Has anyone ever tried storing eggs at room temperature?

[ChelC]

From what I understand people used to preserve eggs by sealing the pores with wax, and they could store up to a year at room temperature that way. Have any of you ever tried that?

 

[Josie]

That sounds really interesting, I have not tried it though. Is it similar to using "liquid glass" to store eggs?

 

[Rosalind]

I never put wax on 'em, but I have occasionally set the egg basket on the kitchen counter and forgot about it for a day or so...

And they still taste great.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

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!!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Hmmm, good question. I just did a quick Google search, most of what I found had to do with store-bought eggs already in cold storage.

We're in hot, humid So Fla and even in the summer I don't always get to collect the eggs until nightfall. Though the warmer the weather the earlier & more frequently I *try* to collect.

Often I'll leave the egg basket on the counter for a day or two, esp if I'm busy or the refrigerator is already stuffed with eggs.

I don't wash the eggs unless they're soiled, and then do it before refrigerating, with hot water & a paper towel, and then make sure to dry them & refrigerate immediately.

I think that unsoiled & uncracked fresh eggs will stay safe to eat at room temps for several days or more, the bloom is supposed to protect against bacteria. Many recipies call for room temp eggs, so these would work best for those purposes, since they've never been chilled. But chilling makes eggs age at a slower rate, so unless you plan to eat them soon, I think it's best to store them in the fridge. Either immediately or within a few days.

I wonder if fresh eggs stored at room temp for only a few days would make as easy-to-peel hard-boiled eggs as older eggs kept in the fridge? This will have to be my next experiment.

Also, is it a bad practice to take fresh eggs from the fridge, let them warm to room temp, and then re-refrigerate? Sometimes I'll bring chilled eggs to friends or customers away from their homes & they aren't going back home right away. Is it all right for them to leave those eggs out for a few hours, then put back in their fridges?

BTW, I write the date of lay in pencil on the end of each egg so I'll know their age & can use the older ones first. Other folks who receive or buy our eggs will ask "is this a code for which hen laid which egg?" Not knowing or noticing that the carton is filled with eggs of various sizes & colors, all with the SAME number on them. I tell them, with a sigh, that this is the most difficult part of keeping laying hens, teaching them to write those numbers on their eggs. Besides getting them to lay them in those cartons, of course...

 

[SeaChick]

Eggs that have never been refrigerated last fine at room temp. Especially if you turn the egg carton over every day or so. Many other countries keep their eggs in this manner. Once refrigerated, though, they deteriorate rapidy at room temp.

We know lots of sailors without refrigeration. Some do the wax thing, but most simply turn the carton every day or so.

If in doubt, as they get over a couple weeks old, do the "float test": put an egg in a glass of plain water. If it sinks, it is very fresh. If it stands on end, still edible but not as fresh. If it floats.... throw it out!!!!!

 

[Chirpy]

My understanding, from people who live there, is that in Europe they usually leave their eggs out on the counter for a week or two before eating. I've never been there to verify it though.

 

[dacjohns]

I think Mother Earth News did a study on it. I don't have a link handy but you could probably find it by doing a search on their web site.

 

[MissPrissy]

I do not refrigerate the egg I use in my kitchen.

I collect eggs friday, saturday and sunday. Those go in my basket on the counter. Those are what I use during the week. Rarely anything is ever left over. I get about 23 eggs a day. If anything is left over I cook them and feed them back to my chickens.

The rest of the eggs from the week I refrigerate. Some of the people who get my eggs want them cold and refrigerated.

If something is coming up and I know I want deviled eggs I put eggs away in the frig to age for about a month.

In cool months eggs can sit on the kitchen counter for up to 6 weeks and still be perfectly fine. Mine have never lasted anywhere near that long.

Unrefrigerated eggs cook and taste MUCH better. Your recipes and dishes will turn out so much better with the fresh never chilled eggs.

 

[backintime]

I just returned a book to the library -- Storey's guide to Raising Chickens -- and they had a whole chapter in the book about alternative methods of preserving eggs for long periods of time without refrigeration. Also some interesting ideas like cracking 2 or 3 eggs into a container and freezing them, marking the container as to how many eggs were in it, and using them for baking. It would be nice to plan ahead for those times when the hens stop laying. I don't remember everything I read, except one thing stands out in my memory -- the IDEAL temp. for storing eggs is like 50 degrees, alot warmer than our refrigerators!!