Italy here and I've always refrigerated eggs. I didn't even think about it: fresh food goes into the fridge bu default.
But they are not sold refrigerated, right? In the US they would.
Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?
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Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?
#42I 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.
I live in UK and never keep eggs the fridge. They easily keep for a couple of weeks or more. So I think the "use within a week" advice is over-cautious. Handy tip, if you want to know if an egg's good* or not, without breaking it: pop it in a tall glass of cold water. If it sinks, it's fine. If it floats it's gone off. [*'good' as in 'still fresh'. Unfortunately it won't tell you if it's full of salmonella, or not!]
I live in the UK too... it's not that unusual to buy unrefigerated eggs with a use-by date of a month hence. You can leave them out, then hard boil them on that date, and they'll keep in the fridge for at least another week. I've always ended up eating them by that point though.
(I generally buy duck eggs rather than chicken eggs, though. Don't know if they last longer.)
FUN FACT: a couple of years ago I saw a Twitter thread between two British comedians/columnists/something/etc. trying to out-mock one another, and "I bet you refrigerate your eggs" was one of the lines.
Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?
#43america here, we used to own chickens -- the rule my wife told me is if it's fresh--it can sit for 1-2 months without putting in fridge, if it's store bought it must be refrigerated because of the cuticle. -- Though not sure on store-bought but un-washed eggs, since there's obviously handling and processing between farm and home it could obviously shorten the life span.
Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?
#44Food goes in the fridge.
A place for everything, and everything in its place.
Keeps your life uncluttered and tidy.
Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?
#45I 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?
I did not read the article as I got fed up with playing the "chase the close box in this overlay" game. However, most egg vendors in Japan neither wash, nor refrigerate eggs. The main exception I can think of are the eggs at the convenience store. In my town, they even have vending machines for eggs that the local farmer fills up every 2 or 3 days. They are unrefrigerated and the eggs sit happily there are 35 degrees C in the summer.
Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
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...
Refrigerated eggs poach fine; if they didn't, nobody in the US would have decent poached eggs. :)
Nobody in the cities or suburbs. Raising one's own chickens for eggs or getting eggs from friends with chickens is popular in rural areas.
Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?
#47I live in China. Shouldn't keep the eggs in the refrigerator a common sense?......
Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?
#48I'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…
I think the article overgeneralizes about 'Europeans'. EU regulations may not allow egg washing and I'm sure not all stores refrigerate eggs but I imagine zillions of people all over Europe bring the eggs home from the grocery and stick them in the fridge. just like most Americans.
Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?
#49Why are so many headlines needlessly in the form of a question?
Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Refrigerated eggs poach fine; if they didn't, nobody in the US would have decent poached eggs. :)
They are harder to make, though. The albumins break down over time, leading to a more liquid egg white. This, in turn causes the egg to spread out more when you are poaching them. Making a perfectly round poached egg by dropping it into a pot of salted, simmering water is very difficult if the egg is less than a few days old. That's why Starfrit sells egg poachers. BTW, I don't know about the US, but in Canada, the s…
Thanks for making me realise why I stopped liking poached eggs. I was just using old eggs.
And I have heard similar things about the supply chain in the US. However, I have had a fresh egg that was no more than 24 hours old (I think younger) and I didn't really notice a difference. Then again, I think it was scrambled, so I don't know if you can tell anyways.