Storing eggs

[drumstyx]

I've heard that store bought eggs can be up to 90 days old. I've also heard that we (in the United States) are one of the only countries to refrigerate their eggs. I personally don't wash mine or refrigerate them.

 

[gachickeeper]

Great Post! So up to six weeks unwashed and out of the fridge. Just to know, how long will they last in the fridge?
Cant wait for my first egg.

 

[ravenfeathers]

Quote:
this is a good (long!) article on different methods of keeping eggs fresh.

 

[Akane]

There's also some good info on cleaning eggs in this article: http://www.plamondon.com/faq_eggwashing.html

 

[JennsPeeps]

Eggs are porous. If you wash them, you can force bacteria into the egg. Just wipe them off.

 

[raindrop]

I don't wash mine either. If the shell can protect a growing baby chick from infection, that's good enough for me.

The really filthy ones get scrambled and fed to the chickens.
The really clean ones get given/sold to coworkers (I use a donation system by request) or given to family/friends.
The others get eaten by my family.

I do refrigerate, but may stop after reading the wonderful information in this post! I could always use the space in the fridge for other things!

 

[SeaChick]

Wait a sec, who debunked the egg-in-water test?????? I have found it to be totally accurate! We cruised on our boat in 3rd world tropical countries and I always did this when eggs were suspect and it always worked for me! Plus sailors without refrigeration have been doing it for, like, ever....

I'd be very curious to see where it was untrue.

Edited to add: I just googled it and found 3 pages that confirm that the egg-float test (in cool, unsalted water) works..... did not find anything questioning it at all......

 

[ravenfeathers]

Quote:
i'm just passing along the rumours, not starting them. it was in a recent thread on this same topic (they do keep popping up) and quoted from the USDA website. i was as startled as you were, as i'd seen the water test on absolutely every egg site i'd visited.

edit: on this thread, post #18.

 

[gachickeeper]

Thanks, great info on that link from Mother Earth! It seems to be leaning toward not washing the eggs and refrigerating them if they wont be used for a while.

 

[SeaChick]

Thanks, Ravenfeathers...

I notice they say (salted) water.... maybe that's the catch. i always use fresh water and I did notice on some other web sites they talked about how temperature and/or salinity could affect the test. Who knows.... I just know it's worked for me and I'll continue to use it. In this case I choose to believe centuries of homesteader experience over the government scientists

By the way, I enjoyed your BYC page and the story of Felicity!!

Stacey