# “The French don’t refrigerate their eggs”. Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 28, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029 "2003-10-28T15:05:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/21 "2003-10-28T20:15:41Z")
On a related note, I heard the folks on The Splendid Table gushing over French butter and cheese which they say is often unpasteurized. My first thought was “ack,” but I then again I avoid butter altogether because it’s so unhealthy when it IS pasteurized. I don’t know if I buy that 1/3 of the French raising chickens and 42% being off the electrical grid. What are all those Nuclear power plants for, decoration? ---
**Author:** ![Zorro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ad7895/32.png) [@Zorro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorro)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/22 "2003-10-28T20:21:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Asteroide \* > \*\* > **Zorro** , is it true the UK’s refusing to come on board for the European 10 day week ? \*\* Don’t be ridiculous! There is no such thing as the European 10 day week, stop misleading our American friends with this sort of nonsense please. N’importe quoi. ---
**Author:** ![Zorro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ad7895/32.png) [@Zorro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorro)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/23 "2003-10-28T20:37:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Captain Lance Murdoch \* > \*\*What are all those Nuclear power plants for, decoration? \*\* I don’t know if you followed the news about the heatwave that hit France this summer but the nuclear power plants revealed their vulnerability when faced with the unusual climatic conditions. Most had to be turned down to minimum output and some were simply shut down. The truth is that most of them are nearing the end of their working lives and may as well just be for decoration. Many French households generate their own electricity, often through with what can essentially be called chicken sh\*t incinerators. But having banked on nuclear power (as well as domestic energy generation based on the by-products of low-intensity subsistence agriculture) for the past 40 years, we’re now moving onto the next stage and are engaged in technological race reminiscent of the Cold War with the US to build what you Americans often refer to as a _Giant Fricking Laserbeam_, and someone else can look that up on the Google News search because all I can find is an article in the Financial Times and I’m not registered with them. Anyway, a by-product of this thing (it’s primarily a nuclear weapons simulator) will be work on controlled nuclear fusion, so we’ll see how that turns out. I doubt that it will have any impact on people keeping chickens though. The whole chicken-egg-poo-electricity cycle strikes me as quite an elegant solution. ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/24 "2003-10-28T20:47:30Z")
So is the bottom line that the French and other europiens are more accustomed to a slightly “rotten” taste in their meat/egg products? Did it stem from them actually _liking_ the taste in the first place and doing it on purpose or was it something they got used to by not having a choice for hundreds of years? ---
**Author:** ![Lathe\_of\_Heaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Lathe\_of\_Heaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lathe_of_Heaven)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/25 "2003-10-28T20:49:33Z")
I hate to belabo(u)r a joke, but friend Zorro is pulling our lower limbs. The latter part of the URL he cites in support of the 30% chicken ownership thing translates as “come\_my\_little\_chicken\_come\_here/cluckcluck.html” France is largely urban. They DO have power. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/26 "2003-10-28T21:18:10Z")
You had me believing you right up until the chicken shit furnaces part, Zorro. Don’t know if you should be commended or beaten. Whatever the case, you French have some issues. And Nightsky, all I ever got out of that link was a 404. It didn’t occur to me to also examine the address line. Even then, though, it’s still in French so what would I have known. Thanks for the translation. Zorro. You… ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/27 "2003-10-28T21:21:10Z")
You had me believing you right up until the chicken shit furnaces part, Zorro. Don’t know if you should be commended or beaten. Whatever the case, you Europeans have some issues. And Nightsky, all I ever got out of that link was a 404. It didn’t occur to me to also examine the address line. Even then, though, it’s still in French so what would I have known. Thanks for the translation. Zorro. You… ---
**Author:** ![Kalimero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aca169/32.png) [@Kalimero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalimero)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/28 "2003-10-28T21:44:01Z")
I’ve refrigerates my eggs until now, because I didn’t know cold temperature would affect their taste. But, if the French tell me to keep them warm, I’ll do it. You can’t beat the French when it comes to food. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/29 "2003-10-28T22:38:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CnoteChris \* > \*\* and while looking at the camera with a bit of a smirk, said, “Incidentally, if you were in France, you wouldn’t need this step, as the French don’t refrigerate their eggs”. > > \*\* The correct quote is “You won’t find this step in French cook books because the French don’t refrigerate their eggs.” As an aside, “How to boil water” had a **much** better show on making French Omlettes. The show features a French chef and he advised keeping eggs in the back of the refrigerator since when they are on the door they are subject to large tempurature changes when the door is opened. He also mentioned keeping them in a closed plastic container since they tend to absorb the odors in the fridge which change the taste. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/30 "2003-10-28T22:45:00Z")
