What happens to unrefrigerated eggs?

[Tracy Lord]

There isn't any room left in our dorm fridge, but I'm going shopping this afternoon and I'd like to pick up some eggs for cooking, scrambling, etc. Are eggs okay to be left out for a day or two until we eat a space clear for them in the fridge?

[Joey P]

I would guess no, if your that desparate for eggs and it's not cold enough to keep them outside (in a garage?), maybe pick up some ice and keep them in a cooler, I think that might be okay for a day.

[pinkfreud]

From an egg-related FAQ:

"Can I keep eggs at room temperature?

Eggs are a perishable food and should be stored in their carton in the refrigerator. For optimum quality, eggs should be used up before the 'Best Before' date expires. For every hour eggs are kept at room temperature, they age an entire day."

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Eggs/FAQ.htm

[Scarlett67]

According to the American Egg Board:

Continually keep raw shell eggs, broken-out eggs, egg mixtures, prepared egg dishes and other perishable foods refrigerated at 40° F or below when you’re not cooking or eating them. These foods should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours, including the time you use to prepare and serve them. Allow no more than 30 minutes to 1 hour when it’s 85° F or hotter.

[Mangetout]

Depending on the ambient temperatures in your kitchen/larder, eggs can be kept unrefrigerated for a lot longer than you might think (although the shelf life will depend on how long they've been stored before you buy them).
Eggs are normally stored/sold unrefrigerated here in the UK; most people keep them in the fridge as soon as they get them home - they will last longer that way, but I'm pretty sure the 'best before' date (here) refers to unrefrigerated storage and it is usually a couple of weeks or so.

That aside, it's quite important in baking to use eggs that have been allowed to return to room temperature - your cakes will be lighter this way.

[Mangetout]

(Cite on the UK unrefrigerated sale of eggs - the advice given here is to refrigerate upon purchase; the 'display until' date (which precedes the 'best before' date by a week, but is often still allows a couple of weeks from purchase) must refer to safe unrefrigerated storage.

[toadspittle]

Originally Posted by Tracy Lord

There isn't any room left in our dorm fridge, but I'm going shopping this afternoon and I'd like to pick up some eggs for cooking, scrambling, etc. Are eggs okay to be left out for a day or two until we eat a space clear for them in the fridge?

Here's the problem: in the USA, many, many eggs are infected with Salmonella. Not so in other countries (Mangetout), not so historically. But that's the way it is now. So every time you eat an uncooked egg--or an egg in which the Salmonella has been allowed to run rampant due to keeping it unrefrigerated--you run a high risk of swallowing live, feisty, Salmonella bacteria.

Your location says Oregon. Don't do it. The odds are against you.

[Epimetheus]

There are also some that suggest otherwise. Salmonella is pretty rare, and leaving them out of the refrigerator doesn't infect them. They are laid that way, not from leaving them out, that just spoils them. Depending on the temerature, you can leave them out for weeks at a time (as said above).

Dr. Mercola's statements suggest that if you cannot refrigerate your eggs, buy them fresh from a farmer or buy the "organically fed" eggs. Cite. About halfway down or so, with the checking eggs for freshness:

4 If you are getting your eggs fresh from a farmer it is best to not refrigerate them. This is the way most of the world stores their eggs; they do not refrigerate them. To properly judge the freshness of an egg, its contents need to be at room temperature. Eggs that are stored in the fridge and opened immediately after taking them out will seem fresher than they actually are. Eggs that you want to check the freshness of should be kept outside the fridge for at least an hour prior to opening them.

As a side note, he recommends it, but I personally refrigerate mine, and I don't eat raw eggs as he suggests. I know some of the protein is damage in cooking them, but I eat other sources of protein so I don't care.

[CBEscapee]

Eggs aren't refrigerated in many countries. Here in Mexico for one. They keep for a long time unrefrigerated with no problem other than they lose their freshness quicker.

[don't ask]

Originally Posted by Mangetout

That aside, it's quite important in baking to use eggs that have been allowed to return to room temperature - your cakes will be lighter this way.

I read cookbooks for pleasure, there are always a couple by my bed and I have never read this tip. Genius.

[Mangetout]

I've heard people say they think it's all in the imagination, but I'm sure I'm not imagining it; if I have to bake a cake quickly and have no time to warm the eggs, the result is invariably flatter and more dense than if they have been left out for a few hours. I'm not sure what the mechanism is, but I'm convinced there is some reality to it.

It's also probably worth mentioning that the consistency of an egg varies with its age; when cracked onto a plate, an egg straight out of the chicken's arse will have a much brighter, taller-standing yolk and a much firmer, more gelatinous/resilient white than one that has been stored for a week - which will have a flatter, paler yolk and some of the white will just be a runny puddle.
Freshy-laid eggs are generally able to be poached by cracking them straight into simmering water - try it with a store-bought egg that is a couple of weeks old and you may just end up with egg soup.

[Cheesesteak]

Originally Posted by toadspittle

Here's the problem: in the USA, many, many eggs are infected with Salmonella.

According to Scarlett67's link, it's 1 in 20,000 eggs.

