eggs - in the fridge or not?

[Ken Gargett]

to be honest, i had never heard of anyone not putting eggs in the fridge. our family has always done it. then i came across this article which suggests that it is done in the States but not much elsewhere.

https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/national/should-you-refrigerate-eggs?utm_medium=email&utm_source=TT&utm_campaign=Weekend&utm_content=Editorial

do you put your eggs in the fridge (and is that common or not, where you are from, which is...?

and then we have the issue of how long do they last.

http://www.extracrispy.com/food/2071/how-long-do-eggs-last-in-your-fridge?xid=NL_WellDone_07172017&utm_source=extracrispy.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=well-done&utm_content=20170731

[ChanceSchmerr]

I know I was floored when I visited Portugal for the first time and all the eggs in the grocery stores were kept on the shelves like regular dry goods.  Never got a great answer as to why they weren't refrigerated......

[Fuzz]

I put them in the fridge. My grandmother in Malaysia never did, but even with the high temp, they weren't around long enough to spoil. She'd easily go through a dozen eggs in a week.

[Cletus]

Yep, I thought it was just a US thing because, I assume, we don't use the metric system.  When we buy huevos in Mexico they are not refrigerated.

BTW, you can tell if an egg is bad by putting it in a bowl of water.  A bad egg will float while a good egg sinks. 

[Ken Gargett]

5 minutes ago, Cletus said:

Yep, I thought it was just a US thing because, I assume, we don't use the metric system.  When we buy huevos in Mexico they are not refrigerated.

BTW, you can tell if an egg is bad by putting it in a bowl of water.  A bad egg will float while a good egg sinks. 

now you've outed yourself as someone who did not read the 2nd post!

i guess because i don't ever remember buying eggs when travelling outside oz, i had never noticed it before but i know no here who does not have eggs in the fridge. my sister has chooks and occasionally gives me eggs. she will warn me if they have been out of the fridge even if only for an hour.

[Ken Gargett]

8 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

now you've outed yourself as someone who did not read the 2nd post!

i guess because i don't ever remember buying eggs when travelling outside oz, i had never noticed it before but i know no here who does not have eggs in the fridge. my sister has chooks and occasionally gives me eggs. she will warn me if they have been out of the fridge even if only for an hour.

sorry - 2nd link, not post.

[Hayden]

Both is actually the correct answer. In countries where eggs are required to be washed before sale they need to be refrigerated. In countries where eggs are required to be unwashed before sale they do not need to be refrigerated. See this NPR article : http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/11/336330502/why-the-u-s-chills-its-eggs-and-most-of-the-world-doesnt

[Cletus]

10 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

now you've outed yourself as someone who did not read the 2nd post!

 

Guilty as charged!

I blame the gin and tonics.

[Stogieninja]

Farm eggs = no
Store eggs = yes

There's some kind of protective barrier that gets removed when eggshells are washed. Once that happens, they need to be refrigerated.

[MIKA27]

I refrigerate eggs at home though when living in Europe, we got our eggs from my grand parents farm. Chicken, goose, duck eggs.

Buying from the store, normally also give you a use by date. If I don't see a use by date stamped, I move onto a carton that does.

[Shaunster]

Eggs in UK supermarkets are not chilled, normally pick them up next to the sugar and flour.

[99call]

I don't know about the rights and wrongs of fridge v non fridge, but when I worked in the Antarctic we had oiled eggs (kept in the fridge). It turned my stomach every time, but they always past the 'don't float' test, and they tasted fine. and thats after 7mths!?. There was no visible difference in the oiling. I'm surprised it's not common practise.

[Auspaul]

2 hours ago, Shaunster said:

Eggs in UK supermarkets are not chilled, normally pick them up next to the sugar and flour.

I was shocked in the UK you go to a market and buy meat that's not refrigerated when I got back to the car I  asked where is there esky and ice  apparently its cold enough you don't need one. Cold meat pies and sausage rolls is something that is really wrong

[Fuzz]

[Alex777]

I put them in the fridge. I think, it is safer.

[Kitchen]

The main protection against spoilage for eggs is the cuticle, which helps regulate air flow and what is absorbed by the egg.  However, since eggs are sat on and come out near the rear end of a chicken, the outside of the egg could be contaminated with bacteria.  So, in the USA, the eggs are washed, removing any bacteria and the cuticle, it's protection.  Therefore, the eggs need to be refrigerated to prevent spoilage in North America.  If the cuticle is not washed off, then the eggs do not need to be refrigerated, but should be washed prior to cooking.  

[ArthurHolo]

 

On 9/6/2020 at 7:42 AM, Alex777 said:

I put them in the fridge. I think, it is safer.

I agree.

I always thought that eggs could spoil very easily outside the fridge.

[DBNInc]

On 9/15/2020 at 8:58 PM, Kitchen said:

The main protection against spoilage for eggs is the cuticle, which helps regulate air flow and what is absorbed by the egg.  However, since eggs are sat on and come out near the rear end of a chicken, the outside of the egg could be contaminated with bacteria.  So, in the USA, the eggs are washed, removing any bacteria and the cuticle, it's protection.  Therefore, the eggs need to be refrigerated to prevent spoilage in North America.  If the cuticle is not washed off, then the eggs do not need to be refrigerated, but should be washed prior to cooking.  

This, but preppers oil them with mineral oil or something, and they can be left out for a very long time.

[WLC]

For us, store bought eggs always go in the fridge, when we had our own hens, the eggs, as long as they were unwashed, could sit out on the counter for weeks with no problem.  Just washed them before use.

[Fosgate]

In the U.S. commercial producers wash and refrigerate the eggs because of consumer demand for clean looking eggs (No debris or fecal matter on the outer shell). In the washing process a protective coating is removed from the egg that protects the egg from bacteria growth. These eggs should NEVER be left out on the counter top for storage unless you want Salmonella poisoning.

Again, In the U.S. Eggs you pickup from a local farmer, hobby farm etc that does not wash their eggs are a different story. Chefs at many restaurants prefer these eggs as the birds are often healthier birds that produce a much better quality egg. Especially if they serve a poached egg as a high quality egg will have a more robust thick albumin (Thick egg white) layer that does not bust open as easy when poaching a egg. Anyway, it's pretty easy to have an unwashed egg on the countertop for a month with no issues. But, if you wash these eggs, in the fridge they go. 

It's interesting to see commercial egg producers call "Open Range" chickens, Usually means they open the door 10-15ft, mesh in a small pen so birds can walk outside, but they typically don't and stay close to the food source. In my opinion the "Free Range"/"Open Range" on a commercially wide distribution product is misleading. They typically still fatten the birds up on corn and grains. Unlike many small farms where chickens roam through grass eating bugs etc to produce a high quality nutrient nutrient filled egg.

I recall this not just as a food enthusiast, but also professionally I had to recently recertify by Agriculture Professional Industry Designations as my company underwrites these risks, deals with the claims as most of our clients are producers of beef, pork, poultry, fish etc so when we are onsite we have to be familiar with their operations, equipment and be on the eye for unacceptable practices, lack of maintenance may increase a risk or improvements and repairs they have made which may lower the risk any time we are onsite. 

 

[etout00]

Agree with the concept of store bought eggs refrigerated and farm fresh eggs optional 

[ChinkyZee]

Same here, my family always kept eggs in the fridge. It was in Germany that I first realized they don't keep the eggs in the cold area. Pretty much all of Europe does this. Then I realized my grandparents, that live in the village, also keep their eggs in the pantry.
Saves fridge space I guess