I’m a safety fascist about things like thawing meat in the sink but I;ve always kept my eggs at room temperature when it’s reasonably cool in the house. The biggest difference I’ve seen in keeping them this way is that hard boiled eggs are much easier to peel. ---
**Author:** ![Jake4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc8723/32.png) [@Jake4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake4)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/31 "2003-10-28T22:58:04Z")
Does this mean that French refrigerators don’t have nice indented areas on the door shelf? ---
**Author:** ![Trygve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4af34b/32.png) [@Trygve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trygve)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/32 "2003-10-28T22:58:17Z")
In Georgia (the country, not the US state) eggs are not refrigerated. They don’t even come in cartons. They are often in the shop under a glass deli counter and one takes them home in a flimsy plastic bag… like one you’d put lettuce into in a US supermarket. (very carefully). ---
**Author:** ![Zazie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Zazie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zazie)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/33 "2003-10-28T23:32:58Z")
Zorro, you are too weird! French Doper checking in. In my family, and any family I’ve known, first off we have electricity! and second we refrigerate our eggs… I was told to take them out of the fridge for them to get to room temperature to cook them (baking mostly), but I didn’t know about the “long term” storage part. My mom would only cook the eggs hard boiled if they were more than a week old. I give you that there are other things we don’t refrigerate… My American husband was scared because I wouldn’t put the mustard and jam in the fridge, and the cheese of course! Jake4, we do have the indentations in the fridge door 😉 and our eggs come usually in packs of 6, but you can easily find 12 as well. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/34 "2003-10-28T23:48:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mmmiiikkkeee \* > \*\*So is the bottom line that the French and other europiens are more accustomed to a slightly “rotten” taste in their meat/egg products? Did it stem from them actually _liking_ the taste in the first place and doing it on purpose or was it something they got used to by not having a choice for hundreds of years? \*\* Slight hijack… I heard on one TV show or another that Hershey chocolate tastes the way it does because of the slightly turned milk they had to use early on due to their distance from dairy farms. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/35 "2003-10-29T00:08:32Z")
OK… 1)I keep my eggs in the fridge and so does everybody I know. Maybe there are people not refrigerating their eggs, but I still didn’t notice such a thing anywhere. However, in little groceries, eggs sold aren’t always refrigerated. 2)Eggs aren’t sold by ten, but by six or by the dozen. And overwhelmingly in cartoons, except in shops selling only cheese (I don’t know the english word for them) which traditionnally also sell butter (not packed) , cream and eggs (not in cartoons). 3)The statement about 42% of the population not being being connected to the power grid is utterly ludicrous. The only people I knew who didn’t have electricity had not paid their bills. 1. The 1/3 of french people raising poultry statement is equally ludicrous. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/36 "2003-10-29T00:49:08Z")
Hmmm, maybe the French don’t get irony either ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/37 "2003-10-29T01:15:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Usram \* > \*\*Hmmm, maybe the French don’t get irony either \*\* Maybe. Especially when they have been sent packing by a woman they were attracted to a couple hours before. But this would be more relevant in the MPSIMS board. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/38 "2003-10-29T01:42:34Z")
**clairobscur** , I’m pretty sure that we just stole the word _fromagerie_ to describe them. Otherwise we just call them cheese shops. Actually, funny story – my friends and I had a grand old time in France with all of the -erie stores. The one that killed all of us was the couscouserie. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/39 "2003-10-29T01:50:12Z")
**clairobscur** , I’m pretty sure that we just stole the word _fromagerie_ to describe them. Otherwise we just call them cheese shops. Actually, funny story – my friends and I had a grand old time in France with all of the -erie stores. The one that killed all of us was the couscouserie. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029/40 "2003-10-29T01:54:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Usram \* > **Hmmm, maybe the French don’t get irony either** OK. I’m stumped. Where’s the irony? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-don-t-refrigerate-their-eggs-really/210029.md?page=3)