 

Edited July 19, 2021 by impulse

[Salerno]

I use tap water for brushing teeth and coffee/tea so can't see it being an issue for poached eggs (unless you have specific issues with the pipes).

Edited July 19, 2021 by Salerno

[Meat Pie 47]

if you use your microwave to poach them that will kill anything 

[bbko]

I use tap water for brushing teeth, rinsing off fruit and veggies, cooking rice, never had a problem with it before.  How sensitive is your gut?  Me, I could drink out of a horse's trough and be ok, 555.

[Oxx]

Personally, no.  A couple of times I've used tap water in an aluminium bain-marie.  The metal turned jet black.  I conclude there's something chemical nasty in the tap water.  

[tonray]

Too much chlorine in most cases....will impart a nasty taste to your eggs. For all coooking, eggs, pasta, etc I use bottled/filtered water. Just get a countertop filter which will remove most chlorine and give you a better medium for cooking.

[worgeordie]

7 hours ago, impulse said:

I'd suspect a bad egg before BKK tap water. 

 

It leaves the water plant just fine.  How it enters your home depends on the age and condition of the pipes along the way.  Most specifically, in your building, where it may sit in a pressure tank that's poorly maintained.  Of course, I can't comment on the conditions in your home.

 

Eggs, OTOH, may have spent a lot of time in the Thailand heat even before you buy them.  I always broke my eggs one at a time into a bowl before putting them into a frying pan.  That way, I could inspect the yolk before they got commingled.  I'd estimate I binned one out of 20, but that's just a guess.  Some days, I binned the entire lot- one at a time.

 

Where you buying your eggs, in 30 odd years I have had 1 bad egg

and that was years ago. I have had eggs that were not fresh, where

they just go flat in the pan,but even that is rare.I buy a tray of 30 every

other week from Makro, as they have a high turnover.

regards Worgeordie

 

 

 

[steven100]

6 hours ago, bbko said:

Me, I could drink out of a horse's trough

did that once,  but the floating oats got stuck between my teeth 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by steven100

[impulse]

12 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Where you buying your eggs, in 30 odd years I have had 1 bad egg

and that was years ago. I have had eggs that were not fresh, where

they just go flat in the pan,but even that is rare.I buy a tray of 30 every

other week from Makro, as they have a high turnover.

regards Worgeordie

If I encounter an egg that goes flat in the pan, it goes in the bin. 

 

Taking a chance with a demonstrably old egg seems like false economy.  At what point do they go toxic?

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by impulse

[Asquith Production]

On 7/20/2021 at 12:07 AM, impulse said:

Eggs, OTOH, may have spent a lot of time in the Thailand heat even before you buy them.  I always broke my eggs one at a time into a bowl before putting them into a frying pan.  That way, I could inspect the yolk before they got commingled.  I'd estimate I binned one out of 20, but that's just a guess.  Some days, I binned the entire lot- one at a time.

 

Good idea plus when buying I always reach to the back of the shelf to find the freshest.

[Card]

Tap water in BKK is safe to drink. I used to drink it a lot but don't like the taste anymore. But if you are concerned then use bottled or filtered water for poached eggs. You only need a small AMT in a small bowl in a microwave. Look at YouTube for ways to poach an egg in a microwave. It works great.

[malt25]

I always test eggs for freshness before cooking. Just an old habit here.

[sanuk711]

21 minutes ago, Card said:

Look at YouTube for ways to poach an egg in a microwave. It works great.

I just brought a Microwave egg poacher from Lazada--- 190 Bt....... 60 seconds works great.

[Paradise Pete]

On 7/19/2021 at 12:07 PM, impulse said:

 

Eggs, OTOH, may have spent a lot of time in the Thailand heat even before you buy them.  I always broke my eggs one at a time into a bowl before putting them into a frying pan.  That way, I could inspect the yolk before they got commingled.  I'd estimate I binned one out of 20, but that's just a guess.  Some days, I binned the entire lot- one at a time.

 

Seems like a good idea. However, I've been cooking and eating eggs in Thailand for more than 10 years and haven't been sick yet. Maybe I've been lucky. 

