Who can imagine what 2,048 eggs look like, especially in this economy? 

Ryan Peters, from Peters Pasta, answers that question as part of an ongoing 12-part series on TikTok, where he crafts handmade pasta from a doubling amount of egg yolks. This series has become a viral sensation, garnering millions of views with each video. In Peters’ recent video, which sits at 35.8 million views, he makes his biggest batch of pasta yet using 2,048 egg yolks. 

Giant Eagle Market District donated all of the eggs and the finished pasta was donated to Outreached Arms, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people with food insecurity and providing basic necessities to the poor. Peters Pasta also donated some of the pasta to other nonprofits, such as Second Harvest in Sharpsburg with the help of FarmLink. 

As the amount of pasta made from the videos quickly increased, Peters partnered with Outreached Arms to make and donate the many pounds of pasta. 

“Honestly just super grateful to have been able to feed literally hundreds and hundreds of people over the past couple of days,” Peters said in a TikTok. 

The 2,048 egg yolk batch was the result of a dedicated group effort. Longtime volunteer Valerie Angell and her kids joined several others who prepped and served the pasta. In the kitchen, one group cracked the eggs, another group separated the yolks and others looked for broken egg shells. After Peters poured and mixed the yolks into the flour, the volunteers all helped knead the dough. 

“I think overall, the kids liked the kneading part, even though it was the hardest part that they had done,” Angell said. “I think they liked the kneading because they got to talk and interact with each other and make jokes, and they were all doing the same thing at the same speed.” 

Angell said the volunteers counted all 2,048 egg yolks. The eggs were sorted and counted by the dozen, and then there was a final count during the separation of yolk from egg whites. 

When prepping the eggs, Angell said it was important to not break the yolks before they went in the large mixing bowl and to separate the egg whites from the yolks. If the yolks break, the pour becomes scrambled. 

After dipping her hands in the egg mixture for an extended period of time, she noticed something interesting. 

“It felt like your hands were in there for a long time because you’re separating the eggs and they’re always submerged in there. I assumed my fingers were pruned because they felt like they were,” Angell said. “But the egg whites actually prevent your fingers from pruning. It was the weirdest thing. I never would have ever had the opportunity to know that fun fact.” 

The dough from the 2,048 egg yolk video fed about 100 people during the Outreached Arms weekly Tuesday dinner. The founder, Rob Rudy, said he started the organization 13 years ago with his mother. 

“We build relationships with the folks that we serve and we provide hope,” Rudy said. “We meet their needs with necessities, food, things like that.” 

Every Tuesday, volunteer chefs cook a meal using donated food. 

“People always say ‘soup kitchen’ and those words kind of bother me. We’re not a soup kitchen,” Rudy said. “We make these amazing meals for our folks and we put love into the food.” 

Volunteer chef Jeremy Jantsch joined Outreached Arms to pay forward his cooking skills to make and distribute weekly meals for the community. 

“Cooking for me is a passion and to be able to feed people in need and share a meal with them, share conversation with them, even if it’s just a smile, can really change a life and make their day,” Jantsch said. 

Peters and Jantsch, along with a handful of other volunteers, curated a menu of spinach artichoke pasta, alfredo pasta and red sauce pasta served with a number of sides. The volunteers boxed up the leftovers and distributed them to the homeless out on the street. 

Rudy said Outreached Arms does not currently have any future plans with Peters Pasta but said the organization’s kitchen is always open. 

“We got a great relationship with him and he’s always welcome to use the facility at any time,” Rudy said.