Should eggs be kept in the fridge?

[Taytocrisps]

I've been admiring one of those ceramic chickens they sell for storing eggs. But that would mean storing my eggs on the kitchen counter. Do they keep ok out of the fridge?

Asked an expert this is what they said

I've just looked and I see that on my box of Co-op Free Range it does say after purchase keep refrigerated. But it's in such tiny print that I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't really been looking for it.

I do keep them well after the use by date and they're always fine. My kitchen will only get above 20 degrees in the warmest weather.

As a chicken keeper I can confirm that either is fine however they last longer in fridge.

Washing eggs removes the bloom
Removing the bloom can make them off more quickly.

We have an egg spiral / helter-skelter

Eggs last for weeks and weeks, no need to keep them in a fridge and no need to look at the best before date either, just do the bowl of water test described above.
Given that we have best before dates within weeks on cheese which has been matured for years beforehand and on honey which never goes off, I wouldn't pay any attention to dates on anything other than meat and fish.

So I was having this debate with my brother who is working for food standards agency this week filming about home food hygiene and apparently according to them eggs should be kept in the fridge because the temp is regulated. (I keep mine on the kitchen side for reference!)

I'm in Ireland too @Taytocrisps, but keep my eggs in the fridge. Shops do keep them on the shelf so I'm sure that'd be fine at home too, but the fridge is where they fit in my house.
I don't think it's necessary to refrigerate them.

Eggs should be kept with the hen 🙂

I keep mine in the fridge, but only because I don’t have a ceramic hen and a box on the side looks ugly. I know they can live safely out of the fridge in an ugly box but I like my kitchen tidy.

my butter does stay out of the fridge because I have a nice ceramic butter dish, unless I made the butter myself then it has to go in the fridge as home made butter doesn’t last long whether it’s in the nice ceramic dish or not.

They don’t put them on shelves because they sell quick 🤦‍♀️ it’s to do with condensation and bacteria

No eggs, tomatoes or bread in the fridge!

@FetidMoppet agreed - buy a 36 month old cheddar and it says eat within a week! Why ? it’s been festering (beautifully) for the last three years

Chicken egg fried rice is a great way to do that

Tbf that was in controlled climate with protective layer which is now missing.

That said they are very cautious with cheese dates! Brie and camembert from shops are always beat like week or 2 after bbd🤩

@SparrowsEatUpToHalfTheirBodyWeightADay

yes. Rinded and washed rind cheese always take on that ammonia smell if they’re not eaten quickly but I’ve never had any issues with hard cheese (or eggs ! )i keep them In fridge

We store them on the top shelf in the fridge. When I lived in the country and had chickens, we had a large old-fashioned pantry which stayed cold all year round, and the eggs were kept in there.

https://www.egginfo.co.uk/ways-to-cook/general-tips/how-store-eggs

They are manufacturing something.

Eggs kept in the fridge crack when you boil them.

I always thought the ‘rule’ was that if you keep them out of the fridge it’s fine, but if you keep them in the fridge they last 2-3 weeks beyond their best before date. I can’t remember where I actually read that though.

I keep them in the fridge as I have no space. I'd like an egg house or wooden box but I literally have no space on the worktops.

Eggs in Ireland do not need to be stored in the fridge for the same reasons as outlined for the UK

To be fair, they’re useable way beyond the ‘best before’ date in many things even when kept outside the fridge. The risk of storing them in a fridge for any period of time is that they absorb the smells of whatever’s in the fridge. Fine if you just have vegetables any packets of stuff, but eggs with a whiff of ripe Camembert in a meringue can’t be ideal ;)