My brother came home with a dozen eggs from a client who has chickens. They said, don't refrigerate! They'll last a week on the counter. This seems hard to get used to. But in the end, it won't matter - we used nine of them the first day.
Such a lovely gift! There are a few foods we are told not to refrigerate - eggs, tomatoes for example - that I find difficult not to put in the fridge. If I had a really cool larder then it would be easy, but I don't. The house gets too warm to keep things well out of the fridge, so I don't. I compromise by removing food early and bringing them it up to room temperature before I use or serve them. I can't guarantee to be able to use food quickly enough before it goes off.
I can understand that fresh eggs that haven't been washed don't *require* refrigeration, but it's not going to hurt the eggs, is it? I take it your brother's client doesn't wash them before passing them on...
Fresh tomatoes are a different things altogether. They tend to lose their texture and taste when stored in the fridge. Of course some store-bought tomatoes come with little of that to start with!
Well - what do unwashed eggs look like, Gretchen? I mean, they seemed clean, so I suppose they washed them, but I don't know.... The tomatoes, yes. We have one garden tomato left. One. I told my brother today he can have it. :)
I was assuming they weren't washed, because they say that it's washing that removes the protective layer that keeps them fresh whether refrigerated or not. What made me wonder was the emphatic, "Don't refrigerate them!" which sounded like a warning that it would affect the quality of the egg somehow. Why not, "You don't have to refrigerate these." ?
Because of my wondering, I did research on this question, and couldn't find one word about some idea that we "shouldn't" refrigerate them. Evidently you should definitely refrigerate the store-bought eggs after you bring them home because in this country the commercial egg sellers are by law required to store them refrigerated, and once they come out of the cold condensation will form and the moisture could encourage pathogens.
With homegrown eggs, usually there is an egg at least now and then that gets some poop or mud on it, but maybe the farmer just passed on the nice ones, and they are often pristine!
Yes, the store-bought eggs are from who-knows-where, although I actually buy the ones that say they're from my state. But I've recently been watching a youtube channel of a couple who've got a little farm going and the woman keeps a large wire basket of fresh eggs on her kitchen counter - and it is full! (she has six children) And then my brother comes home with fresh eggs and says to keep 'em on the counter!
Such a lovely gift!
ReplyDeleteThere are a few foods we are told not to refrigerate - eggs, tomatoes for example - that I find difficult not to put in the fridge. If I had a really cool larder then it would be easy, but I don't. The house gets too warm to keep things well out of the fridge, so I don't. I compromise by removing food early and bringing them it up to room temperature before I use or serve them. I can't guarantee to be able to use food quickly enough before it goes off.
Clare, we are a country filled with people warning you about this and that - I think only a farmer would keep their eggs on the counter!
DeleteI can understand that fresh eggs that haven't been washed don't *require* refrigeration, but it's not going to hurt the eggs, is it? I take it your brother's client doesn't wash them before passing them on...
ReplyDeleteFresh tomatoes are a different things altogether. They tend to lose their texture and taste when stored in the fridge. Of course some store-bought tomatoes come with little of that to start with!
Well - what do unwashed eggs look like, Gretchen? I mean, they seemed clean, so I suppose they washed them, but I don't know.... The tomatoes, yes. We have one garden tomato left. One. I told my brother today he can have it. :)
DeleteI was assuming they weren't washed, because they say that it's washing that removes the protective layer that keeps them fresh whether refrigerated or not. What made me wonder was the emphatic, "Don't refrigerate them!" which sounded like a warning that it would affect the quality of the egg somehow. Why not, "You don't have to refrigerate these." ?
ReplyDeleteBecause of my wondering, I did research on this question, and couldn't find one word about some idea that we "shouldn't" refrigerate them. Evidently you should definitely refrigerate the store-bought eggs after you bring them home because in this country the commercial egg sellers are by law required to store them refrigerated, and once they come out of the cold condensation will form and the moisture could encourage pathogens.
With homegrown eggs, usually there is an egg at least now and then that gets some poop or mud on it, but maybe the farmer just passed on the nice ones, and they are often pristine!
Yes, the store-bought eggs are from who-knows-where, although I actually buy the ones that say they're from my state. But I've recently been watching a youtube channel of a couple who've got a little farm going and the woman keeps a large wire basket of fresh eggs on her kitchen counter - and it is full! (she has six children)
DeleteAnd then my brother comes home with fresh eggs and says to keep 'em on the counter!