Can I Keep Eggs at Room Temperature? And Other Pertinent Questions
The picture up there at the top of the page shows my recently-acquired egg storer/dispenser from EliWoodworks. It’s such a terrific way to show off all of my homegrown hen fruit! And it keeps eggs in order to boot! When I bring eggs into the house from the coop, I put the new ones into the top. When I need eggs, I take from the bottom. So, I’m always using the old eggs first!
Not surprisingly though, when many people see this nifty device, their first response is “The eggs aren’t refrigerated! Can I keep eggs at room temperature?” It’s a reasonable question. Here in the US, we expect eggs will be in the fridge. And when we go to the store for eggs, we head right for that big bank of coolers in the produce section.
But in much of the world, eggs are not refrigerated. And from a practical standpoint, experienced cooks will tell you that room temperature eggs work better in many recipes. Cold eggs added to a cheesecake batter can reharden some of the fats, resulting in lumps and chunks. Beaten eggs achieve a greater volume if the eggs are warm. That's not a big deal in most cake recipes that use a couple eggs, but it is quite significant in egg-rich angel cakes, sponge cakes, soufflés, and meringues.
So, what’s up with storing eggs in the fridge? The official explanation is that they’re kept cold to protect us from salmonella. We’ve all heard that salmonella in eggs is a big problem. How big is it? Well, in early 2018 one salmonella contamination episode resulted in the recall of over 200 million eggs. That’s a lot of omelets.
In my 2019 article, “Salmonella in Eggs: It’s Poisonal” I reviewed how the US and a few other countries deal with the threat of salmonella-contaminated eggs very differently from the rest of the world. One of the main differences is the requirement that US egg producers and sellers refrigerate eggs. But, how should you be storing eggs at home? Read on and I’ll answer questions about home egg storage. Cutting to the chase, I’ll start right in with:
Can I keep eggs at room temperature? We’re five paragraphs into this thing. So, stop beating around the bush and answer the question already!
Okay! I’ll answer the question! No need to get snippy! This question is the important one, though, so bear with me as I give a long answer.
The main point of refrigeration is to keep the egg eating public safe from salmonella, a bacterium that, according to the CDC hospitalizes 26,500 people in the US each year and causes 420 of them to die. Fortunately, eggs are already naturally designed to keep us safe from salmonella; a design that works pretty well and predates refrigeration by thousands of years. Each egg comes with its own packaging to keep salmonella and other bad stuff out – the eggshell. While eggshells are porous, a natural varnish called “bloom” or “cuticle” coats the outside and prevents salmonella or anything else from entering the egg. (I’ve written in greater detail about eggshells here.)
The folks who regulate commercial eggs in the US and a few other countries are concerned about all that salmonella that may be contaminating the outside of the shell, just waiting to taint the contents of the egg when you crack it open. The egg-regulating agencies in the UK, much of Europe, and much of the rest of the world, are less fixated on the stuff outside of the shell. These two different philosophies and methods are so dissimilar that eggs produced in the US can’t legally be sold in the UK and vice versa.
In the US all eggs sold by major commercial egg operations have to be washed in a very specific way to get rid of all those potentially nasty bugs on the eggshell. The water contains detergent and is heated to at least 90 degrees. Then the washed eggs are sprayed with a sanitizer and dried.
The UK forbids the washing of eggs. Remember the cuticle – that layer of “varnish” that keeps stuff from penetrating the porous eggshell? When the egg is washed, the cuticle gets washed right off. Once it’s gone anything the egg comes in contact with can soak right through the eggshell. If salmonella or other bacteria soak through the shell, they find themselves in a wonderful, nutrient-rich environment and are so happy that they are soon at work churning out a bazillion little baby bacteria. Because washed eggs are vulnerable to bacteria soaking through the shell, another rule in the US is that eggs, after being washed, must be refrigerated.
There’s one huge problem with refrigerating eggs, though. When you put cold things into a warm environment, they get wet. Grass forms dew, cold beer mugs sweat, and the cold-water pipes in your basement form beads of water. It’s a natural phenomenon: Condensation. So, it isn’t surprising that eggs become wet when you pull them from your refrigerator. If there are any salmonella bacteria on the outside of one of those eggs, you can be sure they’re happily swimming around in the condensation. And if the bloom has been washed off the egg, they’re swimming through the pores and right into the egg.
Which brings us to this important idea which I will render in all caps for emphasis and dramatic effect:
REFRIGERATED EGGS, ONCE WARMED, SHOULD BE COOKED AND USED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
And I can, at last, reply to the question at the top of this section: “Can I keep eggs at room temperature?”
IMPORTANT ANSWER #1- If the egg has never been refrigerated, it is possible to store it at room temperature.
IMPORTANT ANSWER #2-If the egg has been refrigerated, it needs to stay refrigerated until use. Because, see the all-caps statement above.
