Do eggs need to be refrigerated or not?

[chickengeorgeto]

I am unsure about how long an egg will last in the ice box but others on this forum have reported sealing the shells with a thin layer of lard and then keeping them in the fridge for 9 months or more without a noticeable drop in quality. Water glass also preserves eggs without refrigeration and this was once commonly used to keep fresh eggs more or less fresh without refrigeration. With refrigeration I am clueless on how long an egg stored in water glass will remain eatable. Look to your local pharmacy for water glass. Water glass plus refrigeration should also yield as long a storage life as lard and refrigeration, but with modern conveniences like a refrigerator, your own flock, or a Safeway I fail to see the need for long term egg storage unless you are looking for the end of the world. In which case having the ingredients at hand with which to whip up a souffle seems to me to be the least of your worries.

French farmers are politically active and I have heard that in France it is against the law to sell refrigerated eggs, the reason being they go bad quicker sitting out on the counter. That means that the French poultry farmers can sell many more eggs at a much higher price because of the shorter shelf life.

Depending on where you live, keeping eggs on the counter for 90 days will eventually yield some interesting results when you crack one for breakfast.

http://www.aeb.org/foodservice-professionals/egg-products#5

 

[Mettomom]

My Chick has just started laying 6

days ago today!! she has given me an egg a day just about... or every 28 hours ... anyhow, I do not plan on eating the very first one because it seems to have blood clots, but the rest are going to be in a spectacular omelet tomorrow.

anyhow wanted to share this cool fact:

Find out how old an egg is by placing it in water. Because older eggs have bigger air cells thy will float.

 

[Perkhens]

Once you refrigerate an unwashed egg, can you move it to the counter? We moved recently and the eggs got stashed in the fridge by a well-meaning friend. None of them have been washed. Appreciate it!

 

[1tifsunkip1]

I always steam mine about 23 mins in a double boiler with the lid on and they peel perfectly every time. After steaming them rinse with cold water until you can handle them. Crack big end and peel...voila!

 

[Berkley]

So... If I have en egg that is dirty/has some poop on it, am I supposed to wash it and put it in the fridge? Or can I use the dry rag method to just wipe away excess poop and put it into the fridge? I read that cold water can cause the egg to suck in bacteria through the shell, but will putting an unwashed egg into the refrigerator cause the eggs to pull in the bacteria from the outside of the shell? Or is it safe to leave a dirty egg in a carton on the counter? ( Sorry, I'm completely new to this. )

I only have one hen laying so far. I have a Light Brahma that just started to lay, and she has given me a small egg three out of the last four days, but she got this last one pretty dirty. She keeps taking the eggs and trying to hide them under the straw, and I just discovered what she was doing. So in truth, the fourth egg could be hidden out there and I plan to search for it. ( and toss it out ) I'm really happy she is laying almost an egg a day, as I read they only average about three per week, but I am confused about how to store the eggs. She has a clean nesting box to use, but hasn't yet figured out to use it. lol

 

[chickengeorgeto]

100 or more years ago "egg brokers" bought up eggs in the Spring and Summer months when they were plentiful and cheap, refrigerated them and/or stored them in a substance like water glass, salt, lime, or lard until the hens quit laying in the Autumn when egg prices always soared. It was as important or more so back in Great Grand Maw's day that eggs had a good strong shell so that the eggshell could exclude bacteria for months.

Some of the eggs that your grand or great grand mothers baked with at Christmas time could be 6 - 9 months old. Is there any wonder then that Granny always broke her eggs out one at a time into a cup before she added that egg to her cake recipes?

 

[krosfyre]

I was told that once eggs are refrigerated the eggs must stay that way until just before using, so my question is with it being cold outside I don't always get to the eggs while they are still warm; if they are cold when I collect them should they go straight in the fridge or can they be brought back to room temp and stored on the counter?