Egg storage

[Debbie506]

My friend just returned from a month-long trip to New Zealand, where it was very warm.  She was astonished to discover that they don't refrigerate their eggs!  When you go to the store, the eggs are kept on the shelf by the breakfast cereals, and when people take their eggs home they just keep them in the cupboard or on the counter.  Is this common in other parts of the world?  Here in Canada (and in the USA as far as I know) eggs are always refrigerated.

[NyaChan]

I'm in the US and storing eggs outside of the fridge is not unheard of.  They won't go bad in the shell at room temp as fast as say mayo left out would.  In warmer parts of the US I think it's better to use the fridge - it never really gets hot hot in my area so if my fridge is full I'll leave them out.

[ClaireC79]

Same in the UK they are sold in the shops on the shelves, not fridge

[blue2000]

I seem to recall a chef saying that it is better to leave your eggs out of the fridge if you are planning to use them in the next few days. If you get them direct from a farm, you might notice they don't refrigerate their eggs right away either.

I still put them in the fridge because I don't know how long it will take to use them up.

[Steve]

I never used to keep my eggs refridgerated, but SO did.

You can understand how this would lead to some discussion when we first moved in together (about 12 years ago), so I did the only thing I can do in such a case: I try to prove my point. So I googled it and researched it, turns out:eggs will keep longer when refridgerated.
SO was right, it still hurts a bit when I am putting the eggs back in the fridge.

[faithlessone]

I'm in the UK, and we don't keep our eggs in the fridge. Then again, my family eats so many eggs, there wouldn't be time for them to go bad.

[veryfluffy]

In the UK, eggs have to be kept at room temperature by the retailer, rather than refrigerated. Some people will then store them in the fridge, and some not.

I never refrigerate my eggs -- but mine come from my own hens. I can tell you for a fact that a fresh egg will keep fine for at least four weeks, and up to eight weeks, at room temperature.

However, eggs lose moisture over time, and the white becomes much less firm. If you break a very fresh egg into the pan, the white will stay compact and tall. A stale egg will run and flatten out.

One thing also to consider is that a refrigerator is a very dry environment -- eggs would normally lose moisture much more quickly in the fridge. Am I right in thinking that eggs in North America have a waxed coating, because of keeping in the fridge?

[Sharnita]

I  would think it probably depends on where you buy them.  My family buys eggs right from the farm/hens down the road ourselves.

[lesserspotted]

I'm from the UK and always refrigerate eggs (although I only buy them when I plan to bake something).

Thinking about it, I'm not sure why as supermarket eggs don't come refrigerated. Probably a combination of something my mother has always done and fridges coming with specific egg storage spaces.

[Faerydust]

I'm from Hawaii and eggs are kept refrigerated in both the stores and at home.

[Thipu1]

Here in NYC, eggs are normally sold and stored refrigerated. 

[veryfluffy]

Found it on the DEFRA website:

"Whilst eggs should not be chilled during marketing, to minimise risk to quality & safety that may arise due to temperature variations, eggs should be kept chilled once purchased by the final consumer to maximise quality."

[apple]

I keep them refrigerated, but I've read that for baking, eggs should be brought to room temperature before using. I do this quickly by putting the egg or eggs in a cup of warm water for a few minutes. Apparently, baked goods rise better in the oven if they are made with room temperature eggs.

[Shopaholic]

I used to work in a bakery and we kept the eggs at room temperature.
For baking, it is better to use them at this temp as previously mentioned, but they were harder to break and more shells got into the yolk.
At home I keep them in the fridge.

[magdalena]

My granddad had a chicken farm.

Eggs keep well at room temperature IF they have not been refridgerated before. Once refridgerated, they must stay refridgerated until used.