# How long do you refrigerate eggs before worrying they are bad?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 19, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454 "2012-05-19T19:14:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/1 "2012-05-19T19:14:32Z")
Just bought a dozen for large $1.99 at Kroger. 17 cents each. That’s quite a bit. Just a few years ago they were about a $1.25 a dozen.
With the kids gone we don’t use that many eggs. We barely get through a dozen a month. If we go out of town for a few days, then we may not get them eaten up.
How long do you think eggs are safe in the refrigerator? a couple weeks? 3 weeks? 4? 5? 6?
Can’t throw them out. Those Feed the Children ads haunt me too badly. So, we make a baked egg custard to use them up when they get older.
**confession** My first college apartment I had three month old eggs in the fridge. :eek: My mom visited and was horrified. I am too thinking back.
---
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/2 "2012-05-19T19:26:03Z")
I write my purchase date on the egg carton. 4 Weeks after purchasing I won’t use them for breakfast eggs because I like my yolk runny.
I figure a 375 degree oven will kill any pathogens. So I’ll use them for baking another week or two. Anything beyond 6 weeks gets thrown out.
I noticed the eggs I bought today (May 19) had a sell by date on them of June 1. So that’s 12 days away. Certainly they should be fine at least two weeks beyond the sell by date.
---
### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/3 "2012-05-19T19:29:19Z")
I’ve eaten eggs that had been refrigerated for months numerous times. Only ever had [one issue,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=651743) which, it seems, wasn’t really an issue. Your personal comfort level will obviously vary.
---
### Author:  [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/4 "2012-05-19T19:37:01Z")
You have to mark the carton yourself? Our eggs come in cartons with preprinted dates. ATM I have two cartons in the fridge, one that expired in early May and one that expired in April. I’m keeping these eggs (which I will eventually move into room temperature storage) because I saw a show about Ukrainian egg decorating where the craftsperson let the eggs dehydrate in the shell before she decorated them, and I want to try that.
By next spring or possibly next fall we’ll have our own home-grown eggs, so we’ll donate whatever we can’t use fresh to the food shelf in town. When we lived in the city it was fairly easy to find half-dozen cartons of eggs, but the grocery store we use doesn’t have them. A dozen eggs is a lot for just 2 people to get through before they expire.
---
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/5 "2012-05-19T19:43:31Z")
Eggs have a sell by date stamped/imprinted on the carton. That date may be a week or two in the future. I can’t recall ever seeing a sell by date much more than 12 days in the future from when you buy them. I’m pretty sure eggs fresh off the farm have carton sell by dates within two weeks.
I like knowing when the eggs went into my fridge. Then 4 weeks beyond that I won’t eaten them with the yolk runny. It’s easier that way for me anyhow. YMMV
---
### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/6 "2012-05-19T19:51:51Z")
I don’t know how to answer, but way beyond the “Sell by.” I do this:
[ol]
[li]Get tall glass[/li][li]Fill with water[/li][li]Drop egg in[/li][li]If it sinks: keep[/li][li]If it floats: toss usually, because they’re cheap enough[/li][li]If it floats a little bit in the middle, but doesn’t immediately shoot to the surface: keep, but eat soon[/li][/ol]
Of course the best measure is: does it smell when you crack it?
---
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/7 "2012-05-19T19:56:02Z")
I realize the risk is pretty low. 😃 Once in awhile I’ll see a news article about eggs and salmonella. They claim there’s a tiny risk even if the egg isn’t cracked. It gets in there somehow as the eggs forms inside the bird. But, it is a _tiny risk_. I’ve noticed some restaurants have disclaimers on their menus saying they aren’t responsible if you want your egg runny or your hamburger pink in the middle. Our Nanny State is alive and well.
I’m a rebel and sill eat my eggs over easy or poached until the white sets and the yolk is runny. 😃
thelurkinghorror makes a good point that rotten eggs float. They also can explode in your hand if you shake them. 😃 Covering you in some really nasty smelling stuff.
---
### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/8 "2012-05-19T20:22:29Z")
Bah. Buncha sissies. Back in the day, Anchorage got their eggs from Seattle. By boat. As long as they were kept refrigerated, they lasted.
Got a bit whangy towards the end there, but you got by. Ask any old-timer about boat eggs and sit back for a few stories.
---
### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/9 "2012-05-19T20:45:40Z")
Refrigerated eggs are fine until they start to smell off when they’re cracked open. I’ve never had a problem with eggs that were a month old or even two months old, and only rarely three months old.
---
### Author:  [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/10 "2012-05-19T20:50:42Z")
I think I saw/heard somewhere that eggs are good for about 5 to 6 weeks past the sell by date. Of course you want to use fresher ones for eating and the older ones for mixing with other stuff. I think there was something about week old eggs being better for hard-boiling.
