Eggs - in the fridge or no?

In my mega-enormous-humongous refrigerator. My freezer is even bigger.

Quote by olemansteve

If the eggs are washed, refrigerate them. If not washed you can leave them out. Washing removes a protective film on the egg

Which is precisely another way of saying, if you are in the United States, refrigerate them. If in almost any other country you can leave them out.

Eggsactly

Worked as a cook for almost 20 years, want to throw a bit of history behind this topic.

Ok, so in the 70s America was having huge cases of salmonella poisoning linked to eggs. This wasn't the case in any other country, including neighboring Mexico. So the government brought in these Mexican poultry experts to try and assess what was going on.

They took one trip to American farms and found the birds stuffed into tiny cages, shitting and pissing on each other and their eggs. They were horrified, to say the least. Beyond the sheer lack of food safety this created it was also incredibly abusive to the animals. After they turned in their report that just laid out how giant corporate farms were creating disease and the worst cases of animal abuse they had ever seen to turn a bigger profit the government did exactly what you would think. Absolutely nothing.

If you're American, wash your eggs. Also don't buy your eggs from corporate farms, search for cage-free, ethical, and if at all possible local eggs. If the chickens are raised ethically and with adequate space, you should have no problem keeping them at room temp. Otherwise assume it's covered in salmonella.

I'm unwilling to smear my eggs with Vaseline. Ew. I'm happy refrigerating them.

No fridge for my eggs, kitchen temp. Tonight -5 outside!

Always in the fridge.

Quote by IMPURETHOUGHTS

Eggs in fridge or recipes wouldn't call for "room temperature eggs"

You go to the grocery store, where are the eggs kept? Open fridge.

I only buy Welsh/British free range eggs which would normally last me a week to 10 days so have no problem keeping them out of the fridge. If I am going away for a few days I will pop them in the fridge.

I always keep eggs in the fridge

If the eggs are not washed, they are good for a few day outside of the fridge. If washed definitely refrigerate them. All eggs bought in the grocery store are washed and so are many that are sold in farmer’s markets or from the farmer

Quote by olemansteve

If the eggs are not washed, they are good for a few day outside of the fridge. If washed definitely refrigerate them. All eggs bought in the grocery store are washed and so are many that are sold in farmer’s markets or from the farmer

You are correct ... but only for the United States and Canada. Our store eggs are almost universally washed. But remember that this is a global forum; what you said about grocery store eggs is not true in most other countries.

By the way, when I was buying eggs at a farmers' market a couple weeks ago, the farmer asked, "washed or unwashed?"

ps ... Another fun fact I just discovered researching the Canada statement I made above: the US FDA doesn't even require an expiration date on eggs, although the USDA (yes, different agency) requires them to be transported and stored below 45 degrees F. Apparently it's not unusual for big-brand eggs in the US to be two or more weeks old by the time they hit the store. There is usually (though it's voluntary - !!) date code printed on egg cartons that shows the day of the year (1 through 366) on which the eggs were cartoned, so it is usually possible to verify. Like Rowan said, there are a whole bunch of reasons you're better off buying free-range, cage-free, antibiotic-free eggs from smaller producers. Freshness is definitely one of them.

Fridge

Not in the fridge, not in the fridge at the supermarket.

I have done both. If you buy off the shelf at store and not fresh and want to store out... you must rub it with plain mineral to replicate the film the mother hen puts on every egg. If you do this they can last a long time.

As long as you do not wash the eggs they will keep on the counter unrefridgerated for about 2 weeks. There is a natural coating on the eggs that protects them from decay. All store bought eggs are washed, candled and refridgerated and can be 30 days old before you buy them at the store. Goggle it or ask a farmer we have one in the family and another is a good friend and they both supply us with eggs.

Not in the fridge

No

We buy farm fresh, I know they dont need it, we use them pretty quickly, but it feels wrong!! They always go in the fridge! 🤣

Yes always