Are all those dire warnings about salmonella real? Or are those egg regulations just a case of government bureaucrats trying to justify their jobs.
Ouch! As a former government worker (public health, no less!), I don’t like all that talk about bureaucrats! And you can be very sure that salmonella’s a real thing. The CDC estimates that salmonella infects 1.35 million people every year. The exact number is impossible to know since many people with salmonella don’t seek medical care, thus are unreported.
An important thing to know about salmonella is that it lives in animal intestines. Regardless of if you get a case of salmonellosis from eating a contaminated vegetable or a contaminated animal product, the salmonella had its origin in the intestinal contents of an animal. Yep, “intestinal contents” is another word for poop. Now you know.
It makes sense that salmonella would show up on eggs. Chickens have just one opening at the back; it’s called their vent or cloaca. Both eggs and waste pass through that same opening. Unfortunately, since the egg chute and waste chute connect to the same opening, salmonella can sometimes find its way into the chicken’s egg-producing organs. It winds up inside the egg, because the egg formed around it.
When salmonella is in the egg before it even gets laid, all the work the hen has put into protecting her egg with the eggshell and bloom, and all the work US egg sellers have put into protecting the egg with washing and spraying are for naught. The enemy is already inside the castle.
Which brings us to a couple more important ideas which I will, again, render in all caps:
COOK EGGS!
Cook them until both the yolk and whites are firm. The CDC recommends that egg dishes should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C) or hotter.
USE PASTEURIZED EGGS IN DISHES THAT CALL FOR RAW OR LIGHTLY COOKED EGGS!
You know, like hollandaise, homemade mayo, Caesar salads, eggnog, etc.
I’m chuffed to bits over these eggs I bought at my London grocery. Each egg has a wee picture of a lion wearing a crown painted right on the shell. Can I display them on my kitchen counter?
Brill, mate! I think being chuffed to bits is a good thing and doesn’t involve violence. Those eggs with the red lion stamps can certainly go right onto the kitchen counter and stay there! The eggs were not refrigerated when you purchased them at the store and have never seen the inside of a refrigerator, because that’s how eggs are regulated in the UK.
This fits IMPORTANT ANSWER #1: If the egg has never been refrigerated, it is possible to store it at room temperature.
Those red lions, btw, indicate that the hens who laid the eggs have been vaccinated against salmonella. Inducing salmonella immunity with vaccine reduces the likelihood of salmonella being present in the intestines of the hen. No salmonella in the hen’s intestines means that there’s no salmonella present to contaminate the egg on the inside or the outside. Salmonella vaccinations got underway in the UK in the late 1990’s. The number of reported salmonella cases dropped from 14,771 in 1997 to just 581 in 2009.
In the US there is no red lion program, but California requires that all eggs sold there must come from hens that have been vaccinated for salmonella. If you live in the US but not in California, it is very likely that California compliant commercial eggs are available at your local supermarket. Look for the “CA SEFS COMPLIANT” label on the egg carton.
If hens were universally vaccinated for salmonella, we could all spend a whole lot less time and energy thinking about salmonella in eggs!
I just filled my tank at the neighborhood convenience store. Then I picked up a lottery ticket, a bag of chips, and a dozen eggs. The egg carton has picture of a chicken in a grassy field by a red barn. Looks pretty natural. Prolly okay to keep these at room temp?
First of all, I’ll say a bit about where your gas station eggs came from and the living conditions of the hens that laid them. If there’s nothing on the carton about “cage free”, “pasture raised”, or “organic,” the hens that produced the eggs have probably spent their short miserable lives in a cruel enclosure called a battery cage. The battery cage standard gives each hen 67 square inches of living space. That’s smaller than an 8.5×11 sheet of printer paper. These ill-fated hens never have never had a chance to run, jump, roost, or even spread their wings. They’ve spent their entire lives inside a huge building, which, btw, is not anything like an old-timey red barn. And they certainly have never set foot in a grassy field. In spite of that, bucolic rural scenes abound on the egg cartons. And words like “country”, “sunny”, “brook”, and “meadow” keep popping up in egg brand names. I suppose “dank animal warehouse” wouldn't win over many consumers.
Second, to repeat what I said in the answer to the first question. “In the US all eggs sold by major commercial egg operations have to be washed… After washing, [eggs] must be refrigerated.” A plethora of statutes by an alphabet soup of federal and state agencies regulate egg production and sales. But the 2009 FDA Final Rule on Egg Safety is the overarching rule covering egg washing and refrigeration. It applies to any producer with more than 3000 chickens.
The eggs you bought at the convenience store most likely came from a building where 60,000-100,000 hens are confined in battery cages. And the building is probably one of many buildings on that one site. So, you can be sure that the FDA rule applies to your eggs, and that they've been washed and refrigerated.