I'd say, if you're buying eggs and planning to not refrigerate them, eat them right away, go with egg friendly dishes for a couple of days. Or, buy a 6 pack. They should be fine unrefrigerated for a few days, I wouldn't go too long with them, though.

The UK info is instructive, but since we handle them differently in the US, I wouldn't try to press your luck.

[Mr. Duality]

Another helpful hint regarding eggs: cracking them against a rounded surface rather than a sharp-cornered surface will result in fewer egg-shell fragments in what comes out of the egg.

[Balthisar]

Originally Posted by CBEscapee

Eggs aren't refrigerated in many countries. Here in Mexico for one. They keep for a long time unrefrigerated with no problem other than they lose their freshness quicker.

I know I've asked this before CEScapee: what part of Mexico are you in?

We buy our eggs here non-refrigerated (yeah, even at Wal-Mart or Sam's), but my wife puts them in the fridge because she knows I'll throw a fit if she doesn't (search for my "is my wife trying to poison me?" thread from back when I was a newlywed).

One thing I'd like an answer to, though: the eggs here taste "stronger" than they do back home. I don't know if it's different hens, different feed, or the non-refrigerated status of the eggs from producer to market.

Also, here, they don't wash the eggs prior to selling them. So somethings there's uh, stuff, on the eggs, like fluff of feathers and other gunk. Odd, considering this a place where they peel all of the onion skin off the onions to sell to you.

Oh, yeah, the unrefrigerated, salmonella-containing eggs won't have live salmonella if you cook them. The biggest danger, I think, is having them taste nasty from spoilage.

[FilmGeek]

I live in Kansas, and my ex-roommate's Russian wife never refrigerates her eggs. We all survived just fine.

Your eggs will live, and I'm betting you will too.

[DeVena]

We keep our eggs unrefrigerated, but never buy more than we will use within the next 3-5 days. I consider it an acceptable risk in our situation because we don't have children, we're semi-young and healthy, and soft cooked eggs are a big no-no in DeHouse. If you're storing eggs to use sometime next week, refrigerate. If you are cooking for anyone immunosuppressed, always keep your eggs refrigerated and, if possible, use pasteurized eggs.

[guizot]

I worked at a Migros supermarket in Switzerland, and they didn't refrigerate the eggs for sale.

[Colophon]

Originally Posted by Balthisar

Also, here, they don't wash the eggs prior to selling them. So somethings there's uh, stuff, on the eggs, like fluff of feathers and other gunk.

Am I to infer that they do wash them in some places? Weird. Feathers, chicken crap, all to be expected on the shell over here.

[WhyNot]

Originally Posted by Colophon

Am I to infer that they do wash them in some places? Weird. Feathers, chicken crap, all to be expected on the shell over here.

We get nice clean white egg shells in Chicagoland. Except when we pay more for nice clean brown egg shells. This is true even at Farmer's Markets and ethnic food stores. It never actually occured to me that eggs would have stuff on them. Whenever the young farm girl on TV takes them out from under the hen, they're nice and clean!

[Balthisar]

Originally Posted by Colophon

Am I to infer that they do wash them in some places? Weird. Feathers, chicken crap, all to be expected on the shell over here.

Ugh. Major yuck factor there! I've been lucky and not come across one of those yet here. Note to self: Make sure ask wife if washes eggs prior to opening so feces encrusted bits don't end up on breakfast plate.

Originally Posted by WhyNot

We get nice clean white egg shells in Chicagoland. Except when we pay more for nice clean brown egg shells. This is true even at Farmer's Markets and ethnic food stores. It never actually occured to me that eggs would have stuff on them. Whenever the young farm girl on TV takes them out from under the hen, they're nice and clean!

Maybe we United Statesians have a superior race of super-clean, super-chickens?

[Rusalka]

Salmonella doesn't normally get into the egg. The Salmonella usually resides on the outside, comes from contact with an infected hen's feces, (the equivalent of mammalian e.coli) and is different from spoilage. You can get Salmonella from an egg that is freshly laid. The problem arises when people don't wash a contaminated egg before cracking it or when they let the contents touch the outside of the shell before dumping it into the bowl.

Eggs keep unrefrigerated for a few days if they are fresh. I think the problem with the eggs in your grocer's refrigerator case is that you don't know how old they actually are.

You might find this thread interesting: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=47777

That being said, I thought it was pretty obvious when eggs go rotten.

[TheLoadedDog]

It is only recently in Australia that supermarkets are more likely to store their eggs in the refrigerated displays than out on a shelf. If you go to a little mum-and-dad suburban grocery shop, you will still likely see the egg cartons just sitting there on a wire rack. These eggs have probably never seen a refrigerator. I've never noticed any difference when I've eaten them. And this is a country with ultra-strict food laws too (indeed they now want to make people get a 'sandwich making licence' before they can volunteer at local fairs etc).

[MaryEFoo]

How to tell the effective age of an egg:

Crack a raw egg on a flat plate.

Thoroughly fresh egg will have a little liquid around the white; the white rising in a steep shape that rounds off to form a plateau; in the plateau the yolk rises in a similar profile and forms a dome. All uses, and these are the ones for fried eggs, poached, scrambled, any use where sensitive tastebuds will recognize good flavor.

