# Powdered Eggs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 9, 2024, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472 "2024-08-09T13:02:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/1 "2024-08-09T13:02:25Z")
I eat relatively few eggs. Most, I use them in baking, or French Toast. And eggs go bad, in the fridge. And I hate wasting food. Speak to me of **Powdered Eggs**. Do they keep well on the shelf? Can they be used in baking. Any other input? BTW–I am _aware_ that Powdered Eggs come from Dissolved Chickens, please and thank you. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/2 "2024-08-09T13:06:45Z")
Powdered eggs have a shelf life of 5 to 10 years, and yes, they can be used for baking as a substitute for fresh eggs, although the end product may not be as good IMO. Personally, I’ve never had a fresh egg go bad.Unwashed eggs will last around two weeks unrefrigerated and about three months or more in your refrigerator. I was shocked to learn that in the UK, and perhaps in other European countries, fresh eggs aren’t usually refrigerated. At least that was the case 30 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/3 "2024-08-09T13:11:20Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Personally, I’ve never had a fresh egg go bad.Unwashed eggs will last around two weeks unrefrigerated and about three months or more in your refrigerator. This. How long does it take you to go through six eggs. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/4 "2024-08-09T13:12:35Z")
Him or me? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/5 "2024-08-09T13:13:28Z")
You. But really such questions are existentially universal. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/6 "2024-08-09T13:20:41Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I was shocked to learn that in the UK, and perhaps in other European countries, fresh eggs aren’t usually refrigerated. I live in Luxembourg, and this remains true. The reason is simple: our eggs aren’t washed, so they retain their natural waxlike seal and remain airtight. In the US, eggs are washed because consumers find the little bits of feather that adhere to a freshly laid egg to be unsightly, and that washing causes the shell to become porous. Hence, refrigeration is necessary there. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/7 "2024-08-09T13:25:24Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > > [@dolphinboy](#): > > > > I was shocked to learn that in the UK, and perhaps in other European countries, fresh eggs aren’t usually refrigerated. > > I live in Luxembourg, and this remains true. The reason is simple: our eggs aren’t washed, so they retain their natural waxlike seal and remain airtight. So, if Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor lives in Europe, I could see them not going through 6 eggs in two weeks. The simple solution - refrigerate the eggs and they’ll last months. Bread is not normally refrigerated, but if a loaf of good bread isn’t eaten in 2 weeks, it gets fuzzy. Most in my family only eat “normal” bread that has lots of presadditives, so I refrigerate my bread. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/8 "2024-08-09T13:39:45Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > In the US, eggs are washed because consumers find the little bits of feather that adhere to a freshly laid egg to be unsightly I don’t think it’s the little bits of feather that are the problem; I think it’s the little bits of chicken shit. Having said that: I’m happy with either washed or unwashed eggs (though unwashed are rarely found for sale here in the USA, I’ve gotten them from friends); and find that either will keep several weeks in the refrigerator. (I refrigerate my homemade bread somewhat erratically; though a loaf usually spends at least part of its unfrozen life in the fridge, to discourage mold. IME mold can develop in a lot less than two weeks, though it depends on the weather.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/9 "2024-08-09T13:55:19Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I was shocked to learn that in the UK, and perhaps in other European countries, fresh eggs aren’t usually refrigerated. We do not refrigerate our hens’ eggs nor do we wash them. We keep fresh, clean straw in the nests and it is rare to find a dirty egg. If an egg isn’t pristine, we feed it to the dogs. > [@hajario](#): > > How long does it take you to go through six eggs. Six eggs last us a day or less. Two for my breakfast, three for the dogs/birds, and an average of one for cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/10 "2024-08-09T14:10:36Z")
A long time. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/11 "2024-08-09T14:13:49Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > if a loaf of good bread isn’t eaten in 2 weeks, it gets fuzzy It’s going to get stale before it gets mouldy. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/12 "2024-08-09T14:14:38Z")
Stale bread + eggs = French Toast! ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/13 "2024-08-09T14:18:30Z")
First - how long does it take you to get through the smallest container of fresh eggs you can buy? ( I can buy a half-dozen but I don’t know if that’s possible everywhere). Second, if you normally use only two eggs before they go bad, you don’t have to throw out the other four. What would you do if you only used a quarter pound of ground beef a week but couldn’t buy less than a pound? You would either freeze the rest or change the menu around a bit so that you made all the ground beef recipes while it was still good, right? You can do the same with eggs - either freeze them ( [directions here](https://www.incredibleegg.org/recipes/cooking-school/can-i-freeze-eggs/) ) or decide that this week and next week are “egg weeks” and do your baking and French toast this week and next week and don’t buy eggs again until you plan to use them. I know eggs are called a staple but that doesn’t mean you have to keep some in the fridge at all times if you don’t use them much. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/14 "2024-08-09T14:22:35Z")
In my house any fresh baked bread like sourdough or pita breads will go moldy in 5 days sitting on the counter so I’ll freeze it. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powdered-eggs/1005472/15 "2024-08-09T20:39:34Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Personally, I’ve never had a fresh egg go bad.Unwashed eggs will last around two weeks unrefrigerated and about three months or more in your refrigerator. Ditto, never a rotten egg. And I’m certain I’ve held fresh eggs (refrigerated) over the summer. I avoid using the stove when the A/C is on which is when I’m mostly cooking outdoors anyway. But the eggs from May are fine when I resume making them in Sept or October.