I’ve just bought a new fridge and it comes with a section to hold eggs. I’ve never stored them in the fridge since salmonella isn’t really a problem here because our chickens are vaccinated. Does anybody in the UK actually refrigerate their eggs?
As an aside, I tend to decide what goes into the fridge based on where it was in the supermarket. If they don’t refrigerate it, neither do I. So for eggs, I don’t.
Secondary question - what am I gonna use the egg holder in the fridge for now, other than maybe briefly cooling my balls?
It’s not just vaccination - European eggs aren’t pressure washed like American ones to remove the protective coating.
I’ve honestly never understood why America does that to their eggs.
Salmonella. It’s carried in chicken dung, sometimes eggs get a bit of feces on them, so the US washes them to attempt to reduce exposure.
Problem is that without the protective coating, the eggs are more permeable and susceptible to bacterial infection, hence the refrigeration.
So it’s a question of whether it’s better to reduce bacteria exposure or susceptibility. I am sure there’s research out there with numbers indicating one works better than the other, but it’s been such a long-standing thing at this point that I don’t think Americans would trust unrefrigerated eggs.
The research shows both methods are equally effective at controlling salmonella, afaik
Both work for protecting humans. However, I believe vaccination is better overall. It also improves the quality of life of the chickens. Unfortunately, it’s also (very slightly) more expensive, so America went the cheap route. The EU mandated to reduce animal cruelty, by vaccination.
In Australia our eggs are kept in the refrigerated section in the supermarket (usually near the cheese and butter, because everyone knows eggs are dairy), and we’ve always put them in the fridge at home, so I guess they wash the protective coating off here too.
Another reason I’m glad I’m not american or living there today
I think refrigerating eggs is inconsequential compared to the other thing that happened.
Agreed, though, it adds up.
We don’t have to in Germany, but they last longer and sometimes we don’t eat a lot of eggs. Putting them in the fridge ensures that we can safely eat them even quite some time after the expiration date (then we cook them fully though).
I’m in the US, so I do have to store eggs in the fridge. BUT I do what you do for a lot of foods that don’t need to be refrigerated. I refrigerate them anyway because they last longer. I live alone, so my groceries don’t deplete as fast as people with large families, and so it makes sense for me to try to stave off food spoilage as long as possible.
Same in Italy. But i pur them in the fridge because they last a lot longer
In the US, eggs are washed, which significantly decreases their shelf life.
US have to store eggs in the fridge because they mandatory wash them before selling, brushing away the natural protection layer that enhance durability.
The methods of salmonella mitigation, storing eggs from vaccinated chickens unwashed at room temp or storing washed eggs in the refrigerator, have roughly equal outcomes. There are still many egg-related salmonella outbreaks across Europe each year, roughly equivalent to the US. One method is not superior to another as far as outcomes, they’re just two different systems that already exist and therefore are unlikely to change without a good reason
When I buy supermarket eggs, I refrigerate them because they are washed (in the US). When I get unwashed eggs (from a farm or a friend), I still refrigerate them and just wash them prior to use. I don’t have to refrigerate them since they have the cuticle intact, but refrigerating them still makes them stay fresher longer, so if I have the space for them, why would I not?
That said, the eggs already come in a carton, so I’m not going to transfer them into a separate container in my fridge for no reason.
Why are you limiting your answer to UK? My decision to store eggs in the fridge has nothing to do with salmonella concerns and I believe it’s likely people in the UK may also have similar judgement.
Because in countries that don’t vaccinate their chickens (like the US) the risk of salmonella is much higher so the recommendation is that eggs should be refrigerated to reduce bacteria growth.
This doesn’t really answer my question, but I’m glad someone from the UK already voiced my reason- as I predicted
It answers the question as to why I limited it to the UK. Advice for eggs from non-vaccinated hens is to refrigerate them. So in a country that doesn’t vaccinate, the proportion of refrigerated eggs will be much higher than a country where it isn’t necessarily advised, and the decision comes down to personal choice. That’s what I’m interested in.
But you are not asking the whole country, and you are not asking to a representative of a country. You’re asking individuals. Anyone who refrigerates eggs for reasons other than salmonella could give you an equally valid answer regardless of where they live.
I think this is bordering on becoming an absurd discussion on the validity of demographics, which I’m not really interested in.
Besides which, the last time a whole US population was polled about something, they decided to make the worst possible decision, so my interest in US opinion is even less today.
I do here in Sweden despite there is no need. Mostly because it is the convenient place in my kitchen.
Dumb question: where do you store your eggs now, if not the fridge? My American mind is reeling.
This’ll blow your mind, but I actually put the box on top of the fridge. It makes sense in my kitchen layout, but I understand how much of fridge-tease it is for them.
This did in fact blow my mind!
Eggs survive in the wild at ambient temp because when they are laid, a coating basically seals off the egg. Unfortunately, chickens have one hole, and they are messy animals, so there’s often some poop, too. In many countries, this coating is left intact, and technically, you should wash eggs before using them so nothing from the shell ends up inside when you crack it. As Americans, we have bigger houses and bigger fridges, and we love convenience, so we wash our eggs prior to packaging. This means they have to be refrigerated.
Either approach works, but the important thing is not to leave washed eggs unrefrigerated.
I don’t keep them in the fridge, I’ve got my own hens and I didn’t before when I got shop bought eggs. I have 0 concern about salmonella or anything like that.
The fridge egg holder is for keeping hard boiled eggs, not raw ones.
The fridge egg holder is for keeping hard boiled eggs, not raw ones.
That’s an interesting observation, I hadn’t thought of that. Although the day I consider pre-boiling eggs for later consumption is the day I give up on the illusion of youth.
I grow old, I grow old
I wear my trousers rolled
Shall I eat a peach?
Nah, it’s 3:00 pre-boiled egg time
Then some
Wheel of FortuneQI and a nap
I put them in the fridge because I don’t have anywhere else to put them, but I’m aware it’s unnecessary.
Everyone
Apart from pretty much every single supermarket
