To Refrigerate or Not To Refrigerate Eggs

Did you know in most every other country eggs are in fact not refrigerated?

Eggs are designed to be protected in nature. They have a natural bloom on them that protects from bacteria getting in through the eggs' pores and harming the potential growing chick inside.

So why do Americans put our eggs in the fridge?
Good question...

In America we buy eggs from companies that during the manufacture process they put them through a cleaning process.

This process removes the bloom and leaves the egg now at risk of bacteria getting into the egg trough the eggs pores.

For this reason keeping eggs in a refrigerator and inside a container is very important to keep out bacteria.

In other countries they get their eggs from local food markets and vendors where the eggs are farm fresh and the bloom is still intact. As long as they do not wash or rub off the bloom these eggs can be kept for weeks up to at least a month on a room temperature low humidity countertop. If fertilized it's best to keep away from heated areas like toasters and stovetops.

Note: Always wash eggs and then hands before use.

It's also important to note the direction of the egg placement makes a difference on the length of time eggs can be stored on countertop.

Eggs stored pointy side down will last longer. This keeps the air sac away from the yolk. With the egg pointy side up the air sac will travel faster to the yolk.

The air sac allows fro bacteria to get to the yolk. The egg whites help protect against bacteria. So you want to keep the air sac away from the yolk as long as possible to protect from bacteria contamination.

You can do a float test of the egg to see if the egg is too old and should be tossed.

Learn more here: Egg Float Test

What if we want to refrigerate our eggs? And should we ever refrigerate farm fresh eggs?

Eggs that have gotten wet or been washed should be refrigerated. Once that happens the protective bloom was jeopardized and bacteria can get into the egg.

Some people may wish to put eggs in fridge to store for longer periods of time. You can store eggs in fridge for up to 3 months in the fridge. Remember to do float test to monitor your eggs to assure that they are staying fresh if trying to store that long. There are many factors such as how often a fridge is opened and where eggs are stored, such as front, door, or back of fridge that can affect the storage time.

We recommend if storing farm fresh eggs in fridge to wash eggs first. Unwashed eggs can contain dirt, droppings, and other bacteria on the outside of the eggs. That can spread in your fridge. If you choose to keep them unwashed then store in airtight container, only opening it outside of fridge and making sure it's sealed closed before placing back into fridge.