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Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

nytimes.com

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Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#171

Post by haskal »

ZainRiz wrote: post #164
lloydde wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When my youngest child was a baby and I was binge watching tv while comforting her, I found myself watching a doomsday preppers show. There I learned by oiling eggs they could be stored months. http://www.offthegridnews.com/off-grid-foods/preserving-eggs... looks to have confirmed the reality tv show: "[eggs] will, however, eventually develop an off-flavor, and this off-flavor is especially pronounced in eggs stored…

If you preserve the egg in lime, ash, and a few other ingredients for long enough, the egg turns into a "Century Egg" with an almost jello like look and consistency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg Tastes kinda gross though (but I might be biased)

Weird that you mentioned it today. I just made one for the first time today after visiting the Chinese supermarket (I am not East Asian).

Century egg is definitely one of the weirdest smelling things I have ever eaten. It smells like H2S. Took me back to my chemistry lab sessions.

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#172

Post by Reason077 »

jon-wood wrote: post #168
webignition wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My brother in law is a small-scale farmer in Wales and produces chicken and duck eggs. I've previously discussed egg washing with him. My understanding from such conversations is that eggs in the EU are definitely not washed. Supermarket caged-hen eggs are generally clean in appearance due to the lack of items that might otherwise stick to the them. I have found free range supermarket eggs, on the other hand, to some…

It wouldn't surprise me if supermarket eggs are just selected, with any that aren't clean being thrown out.

Here in the UK, when buying free-range supermarket eggs you definitely get the occasional egg with small bits of feather or poop stuck to them.

It's uncommon but it happens - they aren't throwing out the dirty ones.

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#173

Post by Reason077 »

paganel wrote: post #165
roryisok wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Ireland, in the EU, and I'm fairly sure all the eggs in supermarkets here are washed. There's never a spot of dirt on them. And we always refrigerate, as does everyone I know

I live in Romania, another EU country, and the eggs from the super-market are definitely not washed. They're also always refrigerated.

Interesting. I don't think I've ever seen a UK supermarket put eggs in a refrigerated section. They're always sold from a standard shelf.

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#174

Post by [deleted] »

paganel wrote: post #165
roryisok wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Ireland, in the EU, and I'm fairly sure all the eggs in supermarkets here are washed. There's never a spot of dirt on them. And we always refrigerate, as does everyone I know

I live in Romania, another EU country, and the eggs from the super-market are definitely not washed. They're also always refrigerated.

[deleted]

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#175

Post by [deleted] »

paganel wrote: post #165
roryisok wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Ireland, in the EU, and I'm fairly sure all the eggs in supermarkets here are washed. There's never a spot of dirt on them. And we always refrigerate, as does everyone I know

I live in Romania, another EU country, and the eggs from the super-market are definitely not washed. They're also always refrigerated.

[deleted]

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#176

Post by trome »

Spooky23 wrote: post #155
trome wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The USDA's Food Desert definition is total bullshit, for example, you could drop me nearly anywhere in Tukwila, WA and I could be in a large grocery store within 10 minutes of walking. If we include smaller stores, I can be in a store buying eggs, milk, fresh veggies & fruit of higher quality than Costco or Whole Paycheck in a 6 to 7 minute walk, and pay with EBT at any of them (if I qualified). This is exactly why a…

Mileage varies. In my city, the poor neighborhoods are a 30 minute bus ride from a proper grocery. It's a 10 minute drive max. Most people there get food from a bodega type place.

Thats the thing though, a "proper" grocery in most HN readers minds is a large supermarket. Most actual groceries aren't sold by chains though, bodegas, corner delis, green grocers, and an assortment of Asian, Mexican and other small grocers sell a huge chunk of the fresh fruit and vegetables here in the US, since they have the upper hand when it comes to location, price and quality.

That being said, many are quick to dismiss them since they don't have the nicest/largest stores, or the most advanced systems. By doing so your ignoring reality, as that is how most people get their food, hence why they (generally) accept EBT.

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#177

Post by Reason077 »

jwdunne wrote: post #118
pmoriarty wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Soft-boiled eggs don't seem to be cooked enough to kill salmonella. The FDA's advice is to "cook eggs until yolks are firm" .[1] [1] - https://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm077342...

I think salmonella from a UK egg is incredibly rare now. Pregnant women are advised not too but they're advised to eat well done steak too: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25154046

All UK chickens are vaccinated against salmonella. Not sure if it's an EU-wide practice but it's universal in the UK.

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#178

Post by mjn »

paganel wrote: post #165
roryisok wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Ireland, in the EU, and I'm fairly sure all the eggs in supermarkets here are washed. There's never a spot of dirt on them. And we always refrigerate, as does everyone I know

I live in Romania, another EU country, and the eggs from the super-market are definitely not washed. They're also always refrigerated.

They're always refrigerated in Denmark as well, usually in the dairy section along with the milk, cheese, and yogurt.

Re: Why Do Americans Refrigerate Their Eggs?

#179

Post by Reason077 »

to3m wrote: post #42
LordWinstanley wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 Twitte…

That's right. The "best before" date on U.K. eggs is 28 days after the production date - and that assumes they won't be refrigerated.
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