Which means your eggs fall under IMPORTANT ANSWER #2-If the egg has been refrigerated, it needs to stay refrigerated until use.
I just bought some eggs and it says “Pasture Raised” on the carton. The carton also has the big “Organic” sticker on it. These maybe don’t need to go in the fridge?
Thank you for being a conscientious egg consumer! The hens that laid the eggs in the carton you just bought are probably living much happier lives than the typical hen stuck in a battery cage.
A few words about the terms “Pasture Raised” and “Organic.” Each of these terms have their own set of regulations and eggs can be sold with one or both of these designations.
Pasture raised hens live the good life. Regulations mandate that flocks designated as “Pasture-Raised” be provided year-round pasture at no more than 1000 birds per 2.5 acres and that the fields must be regularly rotated. These hens are always able to wander outdoors and peck away at green stuff to their heart’s content.
Requirements for egg producers who want to put the “USDA Organic” label on their egg cartons include giving hens adequate indoor space to prevent overcrowding and allowing them access to fresh air and sunlight. Most organic egg producers happily follow these regulations because they believe these higher standards allow for more humane conditions for their hens and result in better eggs for consumers. There are, unfortunately, some large egg producers who legally label their eggs as organic by following the letter, but not the spirit of the law. By worming through loopholes, these producers can charge the higher price that organic eggs command without really following any humane flock husbandry practices. I’ve written at length on that situation here.
Should organic, pasture-raised eggs go in the fridge? Of course. While these hens live much better lives than battery cage hens, they still probably live in facilities with at least 3000 birds, thus fall under the Egg Safety Rules regarding washing and refrigeration.
Which leads us back to IMPORTANT ANSWER #2-If the egg has been refrigerated, it needs to stay refrigerated until use.
I just bought some eggs from my local farmer. There are maybe a couple hundred hens in the flock and they wander around like free birds. The coop smells like patchouli and the farmer pipes the Grateful Dead into the coop for the hens’ enjoyment while they’re laying eggs. The eggs come in a rainbow of colors and I’d like to display them on a shelf. Is that okay?
Oh! Happy chickens! And patchouli? Seriously? Plus, The Grateful Dead? These birds are cluckin’ like the doodah hen!
If there are just a couple hundred happy hens in this fortunate flock, the federal Egg Safety Rules don’t apply. But there are plenty of state and local laws that regulate eggs. And many of these regulations cover commercial eggs from smaller producers. Most state and local regulations mandate washing and refrigeration. Here’s a list of egg regulations by state.
So, assuming your patchouli hen farmer friend is required to wash and refrigerate his eggs, we have to stick with IMPORTANT ANSWER #2-If the egg has been refrigerated, it needs to stay refrigerated until use.
My neighbor has seven backyard hens. She gathers eggs and puts them into a bowl on her kitchen counter. Whenever I want eggs, I just knock on her door and ask. She always points to the bowl and says, “Help yourself!” Do I need to refrigerate these eggs or can I keep them in a bowl on my own counter?
What a nice neighbor! Since these eggs are not being sold, they’re not subject to any regulations. She can certainly keep them on a bowl on her counter, and so can you. Or get a nifty egg dispenser!
Here, we’re guided by IMPORTANT ANSWER #1- If the egg has never been refrigerated, it is possible to store it at room temperature.
I have my own flock. I bring my eggs inside from the coop and put them into my attractive wall-mounted egg dispenser. It’s ok to do this, right?
Yep.
IMPORTANT ANSWER #1- If the egg has never been refrigerated, it is possible to store it at room temperature.
I like to make my own mayo, and my recipe calls for raw eggs. All things considered, are the safest eggs to use raw those from well-tended small flocks, or large flocks of over 3000 chickens where all those regulations are in play and the eggs have been washed?
Umm….Don’t eat raw eggs. You hate that answer, right? I know. But the bottom line is that you shouldn’t eat meat, milk, eggs, or any animal product without it being cooked, unless it’s been pasteurized. Every qualified public health and medical professional will agree with that statement. Salmonella remains a problem in commercial eggs, and the number of cases of salmonella acquired from backyard flocks continues to increase every year.
Use pasteurized eggs in that mayo! If you have a flock of faithful hens making eggs for you every day, you’ll think it’s ludicrous to go to the store and buy pasteurized eggs. But unfortunately, while there are reliable home-pasteurizers for milk, no such device exists for eggs. If you do a web search you can find any number of websites touting at-home egg pasteurization methods. I can’t vouch for any of them. The USDA states that “it is very difficult to pasteurize shell eggs at home without cooking the contents of the egg.” This is a problem that needs a solution! If you have some engineering savvy and enjoy hollandaise, eggnog, and soft-cooked eggs, the world is waiting for your solution!