Here, I found a site: [http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/EggsSell.htm](http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/EggsSell.htm)
---
### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/11 "2012-05-19T20:55:18Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#):
>
> I think there was something about week old eggs being better for hard-boiling.
I think because it’s easier to peel when it’s slightly older, without peeling off chunks of white along with the shell?
---
### Author:  [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/12 "2012-05-19T20:58:40Z")
Yeah, old eggs peel better when hardboiled.
If I think there’s a chance the egg may be off, I crack it into a bowl first. If it’s fine, yay, into whatever I’m making it goes.
That being said, eggs are cheap enough, if this is something that worries you, consider the extra 50 cents the price of peace of mind.
---
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/13 "2012-05-19T21:00:30Z")
I wonder how much age effects eggs leavening properties? Especially in Cakes? Older eggs better or worse?
> **[Leavening agent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leavening_agent)**
>
> In cooking, a leavening agent (/ˈlɛvənɪŋ/) or raising agent, also called a leaven (/ˈlɛvən/) or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action (gas bubbles) that lightens and softens the mixture. An alternative or supplement to leavening agents is mechanical action by which air is incorporated (i.e. kneading). Leavening agents can be biological or synthetic chemical compounds. The gas produced is often carbon dioxide, or occasionally hydrogen...
I’m bad about cracking the egg directly into my cornbread or cake batter. I really should get in the habit of using a small bowl for the eggs.
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#):
>
> Yeah, old eggs peel better when hardboiled.
>
> If I think there’s a chance the egg may be off, I crack it into a bowl first. If it’s fine, yay, into whatever I’m making it goes.
>
> That being said, eggs are cheap enough, if this is something that worries you, consider the extra 50 cents the price of peace of mind.
---
### Author:  [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/14 "2012-05-19T21:04:37Z")
I start _worrying_ about 4 weeks after purchase, but that just means that I break eggs into a separate bowl before using them as planned. So far, this practice has (a) never killed me, and (b) never resulted in a smelly/rotten egg, even weeks past the sell-by date. The only exception is Christmas and Easter, when I traditionally make eggs Benedict for breakfast, but that’s the only time I eat runny eggs.
---
### Author:  [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/15 "2012-05-19T21:46:22Z")
I’ve noticed when traveling in England and other parts of Europe, that they don’t refrigerate their eggs at all. In the grocery store, they are on the shelves in the aisle, just like canned goods and cereal. I asked some locals about this and said they keep them in a bowl on the counter at home, and not in the frig. They said refrigeration of eggs is unnecessary and is an ‘American custom’. I never looked up whether or not this is true, and for some reason even if I learn that its unnecessary, I will still keep my eggs in the frig.
---
### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/16 "2012-05-19T23:30:23Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> thelurkinghorror makes a good point that rotten eggs float.
No. They might and they might not. My next rotten floater will be the first. I think they sink because the moisture has evaporated thru the shell. I don’t think a buildup of gas is going to make them float since to do that the shell would have to expand along with it.
---
### Author:  [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/17 "2012-05-20T00:04:37Z")
I voted other because we have a flock of laying hens and get about 6 eggs a day on average. I bring them in, put them in a bowl on the counter, and use them in cooking. If the bowl starts to get full, I put some in the fridge to keep for a couple of weeks so I can make hard boiled eggs, or give away if things get really backed up. I cook a ton, though, and even with just my husband, the dogs and I we easily go through 2-3 dozen eggs a week.
---
### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2012, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/18 "2012-05-20T06:24:09Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#):
>
> No. They might and they might not. My next rotten floater will be the first. I think they sink because the moisture has evaporated thru the shell. I don’t think a buildup of gas is going to make them float since to do that the shell would have to expand along with it.
I didn’t say that floaters are rotten, only that they are older. I don’t remember ever encountering a rotten raw egg in my kitchen. I don’t know the science behind it, but I think the air bubble increases due to a change in the composition (density?) of the yolk/white, not because the shell changed. I have noticed that older ones are more likely to float, though.
---
### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2012, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/19 "2012-05-20T08:38:54Z")
I usually hard-boil my eggs, and throw out the occasional floater. Never had a problem with the rest.
---
### Author:  [@MN\_Maenad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MN_Maenad)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454/20 "2012-05-20T11:54:49Z")
I eat all my eggs with hard yolks or use them in baking, so as long as it doesn’t smell when I crack it, I’m happy. Hasn’t sickened me yet, but if it does, well, there’s a lesson for you.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-refrigerate-eggs-before-worrying-they-are-bad/622454.md?page=2)