[tomazbodner]

I have checked T-D-S (Total Dissolved Solids) of the tap water and it is barely above 200 which is considered potable water. The reason I did it was trying to get information on how well my water purifier was working. Now UV (Ultra Violet C light) supposedly kills bacteria/viruses/parasites/fungus (but so would boiling), but for the rest, the water in was about 220 ppm and out was about 180 ppm, after a 5 stage UF (Ultra Filtration) filter. Reading on it (yes, Google), it stated that for matters of smell and taste, T-D-S around 150 is most desirable, unless person has kidney stones, in which case RO (Reverse Osmosis) filters with T-D-S around 50 ppm are preferred.

 

 

As such I would say that quality of water in terms of T-D-S is reasonably good at least at my place. You should get an inexpensive T-D-S pen from Lazada or Shopee and check your water supply before deciding though.

Edited July 26, 2021 by tomazbodner
Writing T-D-S with dashes, else it replaces it with <deleted>

[Dirk Z]

Bangkok, for almost 15 years I have been using tap water for tea, coffee and boiling spaghetti etc., still alive and kicking. For drinking we use bottled water, although even the tap water does not have an unpleasant taste.

[brewsterbudgen]

25 minutes ago, Dick Z said:

Bangkok, for almost 15 years I have been using tap water for tea, coffee and boiling spaghetti etc., still alive and kicking. For drinking we use bottled water, although even the tap water does not have an unpleasant taste.

Me too. 

[Gandtee]

On 7/20/2021 at 1:25 AM, bbko said:

I use tap water for brushing teeth, rinsing off fruit and veggies, cooking rice, never had a problem with it before.  How sensitive is your gut?  Me, I could drink out of a horse's trough and be ok, 555.

Neigh. Neigh. You're joking. I use tap water for everything other than drinking fresh. If you can call water from the machine at the end of the soi fresh. I'm still here arghhhhhhhh????

Edited July 26, 2021 by Gandtee
Additional words.

[mtls2005]

No.

 

<Hard-boiled eggs? Yes.>

 

Use bottled water.

 

Same for pasta, potatoes, rice, steaming, etc.

 

Tap water ok for bain-marie.

 

 

[Iforbach]

I use perrier water and my eggs are flown in from Kathmandu and I hv 22 gold plated pan..

[mtls2005]

6 minutes ago, Iforbach said:

I use perrier water and my eggs are flown in from Kathmandu and I hv 22 gold plated pan..

 

"Plated"

 

Poseur.

 

 

[MrJ2U]

On 7/20/2021 at 12:37 AM, Salerno said:

I use tap water for brushing teeth and coffee/tea so can't see it being an issue for poached eggs (unless you have specific issues with the pipes).

You boil the water  before also.

[J Town]

On 7/20/2021 at 12:40 AM, Meat Pie 47 said:

if you use your microwave to poach them that will kill anything 

It's not the bugs you should be concerned about, it's the heavy metals that microwaving can't remove. I've been using tap water for coffee, tea, and general cooking for years, no ill effects so far. I do draw the line at drinking water. Having a water dispensing machine in the condo complex makes it too easy to keep a healthy supply of drinking water on hand.

[brianthainess]

I used to use tap water for cooking/tea and coffee, never had a problem. but now the water is delivered at 13 baht for 20 liters we use that. Bottled water is not Distilled they use reverse osmoses.  And now I only buy eggs from 7/11 or big stores, since buying eggs that came from a fishing village and tasted fishy, and others that come to local ma-pa shops, watery and yolks separated by crazy driving of non chilled pick up trucks. I ended up with an intestine infection after eating fried eggs at a restaurant. 

[Toscano]

No problem , boiled water is even safe to drink . Even if you are poaching eggs with a ring as oppose a cup or pannikin the eggs don't contain any water . 

[Harveyboy]

i buy bottled water from shops to drink and 20 litres of water in large plastic bottle for all cooking 1 baht a litre why risk tap water 

[JupiterRising]

It might be eggs. Over the past 3 years I have recently been experiencing indigestion and heart burn after eating eggs. This maybe a body change as I am now 50+. I have tested different ways of eating eggs, but fried eggs and boiled seem to bring in my indigestion. So now I eat scrambled eggs, which is fine.

[PETERTHEEATER]

On 7/20/2021 at 1:43 AM, Oxx said:

Personally, no.  A couple of times I've used tap water in an aluminium bain-marie.  The metal turned jet black.  I conclude there's something chemical nasty in the tap water.  

Jet black. Really?

[Oxx]

11 minutes ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

Jet black. Really?

Why would you doubt me? Calling me a liar?

 

However, in the interests of preciseness, it was only the parts of the aluminium vessels that had been exposed to water turned jet black.