# Eggs in England **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 29, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481 "2012-11-29T17:00:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/81 "2012-12-01T11:45:46Z")
Eggs are not refridgerated in Japan either, but because a lot are consumed raw or half cooked, their eat-by date is really short - ten days or so. Of course we keep them a lot longer than that. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/82 "2012-12-01T13:09:40Z")
I like the little egg compartment in the fridge. Not for eggs of course, I keep them outside the fridge. When I use half a lemon or half a lime I put it in foil and then in the little egg compartment. It fits nicely. The other five egg-dents remain empty. I don’t refrigerate eggs because they don’t need it, but also because they’re meant to be porous. I’ve always wanted to try putting them in a plastic bag with some truffles, they’re meant to take on a truffly taste. Now I just need to become a bazillionaire and buy some truffles 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/83 "2012-12-01T13:20:52Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > . . . How many months? Two? . . . . Six. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/84 "2012-12-01T13:29:04Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > I don’t refrigerate eggs because they don’t need it, but also because they’re meant to be porous. I’ve always wanted to try putting them in a plastic bag with some truffles, they’re meant to take on a truffly taste. Now I just need to become a bazillionaire and buy some truffles 😉 Does this mean if I put my eggs in a bag with, say, chocolate or whiskey they’ll take on those flavors? Or maybe both? What an eggnog! I might have to try this. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/85 "2012-12-01T13:35:54Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Does this mean if I put my eggs in a bag with, say, chocolate or whiskey they’ll take on those flavors? Or maybe both? What an eggnog! I might have to try this. Probably not. Truffles are really aromatic. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/86 "2012-12-01T15:45:36Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Does this mean if I put my eggs in a bag with, say, chocolate or whiskey they’ll take on those flavors? Or maybe both? What an eggnog! I might have to try this. I’m also not so sure about chocolate flavoured scrambles eggs 😉 I don’t know what other food stuff you might try, but let me know if you find anything cheaper than truffles! ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/87 "2012-12-01T16:29:46Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > No that is not true. There are equally as many brown eggs as there are white. And there is no difference between the two colors. > > This is you psyching yourself out… I suspect this is a whoosh. > [@](#): > > A very noticeable difference of unrefrigerated eggs how much the egg white spreads out in a pan when frying. Makes for a nice crispy edge when fried in hot olive oil. As long as cooking is in the air (also see posts by **Hail Ants** and **Mangetout** ), room temperature eggs are imperative when making emulsions such as mayonnaise, and can make your life a little easier even in hollandaises, although it is not so critical there. I’m always amazed at how so many recipes don’t add this simple proviso. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/88 "2012-12-01T18:07:31Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > My parents actually have about eight of those hens. So we regularly have green, blue, brown and white eggs in a carton in the fridge. They’re pretty neat actually and my only complaint about fresh eggs is they don’t boil worth a damn. > > Also, no one’s mentioned either that here in the US, brown eggs tend to cost more than white eggs. At least all the places I’ve seen here on the west coast. People seem to believe that brown ones are healthier and are willing to pay extra for them. Because you have some personal experience with Easter Eggers, what do your parents do with the older hens who can no longer lay eggs? Continue to support them in the lifestyle they’ve grown accustomed to until they succumb to old age? On the other hand, and I assume that they “taste like chicken”, are they considered “broilers, fryers, roasters” or “stewing chickens”? While the cost of producing brown eggs and white eggs should be the same, (similar similar operating costs - cost per chick, same feed, same watering cost, similar housing and yard expense, delivery, and taxes) a larger production/distribution system should get the eggs to the market cheaper than a smaller operation. The supermarket would recieve the same profit per egg but the smaller operations eggs would have a higher price. I assume in area’s where the cusomters prefer to buy white eggs, the area’s egg producers would raise white egg-laying hens. Where brown eggs are preferred, the producers would raise brown egg-laying hens. Or mount a PR campaign to convince local shoppers that “Brown Eggs are Local and Local Eggs are Fresher”. Or convince the customers that “Brown Eggs are Healthier” so they could charge more for brown eggs when the demand increases. But that’s just my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/89 "2012-12-01T18:33:43Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > As long as cooking is in the air (also see posts by **Hail Ants** and **Mangetout** ), room temperature eggs are imperative when making emulsions such as mayonnaise, and can make your life a little easier even in hollandaises, although it is not so critical there. > > I’m always amazed at how so many recipes don’t add this simple proviso. Because the writer takes that for granted. In my family we call that “Rita-style recipes”, after a friend’s recipe for sponge cake which said “mix flour, sugar and eggs in a bowl” where it should have had “mix flour and sugar in a bowl; separate the egg whites and yolks; add the yolks to the mixture of flour and sugar; batter the egg whites until stiff [explanation of what the heck ‘to the point of snow’\* means]; mix the stiff egg whites with the rest of the mixture slowly, stirring continuosly; add the leavening, still stirring”. My brothers refer to the original attempt as “the day **Nava** made lembas”. - that’s the Spanish expression which apparently translates as “until stiff” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/90 "2012-12-01T20:00:37Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I really hope that’s a joke… Eggs are not dairy. Dairy products are derived from milk, which can only come from a mammal. Maybe platypus eggs could be considered dairy… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/91 "2012-12-01T20:09:11Z")
