How long is an egg good?

[rosco]

how long is an egg good for if
1) before it is put in the refrigerator?
2) if it is put in the refrigerator the same day?
3) if it is put in the refrigerator the 2nd day if the Temps are 75F - 50F

 

[kcsunshine]

According to "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens", my Bible, eggs left out of the refrigerator age in 1 day as much as 1 week in the refrigerator. In other words, refrigerate asap. In a stardard household refrigerator, eggs will keep up to 5 weeks. If you're unsure about age, place in water. If the egg floats, it's very old. If it stands on end, it's 2-3 weeks old. If it barely lifts on end up, it's about 1 week old. Hope this helps.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

It depends on what you mean by "good for."

Presuming the shell is intact and the hen laid a good quality egg to begin with an egg can be 'good for' weeks sitting on your kitchen counter at any reasonable temperature and not in the direct sunlight.

It is however losing quality by the day meaning the whites and yolk begin to grower thinner and more watery. Still safe to eat, still largely tastes the same, but you'll notice the difference between a two week old egg and a two hour old egg when you crack them into your frying pan.

Refrigeration improves matters quite a lot. I have read and my experience agrees with that one day on a warm kitchen counter is equal to about a week in a properly chilled refrigerator. At least for the first several weeks. After that the fridge runs away with it.

Now if you want to hatch that egg things are somewhat different, but even there a cool egg keeps better than a warm one.

.....Alan.

 

[Bantimna]

I was wondering the same.........and just bookmarked it.

 

[patandchickens]

Good for *what*, and *how* good do you want it to be?

Those numbers cited above are pretty far off from what I'd say from my own experience. Although maybe I just have less picky-gourmet taste buds than some people, LOL

I find that eggs are generally fine in the fridge for at least 2 months for 'breakfast use', e.g. fried eggs and such. And up to 4-5 months for use in baked goods and so forth. I'm quite sure I've eaten 6 month old eggs over the years, although they are usually um not as tasty by then

I see no point in refrigerating them (unless your kitchen is very hot and your eggs are fertile!) unless you have reason to believe they'll be lingering around for more than a week or 2. If they will be eaten in that timeframe, IMO the fridge space is more valuable for other things

JMHO,

Pat

 

[ellieroo]

Mother Earth did an article about eggs and how long?? Turns out according to ME they can last 3 months just sitting on the counter??

 

[Akane]

Eggs can still be edible after 6months. Whether you actually want to eat them is your choice.

They are definitely fine on the counter for a week if not several weeks so long as you air condition your house in the summer. I tend to forget them on the counter for 5-6days before I realize I've used up the whole chunk of counter next to the fridge and dig out cartons to load them in. Then they sit in the fridge for several more weeks to a couple months until we use them or give them away free. I have yet to crack a bad egg but if you are making omelets or baking things that need to fluff you probably want to use the fresher ones.