Eggs - to refrigerate or not?

[steepholm]

I don't, having once heard a TV chef say that eggs can be kept quite happily at room temperature. Thinking back, it was one of the Two Fat Ladies - possibly the one who died. Uh oh.

Anyway, so far there've been no ill effects here on Steepholm Island. But opinion seems to be divided. The egg box certainly tells me to refrigerate them, but this is somewhat undercut by the fact that in Tesco's the eggs are not displayed in refrigerated units. How's that for a mixed message?

All information and ingrained prejudices are, as ever, welcome.

Comments

[lamentables.livejournal.com]

I never refrigerate eggs, and as I buy trays of 30 at a time from the farm they don't get used up instantly. I've only had 2 bad eggs that I remember, certainly only 2 in the last 11 years, and I suspect the cause there was not a storage problem.

[mraltariel.livejournal.com]

Commercial egg production in Britain is sanitized, rendering it about as free from harmful gubbins as stuff hanging around the house. The shells don't make particularly appetizing sites for subsequent re-colonization, but that's no guarantee.

Personally, I keep eggs in the fridge. I think that they are better for baking if cold, as it helps to keep all the ingredients colder; it makes no difference to an omlette or whatever. I let them warm up to room temperature for a bit if I'm making custard.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Reasons not to refrigerate eggs: they keep fine out of the fridge, they are more likely to crack when you boil them, the whites don't froth up as well when you whisk them, and (though this one isn't from my experience) they can pick up flavours from things in the fridge (smelly cheeses, for example).

Reasons to refrigerate eggs: don't know of any.

I have a basket in which I keep all my eggs.

[lilliburlero.livejournal.com]

This is a point of contention in our household: PGB insists on putting eggs in the fridge, I think less because of the dangers of decay than because he likes to take certain things out of their packaging when he gets them home from the shops (it is "tidier"). I would rather not refrigerate eggs because they have then to be warmed before use. He also puts jam in the fridge, which I think is a violation of the whole point of jam.

Eggs used to be preserved for months in aspic, or so my grandfather told me, so I can't imagine there is any real danger, though someone once also told me that Edwina Currie was quite right about the majority of British eggs being infected with salmonella.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I keep them in the fridge because it's a handy place to keep them out of my way, and I generally forget to eat them until weeks after the Best Before date so if anyone's eggs are likely to go off they'll be mine. It doesn't seem to have done me any harm yet.

[intertext.livejournal.com]

I always refrigerate eggs, and had never heard that it was safe not to do so until recently papersky wrote in her journal that it was not necessary. A colleague of mine who does long-distance sailing said "oh, yes - that's why eggs are the best thing to take on long voyages, you can keep them for months if you put paraffin wax on them (perhaps the modern equivalent to aspic?)
By the way - hello! I followed you here from lady_schrapnell and have friended you.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Nice to meet you! We seem to have a lot of interests and friends in common, don't we? I've friended you back.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Did you ever decide where to keep your eggs?

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Inertia won, as so often. They in remain in their box, on but not in the fridge.

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

Nearly everyone I knew in Brisbane kept them in the fridge but perhaps that was the hot weather?

Продаю сертификаты Вебмани.

[(Anonymous)]

Привет.
Продаю персональный сертификат WebMoney за $99.
Можете проверить: WMID 322973398779 Redfern
Всё чисто, не одной жалоб. Сделан на утерянные документы. Всё законно.
Если нужно, то есть сертификаты ещё.
Стучацо в личную почту на Вебмани.

Это не спам. Не пишите на мой WMID жалобы в арбитраж Вебмани.

Hi=))

[(Anonymous)]

[color=blue]How is it going ?, everyone =))[/color]
My name's Kyle.
Today i had joined in this site. There are very cool! :)
I believe - we will be friends. Really good [url=http://videodisc.tv/search.php?query=%EF%E8%F1%EA%F3%ED+%E4%E0%E2%E0%E9]video[/url] [b] Kyle[/b].

Buy Viagra Online

[(Anonymous)]

Hello!

[url=http://pillsmqo.com/product/?product=viagra][b]Buy Viagra Online[/b][/url]

[URL=http://pillsmqo.com/product/?product=viagra][IMG]http://xmages.net/storage/10/1/0/8/3/upload/1f1a04cf.gif[/IMG][/URL]

Be Healthy and Happy!

plumber bristol

[(Anonymous)]

[url=http://myplumberbristol.co.uk/boiler-servicing-bristol/]boiler services bristol[/url]