Has anyone ever tried storing eggs at room temperature?

[BroodGranny]

I have been reading this thread and other one about leaving eggs out on the counter. I live in Louisiana and it stays hot most of the time and my air conditioner runs way more than my heater. I keep my house at about 72 degrees. Is that a safe temp for leaving eggs on the counter? I have no cool rooms or basements to put them like northern folks. What are your opinions?

 

[uaj0sh]

I have heard that the eggs taste better if they are never refrigerated and just left on the counter. Were going to try it once our hens start laying. If I never post here again you know it didn't work!!

We do this all the time, we run out of room in the fridge too quickly otherwise, and would have to dedicate an entire fridge to egg storage.

Don't clean the eggs until your ready to eat them, you wash off the protective "stuff" on the egg that helps keep it fresh. I've never heard of "sealing" the eggs with wax, that is a very cool idea. I'd love to know for sure that works! if that was the case, I can't imagine that the large scale egg productions like egg lands wouldn't be using this instead of very costly refrigeration trucks.

 

[andreajoan]

We store ours on the counter and have never had a problem. However, the other day I cracked an egg and it was a putrid green color inside and smelled TERRIBLE. Do you think it's gone bad? Could it be because it's summer and too hot to keep them on the counter?

 

[Mothrofchickns]

I store them at room tempurature here and there, many third world countries do not put eggs in the fridge but they are also eaten within a few days because there is no abundance of food like we have. I think that when they are stored at RT they will only last a week...that is why the big companies have them refrigerated. As long as an egg shell is not Brocken or chipped the shell is hard and will keep all bacteria out and I wouldn't sell them to anyone but for my own consumption i keep them in a cool dry pantry for two to three weeks no issues of rotting. But I never keep the chipped ones, or pecked..when I find those ones I usually call them breakfast

 

[AnthonyFlock]

I know people who store at room temp and swear by the flavor vs fridge storing. I'm totally doing this but, they use mineral oil to make their eggs last for a long time and I WONT use a petroleum product. I have also found out that most cheese waxes are both pricey and still made from petroleum products as well

. I know most natural oils spoil and top shelf olive oil (supposedly) spoils the slowest. So with this, has anyone tried olive oil coating for storage? I'm assuming you could simply wash off the coating every other month (or whenever needed) and reapply to continue preserving the egg... I'd love to get some feedback because, quite frankly, I'm not interested in using chemicals on what I'll be raising to be organic eggs. Thanks!

 

[wyoDreamer]

As long as you haven't washed your eggs, they should store at room temp for a while, I have eaten a two month old egg and it was OK. Not something I plan to do regularly, but my Aunt called and mentioned that the eggs she dropped off were the old ones that I should only use them for baking. I plan to use the older ones (over 3 weeks) for baking. If they last that long...
For long term storage I am going to put any extra eggs I get during the summer into the freezer for baking with during the winter. I will need to keep 18 eggs on hand and then any extras will be frozen. Even though there are only 2 of us, we go through a lot of eggs. We used almost 3 dozen this week!

Just make sure to crack the egg into a small bowl to check it before putting them into whatever you are baking. Don't just crack it into your mixing bowl, or you may have to toss a bowl of ingredients.

How long are you looking to store them for?

 

[WthrLady]

As long as you haven't washed your eggs, they should store at room temp for a while, I have eaten a two month old egg and it was OK. Not something I plan to do regularly, but my Aunt called and mentioned that the eggs she dropped off were the old ones that I should only use them for baking. I plan to use the older ones (over 3 weeks) for baking. If they last that long...
For long term storage I am going to put any extra eggs I get during the summer into the freezer for baking with during the winter. I will need to keep 18 eggs on hand and then any extras will be frozen. Even though there are only 2 of us, we go through a lot of eggs. We used almost 3 dozen this week!

Just make sure to crack the egg into a small bowl to check it before putting them into whatever you are baking. Don't just crack it into your mixing bowl, or you may have to toss a bowl of ingredients.

How long are you looking to store them for?

This is what I do. I have an egg skelter on my kitchen wall. I don't wash the eggs. Any that come from the henhouse really dirty or cracked are cleaned and used immediately. All others go on the wall. Rarely does an egg hit 3 weeks old on the wall, but it happens and they are fine. I don't wash my eggs until right before I use them. I also put the Julian date on them when they go on the wall, just in case I get forgetful. House AC turns on at 78, which is still fine for the eggs.

There is a great study done online by mother earth news... just Google it. They tested different methods of preservation, and found that non washed room temp eggs are the way to go.

As for the funky green egg in the above post, no idea. Unless it had a micro crack in it which allowed bacteria in, or it was dirty.

I DO crack my eggs into a separate dish before adding into recipes. Old habit for a reason.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I recently read an explanation for refrigerated eggs in the US vs unrefrigerated in Europe.
In the US, the egg producers are required by law to wash the eggs in a bleach solution to sanitize them. Since they are washed before going to the stores, the natural bloom is gone and they must be refrigerated. The thought process is that the eggs are then sanitized and safe without any contamination on the shell when they leave the factory.
In Europe, the egg producers are FORBIDDEN by law to wash the eggs before sale. The thought process being that by not allowing them to wash the dirt and crud off the eggs, the producers will be better stewards and not let the birds live in retched conditions. Thereby preventing a contamination problem at the source, which is the living conditions of the birds.

So - home raised eggs that have not been washed will not need to be refrigerated. Eggs from the store in the US do need to be refrigerated.

 

[dartees]

This is an interesting article about egg storage that I have read before. I have not tried this so don't hold me to it, but the logic seems sound. http://www.preparednesspro.com/safely-preserving-eggs

 

[WthrLady]

I recently read an explanation for refrigerated eggs in the US vs unrefrigerated in Europe.
In the US, the egg producers are required by law to wash the eggs in a bleach solution to sanitize them. Since they are washed before going to the stores, the natural bloom is gone and they must be refrigerated. The thought process is that the eggs are then sanitized and safe without any contamination on the shell when they leave the factory.
In Europe, the egg producers are FORBIDDEN by law to wash the eggs before sale. The thought process being that by not allowing them to wash the dirt and crud off the eggs, the producers will be better stewards and not let the birds live in retched conditions. Thereby preventing a contamination problem at the source, which is the living conditions of the birds.

So - home raised eggs that have not been washed will not need to be refrigerated. Eggs from the store in the US do need to be refrigerated.

EGG actly!!!