"Steve" > wrote in message
om...

> I see some recipes (key lime pie for example) that
> include egg but don't require cooking because the
> acid will 'cook' the egg. Are there any rules or
> guidelines about how much acid is required to safely
> cook the eggs and eliminate any danger of salmonella?

While citrus juice (lemon or lime) is used to "cook" (change the
texture of) seafood/shellfish in dishes such as cevice, I don't think
it's quite the same thing with eggs (for example, if your proposition
were true, no one would get salmonella from homemade mayonnaise [lemon
or vinegar being the acid in that case]). In his book "On Food and
Cooking," Harold McGee mentions acid (in the form of cream of tartar)
as a stabilizer for whipped egg whites, but makes no mention of acid
as a means to "cook" the egg.

The best rule of thumb: if you're very young, very old, pregnant or
otherwise potentially immune compromised, don't eat raw eggs (among
other things), and very simply don't eat raw eggs unless you're
reasonably sure of your egg source. And that includes raw eggs in key
lime pie.

-j