I’ve just bought a new fridge and it comes with a section to hold eggs. I’ve never stored them in the fridge since salmonella isn’t really a problem here because our chickens are vaccinated. Does anybody in the UK actually refrigerate their eggs?
As an aside, I tend to decide what goes into the fridge based on where it was in the supermarket. If they don’t refrigerate it, neither do I. So for eggs, I don’t.
Secondary question - what am I gonna use the egg holder in the fridge for now, other than maybe briefly cooling my balls?
US have to store eggs in the fridge because they mandatory wash them before selling, brushing away the natural protection layer that enhance durability.
It’s not just vaccination - European eggs aren’t pressure washed like American ones to remove the protective coating.
I’ve honestly never understood why America does that to their eggs.
Salmonella. It’s carried in chicken dung, sometimes eggs get a bit of feces on them, so the US washes them to attempt to reduce exposure.
Problem is that without the protective coating, the eggs are more permeable and susceptible to bacterial infection, hence the refrigeration.
So it’s a question of whether it’s better to reduce bacteria exposure or susceptibility. I am sure there’s research out there with numbers indicating one works better than the other, but it’s been such a long-standing thing at this point that I don’t think Americans would trust unrefrigerated eggs.
The research shows both methods are equally effective at controlling salmonella, afaik
Both work for protecting humans. However, I believe vaccination is better overall. It also improves the quality of life of the chickens. Unfortunately, it’s also (very slightly) more expensive, so America went the cheap route. The EU mandated to reduce animal cruelty, by vaccination.
In Australia our eggs are kept in the refrigerated section in the supermarket (usually near the cheese and butter, because everyone knows eggs are dairy), and we’ve always put them in the fridge at home, so I guess they wash the protective coating off here too.
Another reason I’m glad I’m not american or living there today
I think refrigerating eggs is inconsequential compared to the other thing that happened.
Refrigerating eggs also roughly doubles their shelf life.
Is salmonella vaccination required in the UK now? It’s been a few years but last I knew it was voluntary and roughly 3/4 of egg farmers did do it.
Egg farmers? Chicken ranchers? Poultry producer? Idk what they’re called.
Refrigerating eggs also roughly doubles their shelf life.
Yeah that’s fair enough, although they already last for ages. “Can’t wait to eat these eggs in a month”.
Do yourself a favor and find a local small farmer to buy eggs directly from. They are much better than supermarket eggs. It’s not necessarily a matter of keeping eggs from going bad, it’s more about preserving them at that peak flavor/texture. I have no clue where this picture is from, so I don’t know if the data are sound, but you get the idea. https://digitaleggtester.com/wordpress/wp-content/themes/nabel/files/images/egg/img_yi02.png
The correct term is Fowl Fiddler
This sounds like something you’d get arrested for.
In the US, eggs are washed, which significantly decreases their shelf life.
Everyone
Apart from pretty much every single supermarket
Why are you limiting your answer to UK? My decision to store eggs in the fridge has nothing to do with salmonella concerns and I believe it’s likely people in the UK may also have similar judgement.
Because in countries that don’t vaccinate their chickens (like the US) the risk of salmonella is much higher so the recommendation is that eggs should be refrigerated to reduce bacteria growth.
This doesn’t really answer my question, but I’m glad someone from the UK already voiced my reason- as I predicted
It answers the question as to why I limited it to the UK. Advice for eggs from non-vaccinated hens is to refrigerate them. So in a country that doesn’t vaccinate, the proportion of refrigerated eggs will be much higher than a country where it isn’t necessarily advised, and the decision comes down to personal choice. That’s what I’m interested in.
But you are not asking the whole country, and you are not asking to a representative of a country. You’re asking individuals. Anyone who refrigerates eggs for reasons other than salmonella could give you an equally valid answer regardless of where they live.
I think this is bordering on becoming an absurd discussion on the validity of demographics, which I’m not really interested in.
Besides which, the last time a whole US population was polled about something, they decided to to make the worst possible decision, so my interest in US opinion is even less today.
Then just ask about vaccinated eggs. Making it about the UK is just weird.
Yeah you’re right, I should really be more invested in global egg storage.
We do… but we don’t need to. Just force of habit.
Idk, I think my family, as Germans, does this.
It’s detachable in my fridge.
I use the egg holder on the door shelf for small bottles that would otherwise fall over when the door is opened. Medicine or nail polish, that sort of thing.
I also the egg holder to … hold the eggs … after they’re boiled, so I can fill the egg cooker instead of boiling just a few at a time. I use cold boiled eggs for sandwiches or salats.
I do not use it for holding raw eggs as those already come in an egg shaped carton.
How long do boiled eggs in fridges last?
I live in Canada, where eggs need to be refrigerated, and yet I’ve never seen a fridge with an egg holder. I already have an egg holder. The box they came in.
Still one too many pieces of packaging for my liking. Put the OG egg holder in the fridge. The chicken.
I’ve always done that, here in germany. They are supposed to last at least ~2 weeks (or so, idk) at room temperature, after all they are stores. But the eggs I have right now are more like 3-4 weeks old, so I prefer to put them in the fridge, because why not? They don’t take much space and last for double as long, so 6 weeks.
Dumb question: where do you store your eggs now, if not the fridge? My American mind is reeling.
This’ll blow your mind, but I actually put the box on top of the fridge. It makes sense in my kitchen layout, but I understand how much of fridge-tease it is for them.
This is actually a very big difference with the USA and the UK (and possibly most of Europe, not sure though). We generally store eggs outside of the fridge. On a shelf or in a pantry/cupboard for example.
Eggs survive in the wild at ambient temp because when they are laid, a coating basically seals off the egg. Unfortunately, chickens have one hole, and they are messy animals, so there’s often some poop, too. In many countries, this coating is left intact, and technically, you should wash eggs before using them so nothing from the shell ends up inside when you crack it. As Americans, we have bigger houses and bigger fridges, and we love convenience, so we wash our eggs prior to packaging. This means they have to be refrigerated.
Either approach works, but the important thing is not to leave washed eggs unrefrigerated.
The methods of salmonella mitigation, storing eggs from vaccinated chickens unwashed at room temp or storing washed eggs in the refrigerator, have roughly equal outcomes. There are still many egg-related salmonella outbreaks across Europe each year, roughly equivalent to the US. One method is not superior to another as far as outcomes, they’re just two different systems that already exist and therefore are unlikely to change without a good reason
Why bother? They’re safe at room temperature unless they’ve already been refrigerated, might as well use that fridge space for some that actually benefits from the cold.
At room temperature they’re good for a month or two. If you want long term storage you might as well prep and freeze them which will last you about a year, or there’s a ton of other long-term preservation techniques.
As an aside, I tend to decide what goes into the fridge based on where it was in the supermarket. If they don’t refrigerate it, neither do I.
There are quite a few items that are fine to store unrefrigerated until opened, but need to stay cold afterwards. Jam comes to mind.
Yeah that doesn’t really apply to eggs though, their “container” is unopened. Otherwise your fridge will get messy.
But yeah, obviously I’m gonna put stuff in the fridge that would go off once the seal has been broken.
This is true, an egg won’t last long unrefrigerated after its opened ;)
