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Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

nytimes.com

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Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#21

Post by paulddraper »

ricardobeat wrote: post #16
RandomOpinion wrote: post #15

I think part of the article that's getting glossed over is: " A refrigerated egg, no matter the source, will be good for four or five weeks. Unrefrigerated eggs are best used within a week, though they may be fine for two. " So, one would want to refrigerate eggs (washed or unwashed) anyway if they're not all going to be used immediately.

Or just not buy them if they are not going to be used immediately. Eggs quickly lose their quality (try poaching a week-old or refrigerated egg). I understand this may be unrealistic for car-dependant US households that have no option but to shop in large batches...

I think it's the non-car dependent folks that (good or bad) have "no option".

I far prefer shopping for two or three weeks at a time, refrigerating fruits, vegetables, and milk.

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#22

Post by TenOhms »

Kenji wrote: post #17

I love how, once again, the states are clueless, forcing companies to wash the eggs on one continent, and forcing them not to on the other continent. Another useless law, hampering the production of vital goods.

What do you base that observation on? The article doesn't address whether washing + refrigeration is safer than leaving the membrane in-tact and not refrigerating. In fact, it hints at the exact opposite, saying Japan adopted the US method after a major salmonella outbreak. Who's right, or more importantly, does this even matter?

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#24

Post by monochromatic »

Kenji wrote: post #17

I love how, once again, the states are clueless, forcing companies to wash the eggs on one continent, and forcing them not to on the other continent. Another useless law, hampering the production of vital goods.

That's not at all what I got from the article. I read it as saying basically that reasonable people can disagree about whether eggs should be washed and refrigerated, and there are good reasons for either position.

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#25

Post by nilidah »

RandomOpinion wrote: post #15

I think part of the article that's getting glossed over is: " A refrigerated egg, no matter the source, will be good for four or five weeks. Unrefrigerated eggs are best used within a week, though they may be fine for two. " So, one would want to refrigerate eggs (washed or unwashed) anyway if they're not all going to be used immediately.

Eggs fresh out of a chicken will last for ages. Months even. The only reason people keep eggs in the fridge is because of how long they've already been out. Also, egg quality is very poor, you can't eat raw eggs in the US for example.

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#26

Post by tomca32 »

INTPenis wrote: post #11

I'm a swede and I had no idea, I've refrigerated eggs as long as I can remember. My parents are from Croatia though so it's kind of weird that I picked up this habit. My relatives in Croatia do not refrigerate eggs. Most swedes that I can think of refrigerate their eggs straight from the store. The recommendation is printed on the box to refrigerate. Now that I've read this article it suddenly makes sense why I've so…

Hmm..weird. I'm from Croatia and I would be surprised to see people not refrigerate eggs. We (me and my family) always refrigerated them. Every fridge I've seen has egg holders that we would fill up.

Pretty sure that most people I know refrigerate eggs, but then again, I never really paid attention to that.

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#27

Post by nraynaud »

21 wrote: post #10
Houshalter wrote: post #4

Would it be possible to sterilize the eggs without destroying the cuticle? Like with heat, radiation, or ultraviolet light?

Unless after sterilization you would also seal them in plastic or something, they will become "non-sterile" again. Pasteurized milk is sealed.

you might just want to kill one strain of bacterium that live in the soil and around hens, not actual complete sterilization.

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#28

Post by paglia_s »

ljoshua wrote: post #2

Ah ha! I had always wondered why we'd buy a crate of 24 eggs at Carrefour in France when I lived there for two years, just off the grocery floor. I didn't feel bad not refrigerating them there, but of course must do so again now. Satisfying answer.

I live in Italy and most supermarkets only have refrigerated eggs with Carrefour being the notable exception and I found it weird when I first saw eggs outside the refrigerator

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#29

Post by nraynaud »

monochromatic wrote: post #24
Kenji wrote: post #17

I love how, once again, the states are clueless, forcing companies to wash the eggs on one continent, and forcing them not to on the other continent. Another useless law, hampering the production of vital goods.

That's not at all what I got from the article. I read it as saying basically that reasonable people can disagree about whether eggs should be washed and refrigerated, and there are good reasons for either position.

I would agree, I'm still puzzled tho, because vaccine works but is not used for economic reasons. So we Europeans, mostly don't vaccinate and don't refrigerate (let's forget the health care and say it's the cheapest), but in the US you're paying for an entire cold shipping infrastructure anyways, which doesn't strike me as "cheap".

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#30

Post by Retric »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #19
RandomOpinion wrote: post #15

I think part of the article that's getting glossed over is: " A refrigerated egg, no matter the source, will be good for four or five weeks. Unrefrigerated eggs are best used within a week, though they may be fine for two. " So, one would want to refrigerate eggs (washed or unwashed) anyway if they're not all going to be used immediately.

"may be fine for two" sounds extremely pessimistic. I live in France, and we regularly eat eggs that have been sitting on the shelf for a month and they taste good and nobody gets sick.

Milk used to kill a lot of people yet many would drink it without issue for decades. So, your sample size is a little small in the grand scheme of things.
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