I’ve just bought a new fridge and it comes with a section to hold eggs. I’ve never stored them in the fridge since salmonella isn’t really a problem here because our chickens are vaccinated. Does anybody in the UK actually refrigerate their eggs?

As an aside, I tend to decide what goes into the fridge based on where it was in the supermarket. If they don’t refrigerate it, neither do I. So for eggs, I don’t.

Secondary question - what am I gonna use the egg holder in the fridge for now, other than maybe briefly cooling my balls?

  • @[email protected]
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    3915 days ago

    It’s not just vaccination - European eggs aren’t pressure washed like American ones to remove the protective coating.

    I’ve honestly never understood why America does that to their eggs.

    • @Stovetop
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      4315 days ago

      Salmonella. It’s carried in chicken dung, sometimes eggs get a bit of feces on them, so the US washes them to attempt to reduce exposure.

      Problem is that without the protective coating, the eggs are more permeable and susceptible to bacterial infection, hence the refrigeration.

      So it’s a question of whether it’s better to reduce bacteria exposure or susceptibility. I am sure there’s research out there with numbers indicating one works better than the other, but it’s been such a long-standing thing at this point that I don’t think Americans would trust unrefrigerated eggs.

      • @cynar
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        514 days ago

        Both work for protecting humans. However, I believe vaccination is better overall. It also improves the quality of life of the chickens. Unfortunately, it’s also (very slightly) more expensive, so America went the cheap route. The EU mandated to reduce animal cruelty, by vaccination.

    • @flubba86
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      614 days ago

      In Australia our eggs are kept in the refrigerated section in the supermarket (usually near the cheese and butter, because everyone knows eggs are dairy), and we’ve always put them in the fridge at home, so I guess they wash the protective coating off here too.

      • @Zess
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        914 days ago

        I think refrigerating eggs is inconsequential compared to the other thing that happened.

  • Vanth
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    2415 days ago

    Refrigerating eggs also roughly doubles their shelf life.

    Is salmonella vaccination required in the UK now? It’s been a few years but last I knew it was voluntary and roughly 3/4 of egg farmers did do it.

    Egg farmers? Chicken ranchers? Poultry producer? Idk what they’re called.

      • @dingus
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        214 days ago

        This sounds like something you’d get arrested for.

      • Vanth
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        113 days ago

        I accept this new term and will utilize it in everyday conversation. Thank you.

    • QuickyOP
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      215 days ago

      Refrigerating eggs also roughly doubles their shelf life.

      Yeah that’s fair enough, although they already last for ages. “Can’t wait to eat these eggs in a month”.

        • QuickyOP
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          15 days ago

          To be honest, I live rurally and there’s no shortage of roadside eggs available from nearby farms. A lot of them actually stock local shops, including the bigger chains where I live, because there’s an overall community preference to buy local where possible.

          In terms of flavour, that’s actually something that’s recommended by at least one celebrity chef here, who suggests not putting them in the fridge so that they don’t absorb tastes and smells from other foods within.

          James Martin’s egg opinion

  • @[email protected]
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    14 days ago

    We don’t have to in Germany, but they last longer and sometimes we don’t eat a lot of eggs. Putting them in the fridge ensures that we can safely eat them even quite some time after the expiration date (then we cook them fully though).

    • @dingus
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      414 days ago

      I’m in the US, so I do have to store eggs in the fridge. BUT I do what you do for a lot of foods that don’t need to be refrigerated. I refrigerate them anyway because they last longer. I live alone, so my groceries don’t deplete as fast as people with large families, and so it makes sense for me to try to stave off food spoilage as long as possible.

  • @[email protected]
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    15 days ago

    I put them in the fridge… On top of the egg holder … In their box 😈

    I don’t get through many, so putting them there means I know they are probably still good after a couple of months. The box has the best before date to let me know if I need to float test then.

    • QuickyOP
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      615 days ago

      I put them in the fridge… On top of the egg holder … In their box

      Absolute madman

  • Lucy :3
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    15 days ago

    I’ve always done that, here in germany. They are supposed to last at least ~2 weeks (or so, idk) at room temperature, after all they are stored like that in stores. But the eggs I have right now are more like 3-4 weeks old, so I prefer to put them in the fridge, because why not? They don’t take much space and last for double as long, so 6 weeks.

  • @PeroBasta
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    914 days ago

    Same in Italy. But i pur them in the fridge because they last a lot longer

  • @whaleross
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    615 days ago

    I do here in Sweden despite there is no need. Mostly because it is the convenient place in my kitchen.

  • @evasive_chimpanzee
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    615 days ago

    When I buy supermarket eggs, I refrigerate them because they are washed (in the US). When I get unwashed eggs (from a farm or a friend), I still refrigerate them and just wash them prior to use. I don’t have to refrigerate them since they have the cuticle intact, but refrigerating them still makes them stay fresher longer, so if I have the space for them, why would I not?

    That said, the eggs already come in a carton, so I’m not going to transfer them into a separate container in my fridge for no reason.

  • Jo Miran
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    615 days ago

    In the US, eggs are washed, which significantly decreases their shelf life.

  • @[email protected]
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    615 days ago

    As an aside, I tend to decide what goes into the fridge based on where it was in the supermarket. If they don’t refrigerate it, neither do I.

    There are quite a few items that are fine to store unrefrigerated until opened, but need to stay cold afterwards. Jam comes to mind.

    • QuickyOP
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      15 days ago

      Yeah that doesn’t really apply to eggs though, their “container” is unopened. Otherwise your fridge will get messy.

      But yeah, obviously I’m gonna put stuff in the fridge that would go off once the seal has been broken.

  • @[email protected]
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    415 days ago

    It’s detachable in my fridge.

    I use the egg holder on the door shelf for small bottles that would otherwise fall over when the door is opened. Medicine or nail polish, that sort of thing.

    I also the egg holder to … hold the eggs … after they’re boiled, so I can fill the egg cooker instead of boiling just a few at a time. I use cold boiled eggs for sandwiches or salats.

    I do not use it for holding raw eggs as those already come in an egg shaped carton.

    • QuickyOP
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      415 days ago

      Yeah I know, that’s why I was focusing on UK egg-fanciers.

      • HubertManne
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        015 days ago

        yeah but your talking an appliance which is not necessarily just produced for the UK.

          • HubertManne
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            314 days ago

            I apologize. I truly was just trying to explain the likely reason his fridge had an egg holder. My bad apparently. I actually felt I was helping in my commentary but sorry as I apparently missinterpreted the post as being about why a fridge has an egg container.

        • QuickyOP
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          115 days ago

          It’s what’s going in the appliance I’m asking about, not the appliance itself.

  • @[email protected]
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    315 days ago

    I live in Canada, where eggs need to be refrigerated, and yet I’ve never seen a fridge with an egg holder. I already have an egg holder. The box they came in.

    • QuickyOP
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      315 days ago

      Still one too many pieces of packaging for my liking. Put the OG egg holder in the fridge. The chicken.

  • FQQD
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    315 days ago

    Idk, I think my family, as Germans, does this.

  • @[email protected]
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    15 days ago

    The methods of salmonella mitigation, storing eggs from vaccinated chickens unwashed at room temp or storing washed eggs in the refrigerator, have roughly equal outcomes. There are still many egg-related salmonella outbreaks across Europe each year, roughly equivalent to the US. One method is not superior to another as far as outcomes, they’re just two different systems that already exist and therefore are unlikely to change without a good reason