OK - I am almost at the end of my rope with this unrefrigerated eggs thing they have going on here. It's not just that they are unrefrigerated - it's also what I see when I open the top (the eggs are between two egg crates and sealed with a plastic wrap so you never know what you get inside). This is what I will probably see when I take the wrapping off (as the case was tonight):
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Warm, Brown, Pooped on, and because they have poop on them - Feathered eggs!!!
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I realized today how far I have come with the whole egg thing here. I remember going to the store here and seeing the back corner of the store lined with eggs (as if they were loaves of bread). You could buy as little as 6 eggs to a package of 5 dozen! My first reaction was why do people buy 5 dozen at a time!!!! Then I thought why are they not refrigerated. SO - being paranoid as I am - I searched for the typical 1 dozen grade AA refrigerated eggs. With much failure, I came to the conclusion this is what I am going to have to buy. It took me a while to eat my first egg. I used them for baking or cooking dinners, but I never just ate a fried egg. To be honest, I let Scott be the first to eat one. He survived. But here are the questions that went through my head:
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How long ago did the chicken lay these eggs?!?
How long can they last unrefrigerated?
How long has it been unrefrigerated when I bought them?
If the hard boiled egg's yolk is completely white - Is it OK to eat?
Doesn't warm eggs accelerate the bacteria that cause salmonellosis?
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All the warnings about eating eggs are in question here. Only eat refrigerated, clean, un-cracked eggs, with a stamped on date. I know there are a lot of countries that eat unrefrigerated eggs, but could the companies that pack the eggs - PLEASE CLEAN THE POOP AND FEATHERS OFF!!
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I still wonder when we have the symptoms - people infected with Salmonella may experience mild or severe diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever and occasionally vomiting - IS IT THE EGGS!!
11 comments:
LOL....I am not sure I would eat the eggs either.....kinda creeps me out...but at the same time....it could be better for you....a nice freshly laid egg....
If you offer eggs for breakfast when we stay with you, I might have to pass (or have Darin try them first).
Jonna
Lia,
My mom has chickens and she gathers the eggs 2x per day... so I would proably be nervous about non-refrigerated eggs too! The funny thing is that Mike won't eat my mom's eggs because he "knows" the chicken butts that they came from :) So I have unlimited access to free eggs, but still pay my $1.29 for a dozen at the store!
Just couldn't do it. That right there would be enough to make me swear off eggs forever. The sacrifices you are making...I am impressed!
The poo and feathers would do it for me...but I don't much like eggs anyway. But...I found this answer on YAHOO question.
"If you are ever concerned about eggs being good you can gently place them in a container of water. If they sink they are good. If they float up to the top, toss them. They are spoiled. If they are kind of boyiant but still on the bottom they are still good, just older."
I had heard this from my dad too! So at least it gives you a way to check the "freshness"!
I am so with you on this! When Kevin was in grad school we lived in the Netherlands for a semester in a dorm for international students. Many of the people from Asian countries did not refrigerate their eggs, they just put them in the cupboard. It was so gross!
It is funny that you had Scott eat the first one...would have done the same thing! :)
I have to admit the eggs are a little different there, but Matt and I survived. Someone explained to me that because the eggs aren't washed a protective coat remains on the eggs. Thus they don't spoil. I don't know if there is any truth to that, but that's what I told myself.
Sarah
Yuk! That's disgusting!! Poop and feathers on your eggs!? I'd have to ban them from any future meals or baking! My grandson is allergic to eggs and he's managing, so . . . Love ya! Aunt Marva
Oh Lia, I feel for you! I've had so much fun catching up on what you and Scott have been up too - the Chicken Poop Eggs take the cake. Good luck with the fried eggs - you're braver than me!
Jeni (Grasman) Stamas
I came across this blog today and I just had to comment so here's my "non-expert" oppinion that is based on a lot of research and some experimentation.
There are many,many,many places in the world that sell eggs right on the shelf at grocery stores (un-refrigerated). Eggs are a very high turn over item so usually the eggs are sold very quickly and are very rescently laid so are generally very new. It is primarily in Northa America where eggs are sold refridgerated. I personally believe this is due to the fact they are shipped long distances and don't hit the shelf for a few days after they have been laid, so to preserve thier "newly laid" freshness they are refridgerated.
There is no Question that refrigerated eggs will last longer, however I know several people who, due to space issues in their fridge and because they get a very good price for buying in bulk, store their eggs in the cupboard (a cool place like a pantry) and sometimes don't end up using all the eggs for 4-6weeks with no ill effects.
Now to comment about the newly laid coating on eggs. All of my sources say that removing this coating, removes one of the eggs natural defenses againt bacteria and that eggs will last a lot longer (even un-refrigerated) if it is left on (ie. not cleaned off). I learned somewhere that if you buy non refrigerated eggs that have been cleaned that you can coat them with vegetable oil and they will last a lot longer. I've tried this on camping trips and it seems to work well, presumably because it slows down the drying out of the egg because it provides the shell with a more air tight seal. Which brings me to the test for an eggs age.
Everything I've been told or read says that if an egg floats in water it's too old to be considered good to use and should be tossed. The theory behind it is very sound as all freshly laid eggs have a small "pocket" of air inside them but it is so small when new that the weight of the eggs contents vs. the buoyancy of the air causes the egg to sink. As the egg ages the air pocket gets bigger as the egg white and yolk "dry out". When an egg rests on the bottom and floats either tip or bottom up, it means it is getting older and should be used soon because the buoyancy of the air is starting to overtake the contents of the egg. Then of course as said above, if it floats it's bad.
Why all the controversy then? The main concern with eggs is temperature changes. It is temperature changes that seem to cause the eggs to become unstable and can cause things like salmonella. This is also why fridge manufatures don't make the egg tray in the door anymore because that is where the largest temperature changes in a fridge occur and has been linked to causing (excuse the pun) bad eggs. Bottom line, my suggestion is to keep eggs in the main part of the fridge in their original packaging (this is to keep other foods from flavoring the eggs and to protect them from temperature fluctuations).
So based on my research I have come to the conclution that if the eggs are sold refrigerated then keep them that way and same for non refrigerated eggs. It becomes risky if you take refrigerated eggs and store them in the cupboard and I believe the same holds true for the reverse.
So to answer your question, I think the eggs will be fine, do the water test and then put them back in the fridge if they test good. One such temperature change I don't believe will have any impact on their viability, they may have just aged a littel quicker outside the fridge and may have a shorter lifespan but 4-6weeks outside the fridge is a pretty good lifespan in itself so I would asume it would be much longer in the refrigerator. That's just my 2.5 cents worth.
Hi! Every country in Europe that I know of sells eggs un-refrigerated. It's because we prefer not to treat our food like infectious medical waste, unlike North America. Feathers and poo is on the eggs because they come out of the hen's ass (gasp), so what's the problem unless you have the odd habit of eating the shell?
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