| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| VM |
how long do eggs keep?We've not got any eggs of our own yet but have been eating some from hens on neighbouring plot while we were looking after them - which prompted me to wonder various things about keeping them, cleaning them etc.So any feedback on the following gratefully accepted: 1) Do you wash/clean eggs? I think I read on here or elsewhere that washing them makes the shells more porous and makes them keep less well. However I don't want the chicken shit on them next to other food in the fridge - so do I wash them or just wipe with a cloth or what? 2) How long do people think eggs keep once collected - assuming that will be collected on the day they've been laid? So worrying to think I won't have the shop's 'use by' date to tell me what to do... 
3) What about keeping in fridge or out of fridge? I've always tended to prefer keeping eggs out of the fridge - but we now have a very small kitchen which gets warm easily - spare space in the fridge and not much elsewhere - so I'm keeping bought eggs in the fridge at present. I know I probably ought to be able to make my own mind up about these things, but always nice to hear other people's views! |
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| Ian33568 |
No to fridge.....no to washing (unless hideously dirty then wipe clean), keep mine for several weeks but they get used before they are likely to be unusuable........always crack into a bowl first then if bad you can spot it and not contaminate other stuff....
just common sense approach here where possible.. 
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| Chez |
If you are going to wipe them, wipe with warm water - ie, warmer than the egg; because that means that the pores of the egg don't close against the cold, pulling the dirt inside with them.
I tend to keep out of the fridge unless it's very hot, or unless I have an absolute egg glut and nowhere to keep them. What Ian said about cracking first in to a bowl. And you can tell whether they're bad or not by whether they float. I think bad ones float. But I'm never quite sure, so I just crack in a bowl regardless. My Dad's first job in 1934 was on a poultry farm in Leicestershire - they used to keep the eggs in a cool room for three weeks before sending them off to be sold as 'fresh'! |
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| Rob R |
It depends on the quality of the eggs too- battery eggs tend not to last as long as good free range eggs (birds given access to fresh forage get more access to natural antioxidants that contribute to the quality of the eggs). The best eggs will keep for as long as three months if stored in a cool larder (but definitely not the fridge). | ||||
| Maxwell Smart |
I always wondered about this. In Canada, eggs are always kept in the fridge and I am fairly certain in France as well. It was something that really threw me when I came to England. What is the reasoning behind it? Does the choice to keep in the fridge or nor have to do with the type of egg or whether it has been treated or something? |
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| Rob R |
Fridges tend to dehydrate things & egg shells are porous they can dry out. | ||||
| Ian33568 |
Seems the jury is out on this one: http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-26086,00.html |
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| TAVASCAROW |
Re: how long do eggs keep?
The sell by date on eggs go from the date they were packed & has no reference to the date layed unless the regs have changed recently. I don't wash & don't store in fridge & for home use I'm happy with anything up to three weeks (For hard boiling an older egg is easier to peel). But for trade & barter I only use the freshest eggs, usually just 2 or 3 days old.
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| mochyn |
Re: how long do eggs keep?
What TAVASCAROW said. Never had any problem with eggs not kept in the fridge. Ducks' likewise. |
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| Chez |
Re: how long do eggs keep?
You keep ducks in the fridge? 
I know, I know ... baggage! |
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| mochyn |
Re: how long do eggs keep?
Now, that's just what I'm saying: NOT in the fridge. They wouldn't like it. |
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| Chez |
Re: how long do eggs keep?
They might if it was a warm day. We discovered that we could fit six dead cockerels in the bottom of our fridge yesterday. Initially I was slightly disturbed by the fact that one of them kept pushing the door open with it's foot ... |
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| RichardW |
That used to be the advice given. Now it seems that its better to use cold water as the final rinse to close the pores as warm water opens the pores & leaves the pores open for longer allowing infection in. Richard |
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| Chez |
So wipe with a warm cloth and then a cold one? | ||||
| RichardW |
I guess. The change is due to a company actualy testing eggs that were treated each way to see the results.
Richard |
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| Slim |
I've been told that once you refrigerate eggs (or buy eggs that have been refrigerated) that you've got to keep refrigerating them, but if you don't refrigerate them at all you can keep them for up to three months. Please do not quote me on that one though! | ||||
| Marionb |
I put my eggs straight in the fridge after buying them, but keep 6 out in a box in the kitchen... when that box is empty I get another 6 out of the fridge.
The box could be out for a week (maybe even more sometimes) before its empty..... we seem to be ok so far...
I'm never quite sure how long after the stamped use by date, they are ok to eat... the one I had today was best before 10th July... |
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| VM |
Thank you very much for all of this - seems an even more complicated debate than I thought!
As I said, one of our main reasons for keeping them in the fridge is because there is space in it and not much anywhere else. So I'll probably carry on with keeping them in the fridge and then taking them out in good time before cooking, which is what we currently do. We use so many eggs that it's rare to have ones sitting around for much more than a week anyway. We're about to go away for weekend - I'm going to miss the chickens! And I'm convinced that they'll start laying when we're away, so our chicken partners will get the first egg! thanks again |
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| Calli |
The reason we keep eggs in the fridge is because ours run with cockerals. I was going to go further but I think 'nuff said 
As for sell by dates - pencil the collection date on the eggs and eat in order! |
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| Rob R |
Please do, I'm trying to work it out but struggling. 
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| Calli |
Well, put it like this if the eggs are fertile and its a warm summer you wouldn't want to leave them out for any length of time.......
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