After some storage (depending on temp. of storage), there will be more surrounding liquid; the white will not rise sharply and the yolk will rise somewhat. Use for seasoned dishes or less discriminating palates, such as mine.

Beginning to get old: wide liquid, wide flattish white, yolk not above the white and yolk easily broken. Use for baking or hard times; cook thoroughly in any case.

This repeats what Mangeout said. My source is lost in memory, but it was a reliable source (poss. US Dept of Agriculture, Fanny Farmer, Joy of Cooking).

Shells should be washed, especially if eggs are not going to be thoroughly cooked (Ceasar salad dressing, lightly cooked scrambled eggs, fried sunny-side up, etc).

Normally salmonella doesn't come inside the egg unless it's already cracked. (Personal belief is that in the US all eggs are washed, probably with some anti-germ preparation, to improve attractiveness and reduce risk of lawsuits.) Salmonella might get into the food upon the egg being cracked, if the outside of the shell is involved.

[MaryEFoo]

Simulpost, oops!

[MLS]

Standard procedure in the U.S., according to The Food Channel, is to wash the eggs before packaging. I just saw a program on this, and they showed the whole process from chicken butt to store. All automated and definitely included a washing.

[Sharky]

Years ago when I was a charter boat captain in the Caribbean, we would carry eggs on the boat unrefrigerated for a couple of weeks without any problems, but we always coated them with shortening (Crisco) to preserve them.

Here's an article on how to do it:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/9684/egg.html

[Cunctator]

Originally Posted by TheLoadedDog

It is only recently in Australia that supermarkets are more likely to store their eggs in the refrigerated displays than out on a shelf. If you go to a little mum-and-dad suburban grocery shop, you will still likely see the egg cartons just sitting there on a wire rack. These eggs have probably never seen a refrigerator.

Not only in the corner stores. My local supermarket, one of the big national chains, stores its eggs on shelves, unrefrigerated.

[pullin]

Originally Posted by Sharky

Years ago when I was a charter boat captain in the Caribbean, we would carry eggs on the boat unrefrigerated for a couple of weeks without any problems, but we always coated them with shortening (Crisco) to preserve them.

Here's an article on how to do it:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/9684/egg.html

Sharky:

I read that sailors sometimes dip eggs in boiling water for 30 seconds, then they can be stored for many weeks w/o refig. Any truth to this one? (Can't remember the book)

[galen]

I grew up on a small farm where we had about 300 chickens. It was said that when you washed them, a protective coating was removed which caused them to spoil faster. Don't know if it is true.

[Tabby_Cat]

I've heard that eggs go bad within a day if they're soaked in water. Dunno how true that is, either.

[Max Torque]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

We get nice clean white egg shells in Chicagoland. Except when we pay more for nice clean brown egg shells. This is true even at Farmer's Markets and ethnic food stores. It never actually occured to me that eggs would have stuff on them. Whenever the young farm girl on TV takes them out from under the hen, they're nice and clean!

Well, I may not be a young farm girl, but we raised chickens and used and sold the eggs when I was young, and many of the eggs I took out from under the hens did indeed have little feathers or bits of chicken droppings on them. Stands to reason; I mean, look at where they come from. But, a quick wash, and all was well.

[Sharky]

Originally Posted by pullin

Sharky:

I read that sailors sometimes dip eggs in boiling water for 30 seconds, then they can be stored for many weeks w/o refig. Any truth to this one? (Can't remember the book)

I've never heard of that method.

[Bill Door]

Originally Posted by pullin

Sharky:

I read that sailors sometimes dip eggs in boiling water for 30 seconds, then they can be stored for many weeks w/o refig. Any truth to this one? (Can't remember the book)

I have heard the opposite, that fresh eggs have a protective coating and will go bad more quickly if it is washed off by boiling. I know from personal experience that a temporarily lost hard cooked Easter egg went bad before the uncooked ones from the same box which were at room temperature. I can't guarantee they were all of the same age, but I see know reason why they wouldn't have been.

[Suraya]

They explode. A couple of years ago our family made some really beautiful pysanky eggs. We decorated raw eggs, and then put then in a drawer for the next couple of years. During that time, a couple of the eggs just exploded. It smelled awful - not like rotten eggs, which smell like sulfur, but much worse. Funny...only the badly dyed eggs exploded...

[danceswithcats]

Dunno if I heard or read this-it's been years, but the deal was that a key to preservation of eggs was continued inversion. Letting them sit ad infinitum was bad-flipping the carton every week or so led to extended life. Perhaps this is a question for Cecil-I haven't searched.

[ouryL]

Don't they grow small pox in eggs?

[ouryL]

You can keep eggs at room temperature, but if your kitchen's average temp is in the 90's...

[Tabby_Cat]

Well, eggs are sold unrefridgerated in Singapore as well, and I'm pretty sure it's above 90 most of the time there..

[toadspittle]

Originally Posted by ouryL

Don't they grow small pox in eggs?

Yes. Although flu vaccine is more common nowadays.