What is this "Two" you speak of?

[manybellsdown]

According to the American Egg Council - 'eggs accidentally left at room temperature should be discarded after two hours, or one hour in warm weather.'

This bothers me to this day, but back in the late-80's/early-90's, I worked in a nationally known grocery store chain. The store was so busy, we could only fit the milk and yogurt into the storeroom refrigeration unit. The cheese and eggs were left out, without refrigeration. I have no idea how we got away with it.

So I just recently learned that refrigerating eggs seems to be a mainly American thing: http://io9.com/americans-why-do-you-...ggs-1465309529

[EricKei]

bells- thank you. That's what I was thinking of when I was referring to "grocery store" eggs.

SixfortyK - What do they say about eggs that have been hard-boiled? (I'm honestly curious)

[SailorMan]

I spent two years aboard nuclear missile subs, and made four 3-month underwater patrols. We would keep crates of eggs in the torpedo room bilges, and eat them until they ran out, which was (I think) about a month later. And then, we would use the powdered variety.

[Shyla]

Remember that scene in Steel Magnolias? They had crates and crates of colored eggs and then Shirley MacLaine slammed the trunk closed and crushed them all.

Eggs that are a little older are better for coloring. They peel better. I bet 10 days ago they could have bought 3 dozen. But why plan ahead?

[wolfie]

Yesterday when I was shopping, I was in line behind someone who had a few dozen eggs and 4 bottles (I assume one each red, blue, green, and yellow) of food colouring. I asked whether or not she knew that vinegar (not among the items on the belt) was needed in order to make the colour stick (from her purchases, it looked like she was preparing to do easter eggs), and she said that she knew - and had the vinegar at home already.

[Mr Hero]

And if she didn't have any, be sure to warn her not to drink any.

[crazylegs]

Buying fresh eggs straight from a farm (or from a Farmer's Market that carries them)? Sure. Those should last longer than "commercial-farm" ones without refrigeration. But, grocery-store eggssess? Uh, no. Not unless you plan to boil them that day, and even then, I dunno how long they'd stay edible - a few days, tops, if unopened?

Ugh, none of the puns were anything to crow about.

Eggs in the UK are sold un-refrigerated and generally have a couple of weeks on the 'use by' date.

[Monterey Jack]

Same thing with shaving cream and soap on Halloween. No means no.

Nothing please me more than shutting down a couple of teenagers on Halloween night buying a few dozen eggs. I always lean over and remind my cashier, "Um, you do know what day it is, right...?", and the teen twats go home empty-handed.

[EricKei]

Eggs in the UK are sold un-refrigerated and generally have a couple of weeks on the 'use by' date.

Aye. In the US, however, they are usually "washed" before they ever reach the grocery stores -- I am assuming there's more to it than soap and water -- which causes them to become "refrigeration-required." Kinda like how ALL cheese sold here must be Pasteurized, which has the same net effect (most dairy products in general, iirc) -- in the latter case, afaik, heating the items up to kill certain bacteria also destroys the products' defenses against certain OTHER contaminants, which can normally only be held at bay by keeping them cold.

[AccountingDrone]

IF you hard boil them, and immediately 'waterglass' or wax them, they will then keep for a few more weeks. [waterglass I had to look up. Sodium Silicate.]

See, back in the day you preserved fresh eggs by dipping them in a solution of waterglass - but I am not entirely certain how it will deal with non fresh out of the chickens ass eggs. When a hen lays an egg, the insides are sterile because there is a waxy coating that egg factories wash off. THe waxy coating keeps air and bacteria out of the egg, I do not know how much bacterial uptake and then growth happens between the egg factory washing off the coating and it arriving at the store, so I would hard boil the egg to resterilize it before waterglassing it. The US Navy *used* to get the fresh eggs the chop ordered waterglassed at the chandler, Rob is asleep or I would ask him if he knows offhand if they still do it that way or not. [chop - supply officer, chandler, navy provision supplier.]

Now if I really wanted to preserve eggs that my birds laid, I would waterglass them though if I just sort of dust off the eggs to knock off any chicken shit that may be on them I can leave them sitting on my counter for a month [not that I would, I don't want chicken shit in my house.]

[wolfie]

When a hen lays an egg, the insides are sterile because there is a waxy coating that egg factories wash off.

Actually, that's no longer the case. At some point in the past couple decades, a strain of salmonella has infected chickens in such a way that it got into the ovaries, resulting in eggs laid by those chickens being pre-infected. As a result, it's no longer safe to use raw eggs (e.g. caeser salad dressing).

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Actually, that's no longer the case. At some point in the past couple decades, a strain of salmonella has infected chickens in such a way that it got into the ovaries, resulting in eggs laid by those chickens being pre-infected. As a result, it's no longer safe to use raw eggs (e.g. caeser salad dressing).

I wonder if that could have had an effect on how much more fragile the shells have become.

Reason why I mention this is that I've noticed the last few times I've bought eggs, the shells seem to break so much easier than they used to. I've had at least a couple of occasions that no sooner do I get a flat set down in my cart, I have to go right back and swap them out b/c several of the shells have cracked.

[Mikkel]

In '13 the Danish Ministry of Food said that there was no longer any reason to recommend not to eat raw eggs. The incidence of salmonella had become so rare that the risk was negligible.
They still recommend using pasteurized eggs when cooking for small children, serious ill and old people.

[crazylegs]

I wonder if that could have had an effect on how much more fragile the shells have become.

Overly fragile shells are generally from overworked hens and the shells aren't having sufficient time to harden or the hens haven't sufficient reserves to deposit the required minerals to strengthen the shells.

[AccountingDrone]

Actually, that's no longer the case. At some point in the past couple decades, a strain of salmonella has infected chickens in such a way that it got into the ovaries, resulting in eggs laid by those chickens being pre-infected. As a result, it's no longer safe to use raw eggs (e.g. caeser salad dressing).

In '13 the Danish Ministry of Food said that there was no longer any reason to recommend not to eat raw eggs. The incidence of salmonella had become so rare that the risk was negligible.
They still recommend using pasteurized eggs when cooking for small children, serious ill and old people.

Unless you source your hens from a certified salmonella free hatchery - while yes feral birds can infect your birds it is not overly common.

According to the CDC, in 2012 there were a whopping 195 cases of salmonella infection reported in the US - given the population of the US, the chances of getting salmonella from eggs is infinitessimal.

Yes, you can 'enhance' your chance of picking up food poisoning from raw eggs, but chances are it is not salmonella. Just like you shouldn't eat mayo that has been sitting out unrefrigerated for greater than 4 hours, it is not the eggs nor the oils it is the water in the food supporting microbial overgrowth.