Do you refridgerate your eggs?

[Niels Bohr 72]

I didn't know in the UK refrigeration is a cultural thing.

Edited April 11, 2007 by consolemaster

[mawilson 2,133]

I didn't know in the UK refrigeration is a cultural thing.

It's a bacterial culture thing

[homesick_american 1]

I didn't know in the UK refrigeration is a cultural thing.

It isn't. It is in America; you don't have to keep your eggs in the fridge, but Americans do so because they're terrified of bacteria. The British are a little more laid-back in that respect, but they're quickly catching up to us in the germophobe stakes. I wouldn't be surprised in 10 years' time if the Brits kept their eggs in the fridge too.

[SoL. 0]

I put them in the fridge because that's what they thought me to do

But I remember when I was a kid and there were hens at my aunt's farm and somehow the eggs would get all rotten and pop and they were sooooo stinky!! How does that happen?

[Alex+R 0]

Well, one thing this thread has illustrated is that eggs are a mystery to the majority of people.

[Marilyn. 340]

I first thought this thread was about women freezing their eggs to beat the biological clock...

that is what keeps going through my head when I see this thread

[Otto 83]

Well, one thing this thread has illustrated is that eggs are a mystery to the majority of people.

Sounds a bit more like 'refrigeration' is the mytery..

I wonder if hand-washing is as big a mystery...

[Saddle Bronc 124]

We don't refridgerate them after we buy them; I always did in the US because that's just what everyone did, but here in the UK we have teeny tiny fridges and we just don't have the space to refridgerate something for cultural reasons.

Hehehe....ever since I met my husband and he replaced my "travel fridge" with a "normal fridge" he often tells me there is room now for the eggs.....

Hahaha...I had a fridge in my dorm room at uni that was bigger than the one we have now...ours is one that fits underneath the worktop in the kitchen.

I can't wait for one of those spacious side-by-side American fridges...mmm...but even then we probably won't put the eggs in there.

Won't a top-and-bottom one do? :lol:

(side-by-side is nice when there is a water dispenser; the best is the three-compartment variation of side-by-side sold by Amana--where the water/ice dispensers are fixed in the middle of the freezer side)

BTW, it's NOT true that most North Americans refrigerate eggs due to "fear of germs"--I can remember it was done even in early 1970's, LONG before salmonella warnings. Basically, it's due to a culture of buying them in case-units of 12 or 18 (as against individually, though this CAN be done at a few stores) which is generally more than can be consumed in one-shot by a family.

I didn't know in the UK refrigeration is a cultural thing.

It isn't. It is in America; you don't have to keep your eggs in the fridge, but Americans do so because they're terrified of bacteria. The British are a little more laid-back in that respect, but they're quickly catching up to us in the germophobe stakes. I wouldn't be surprised in 10 years' time if the Brits kept their eggs in the fridge too.

[homesick_american 1]

Won't a top-and-bottom one do? :lol:

(side-by-side is nice when there is a water dispenser; the best is the three-compartment variation of side-by-side sold by Amana--where the water/ice dispensers are fixed in the middle of the freezer side)

I don't want water/ice dispensers; top/bottom ones are pretty big but I like the side-by-sides better. Call it personal preference.

BTW, it's NOT true that most North Americans refrigerate eggs due to "fear of germs"--I can remember it was done even in early 1970's, LONG before salmonella warnings. Basically, it's due to a culture of buying them in case-units of 12 or 18 (as against individually, though this CAN be done at a few stores) which is generally more than can be consumed in one-shot by a family.

They sell eggs in 12-packs here too, and people still don't put them in the fridge. There was also a lot of fear here years ago about salmonella in the eggs. We don't eat all of ours in 'one shot' either. I don't think you've hit on it; I think Americans put them in the fridge because their mommas put them in the fridge, and because they're in the refridgerated section at the supermarket (though they are not in the UK). They THINK they have to be refridgerated, but they really don't. There are good arguments for not refridgerating eggs: it's easier to work with them when they're at room temperature, the shells break more evenly, and the coldness of a fridge can crack the shells making them worthless. One of my cousins is a chef and he does not put his eggs in the fridge at home, though he does in his restaurant...because he has to. It's one of his pet peeves; he hates giving fridge space to eggs.

Incidentally I eat eggs all the time and I have never gotten sick from them.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

And (as per restaurant "warnings") the strategy to get around the salmonella issue is rather simple: hardboil, omelet, scramble or over-easy-fry-up.

[homesick_american 1]

And (as per restaurant "warnings") the strategy to get around the salmonella issue is rather simple: hardboil, omelet, scramble or over-easy-fry-up.

Yup. There's probably less bacteria in a room temperature egg than there is in refrigerated ground beef anyway, but people happily eat rare burgers. I don't really get germophobes personally; my sister-in-law is so insane about germs that she sprays the phone, the flusher, all taps, and all doorknobs with Lysol EVERY DAY. She also has Crohn's Disease and is sick all the time. Crohn's is an autoimmune disease and some scientists think that autoimmune diseases are becoming more common because of the sterile environments we live in, i.e. we're so paranoid about exposing ourselves to germs that our immune systems get bored and attack us instead.

This is why we use no antibacterial soaps, wipes, or accessories in our house. If we've been handling raw meat we wash the work surfaces with diluted bleach, which kills bacteria but does not contribute to resistance like antibacterial agents can. Maybe there's nothing to the theory, but we're not sick. We hardly ever get sick.

[kari lina 0]

This is a very interesting thread Never knew there was so much to talk about in regards to eggs...

I do refrigerate mine, but I take my eggs out and get them to room temperature when I am baking. I'm pretty sure my fiance and his flatmates also keep their eggs refrigerated in Germany, but I'll have to ask him to make sure. He'll probably think I'm weird for asking where he keeps his eggs tho

[deemabrouk 0]

I grew up on a farm and we had a ton of chickens. We'd leave for a weekend in the summer, come home, go to the chicken huts to get the eggs and then put them in the fridge. They had already been in the 100+ degree heat all weekend. I grew up on farm fresh eggs like that and I'm fine. Makes me wonder though......maybe it's all the hormones and steriods that chickens are given these days that promotes bacteria earlier than they did back in the day.

I think you are 100% correct with this one... Plus you gotta think, How fresh are the Eggs in the Supermarkets??? In egypt i know they are Not mass produced like they are in the States.. SO you can be somewhat sure.. the eggs are mostly fresh within a day or too.. But if the eggs are a few weeks old.. I'm sure the Refridgeration (how ever you spell it) helps keep them longer.. But I think they would go bad Very quickly if you bought them Cold.. and then made the Room Temp

Even the warm UHT milk freaked me out.. Non fridged Milk??? That took me a minute

*I just remembered this*

My husband used to (hopefully past tense) drink raw eggs - Rocky Balboa style - And those eggs were never Refridged...

Yikes!

Edited April 12, 2007 by deemabrouk

[Niels Bohr 72]

Inside the egg, there's a yoke, and amniotic fluid. Hehehe. And, the little white dot inside the yoke is where the chick is supposed to be if it were fertilized.

[mawilson 2,133]

Even the warm UHT milk freaked me out.. Non fridged Milk??? That took me a minute

Hmm.....UHT milk. Haven't seen it here.