Eggs aren’t dairy, sure - but they are lumped in with dairy just because they’re a vaguely similar sort of ingredient in many recipes - a bit like the way you’ll find mushrooms in the vegetable section. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/92 "2012-12-01T20:15:05Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Eggs aren’t dairy, sure - but they are lumped in with dairy just because they’re a vaguely similar sort of ingredient in many recipes - a bit like the way you’ll find mushrooms in the vegetable section. Tomatoes usually get lumped in with the veg as well. It’s not really a rigorous classification process. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/93 "2012-12-01T20:22:54Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Eggs are not dairy. Dairy products are derived from milk, which can only come from a mammal. Maybe platypus eggs could be considered dairy… 😉 > [@Mangetout](#): > > Eggs aren’t dairy, sure - but they are lumped in with dairy just because they’re a vaguely similar sort of ingredient in many recipes - a bit like the way you’ll find mushrooms in the vegetable section. While not technically a dairy product, as has been mentioned in the US eggs are usually found in the dairy section of supermarkets (and back when there were milkmen, were often included in their deliveries). This is most likely due to the US habit of keeping eggs refrigerated, where the most convenient place to put them was in the same coolers as the dairy products. Here in Panama, where eggs are not refrigerated, they a found on shelves next to the meat counter rather than with dairy products. I’m wondering what part of the supermarket they are kept in other countries that don’t refrigerate eggs. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/94 "2012-12-01T20:42:43Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’m wondering what part of the supermarket they are kept in other countries that don’t refrigerate eggs. I think they are still associated with dairy products. For example, here is a page from Tesco, a big supermarket chain in the UK. It puts “Milk, Butter & Eggs” in the same category: [http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/browse/default.aspx?N=4294697816&Ne=4294793660&lvl=3](http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/browse/default.aspx?N=4294697816&Ne=4294793660&lvl=3) In the actual Tesco closest to me, eggs are in the bread aisles, next to the dairy section. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/95 "2012-12-01T20:44:25Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Tomatoes usually get lumped in with the veg as well. It’s not really a rigorous classification process. Tomatoes are vegetable products, just like oranges. Mushrooms are a whole different thing. In truth, I wonder why it’s always tomatoes that get singled out as ‘a FRUIT, not a vegetable’, when probably half of the other produce we call ‘veg’ is also fruit: pumpkin, courgette (zucchini), cucumber, bell pepper, aubergine (eggplant), corn, beans, peas… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/96 "2012-12-01T21:28:25Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Here in Panama, where eggs are not refrigerated, they a found on shelves next to the meat counter rather than with dairy products. I’m wondering what part of the supermarket they are kept in other countries that don’t refrigerate eggs. In Spain it varies a lot, although it tends to be close to things you’d want at the same time as eggs in common local recipes or meals. Many supermarkets put them at the end of an island, so they kind of make up their own section. I’ve seen them in their own aisle-side; I’ve seen them close to “breakfast items” (which can mean the cereals aisle, or the cookies aisle, or a fridge with “dairy dessert” kind of things - no cheese); I’ve seen them across from the bakery; I’ve seen them next to the salad condiments, and also sharing space with the salt, flour and breadcrumbs (makes sense when you think of how stuff is battered here). Those are the places I can remember without thinking hard… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/97 "2012-12-01T22:25:05Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > While not technically a dairy product, as has been mentioned in the US eggs are usually found in the dairy section of supermarkets (and back when there were milkmen, were often included in their deliveries). This is most likely due to the US habit of keeping eggs refrigerated, where the most convenient place to put them was in the same coolers as the dairy products. I’m sure some people in the US consider eggs dairy, but most of us, at some point. were exposed to the [food pyramid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USDA_Food_Pyramid.gif) where eggs are lumped in with meat (which makes more sense). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/98 "2012-12-01T22:45:51Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I’m sure some people in the US consider eggs dairy, but most of us, at some point. were exposed to the [food pyramid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USDA_Food_Pyramid.gif) where eggs are lumped in with meat (which makes more sense). I didn’t say that eggs were “considered dairy,” just that they were sold in the dairy section of supermarkets (and still are), which accounts for the association. In any case [the food pyramid has changed over the years](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/health/food-pyramid/). [This one from 1946](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZKavnMbpjsI/TkrEQYibK5I/AAAAAAAAAFM/cSSPmfXn2Ik/s1600/fg1.jpg)includes peas and beans together with meat and eggs, and has a whole group just for butter (separate from milk and cheese). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/99 "2012-12-01T23:02:12Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I didn’t say that eggs were “considered dairy,” just that they were sold in the dairy section of supermarkets (and still are), which accounts for the association. Didn’t mean to imply you did. Sorry if that wasn’t clear. On a related note, I wonder how common it is these days for eggs to be in the “dairy” section. They have their own little section in the store I shop at. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481/100 "2012-12-02T01:25:42Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > No that is not true. There are equally as many brown eggs as there are white. And there is no difference between the two colors. > > This is you psyching yourself out… there is no difference in taste between brown or white. To prove it you have to taste without knowing the color, otherwise you are really only convincing yourself otherwise because you saw the color first. > > A very noticeable difference of unrefrigerated eggs how much the egg white spreads out in a pan when frying. Makes for a nice crispy edge when fried in hot olive oil. > [@Mangetout](#): > > Eggs aren’t dairy, sure - but they are lumped in with dairy just because they’re a vaguely similar sort of ingredient in many recipes - a bit like the way you’ll find mushrooms in the vegetable section. Or frogs in the fish section of recipe books. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-in-england/642481.md?page=6)