As sure as eggs is eggs
 

This topic came up recently and I just came across this
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nadiaaru...nd-vice-versa/

Sort of like pork - which in europe is often eaten not well done. While in the US it's essentially a crime to serve pork that is not thoroughly cooked - due to the risk of trichinosis.

The trichinosis risk is an old canard... from Wikipedia:

"Between 2002 and 2007, 11 cases were reported to CDC each year on average in the United States; these were mostly the result of eating undercooked game, bear meat, or home-reared pigs."

Meaning your chances of getting sick are extremely low.

Trichinosis is very rare in western Europe, although there are cases in Eastern Europe. In Western Europe, horse meat has caused occasional cases, and there were a few cases in France traced to wild boar.

Many pork products in Europe, such as cured hams (prosciutto, etc.), dried sausages, and salamis are not cooked at all.

Getting back to eggs, this washing/not washing divergence is a bit ridiculous. Most of these rules, both in the EU and in the US, are suggested by big ag interests, and have the main scope of banning the competition.

Another difference we noticed about eggs--In the US, they are kept in the refrigerator but in the UK we noticed eggs sitting outside on the counters in the restaurants.

I had an aunt who raised chickens for their eggs. The collected eggs sat out for days after being laid. I had do idea how risky that practice was. Same thing with freshly milked milk being poured out of the bucket through a piece of cheesecloth.

Guess we were really lucky.

No one I know in France refrigerates eggs. We don't refrigerate them either in France or here at home in the USA.

Another difference we noticed about eggs--In the US, they are kept in the refrigerator but in the UK we noticed eggs sitting outside on the counters in the restaurants.>>


en - if you read the article to the end, you will see that refrigeration inhibits the growth of the salmonella bacterium, which matters in the US but not in the EU, where 90% of hens are vaccinated against it. this has led to a very big fall in the amount of cases of salmonella infection. Vaccination is not compulsory in the US, which is why refrigeration is necessary.

We keep our eggs in the fridge here in Switzerland, but not for health reasons. Counter space in our kitchen is at a premium and were they left out on the counter, eventually they'd get knocked off by accident. So the fridge is a safer place -- for them.

FWIW, even though the European style is not to fridge eggs, all the bigger (not U.S. size, but not under the counter models either) fridges we see for sale have egg trays anyway.

Sailors, taking ocean voyages, buy eggs and keep them for several weeks, just turning them every day or so to keep the yolks centred. They last very well. The hardest part (in North America) is finding eggs that have not been refrigerated to start with. You can't keep them for any time at all without refrigeration.

The hardest part (in North America) is finding eggs that have not been refrigerated to start with. You can't keep them for any time at all without refrigeration.>>

that's probably because they weren't fresh to begin with. Having kept our own hens for years, if I ever have to use bought ones I notice how much less fresh they are than the ones I am used to. to test for freshness, drop the egg into a basin of cold water. the closer to the top the "blunt end" floats, the older it is. if it rests on its side on the bottom, then it's fresh.

In Italy, eggs are often, but not always, sold unrefrigerated, but everyone I know keeps their eggs in the refrigerator, maybe for convenience.

Maybe I misunderstand Jane, but I don't know why having been refrigerated initially means that they will spoil without refrigeration after that. What is the scientific explanation of that?

<< I don't know why having been refrigerated initially means that they will spoil without refrigeration after that. What is the scientific explanation of that?>>

If refrigeration halts the salmonella growth, then removal from refrigeration removes the block on salmonella growth and the little buggers will populate. Then refrigerating again doesn't KILL the bacteria it just keeps the population level stable.

bvlenci You interpreted me correctly. I'm not sure what the scientific reason is either. I just know that we had to find unrefrigerated eggs to start with. It probably has something to do with freshness. We also found only unrefrigerated eggs in supermarkets in Australia and New Zealand.

Just read on line, for what it is worth, that North American eggs are power washed to remove debris and this process removes the egg's natural protective coating, allowing it to be more porous. I do know that many sailors coat eggs with vaseline if they want to store them for a long time. We never did this as we didn't take any extended ocean voyages.

Never kept my eggs in the fridge, now I know why!

Thank you, Janet. I knew someone would eventually get it. This has actually been explained on this forum before.

Annhig,

Thanks for the explanation for the different treatment.

that's ok, en.

We never refrigerate our eggs but then when know where they came from!

Big Russ, your explanation doesn't explain anything. If you put one egg in the refrigerator for two days and one on the counter, then remove the refrigerated egg, why would the egg that's been sitting on the counter for two days spoil more slowly? The salmonella would have had a head start, wouldn't it? I don't think refrigeration kick starts salmonella growth.

The power washing may explain it, but then the problem is not refrigeration per se.

When I was a child, we used to "candle" eggs that we collected from free range hens, because we couldn't tell how long ago they'd been laid. This means holding them up to a light (once upon a time, necessarily a candle) to see how big the air bubble was; it would be the equivalent of seeing whether they sink or float.

bvl - are you sure that's why you candled them? we do it to fertilised eggs that have been incubating for a week or so to see if there is an embryo. if there is, it shows up as a darker patch in the middle of the egg so those stay in the incubator [or under the hen]; if not, there's nothing there and we chuck them away.

but I agree with you about whether taking an egg out of the fridge would kick-start salmonella - that makes no sense.

I always wondered why fridges came with those wee plastic boards with 6 holes in. Eggs in fridges, you'll be getting us to make solid water next.

I knew there was a reason that I don't eat eggs.

Eggs is the US are powerwashed, which does remove the protective coating. But then, they're coated with a substance (oil based, I believe) to protect them.

Which is why, in the US, raw eggs keep much longer than hard boiled eggs (the boiling removes the coating).

As for pork in the US, once it became illegal for pork producers to stop feeding raw garage to pigs, the disease risk went way down. It's reasonably common to see pork cooked to 'medium' in the US now (especially in restaurants that know their suppliers particularly well).

<We don't refrigerate them either in France or here at home in the USA.>
Unless you know that the hens laying the eggs have been vaccinated against salmonella, AND that the farmer does NOT wash them after they are laid, this is not wise.

http://io9.com/americans-why-do-you-...ggs-1465309529

This article also explains why eggs should be held at a constant temperature:

<European Union laws again note that – like washing – refrigeration could actually wind up posing a risk to consumers. Again according to European egg marketing regulations, eggs that are stored cold and later left out at room temperatures could become covered in condensation, "facilitating the growth of bacteria on the shell and probably their ingression into the egg." EU guidelines therefore stipulate that eggs should be transported and stored at as constant a temperature as possible...>

Now there's an explanation that makes some sense from the scientific point of view, although I don't think the condensation would remain on the egg long enough to pose a serious risk of bacterial growth. You could get rid of the condensation, also, and that should obviate the risk.

<I don't think the condensation would remain on the egg long enough to pose a serious risk of bacterial growth. >
Not to belabor a point, but here in Florida, the ambient humidity is such that I think the condensation would remain for some time--although I haven't tried it.

Is it too general to say that if you buy your eggs in a store in the US, you should refrigerate them no matter how cage free/hormone free/ antibiotic free/earth-and-chicken-friendly they are?

It's been quite a while since I was a child, so I don't like to swear to anything, but I'm pretty sure we were trying to see how old the eggs were.

Everything that you every wanted to know about egg candling, but were afraid to ask:

http://www.wikihow.com/Candle-an-Egg

It doesn't mention candling in order to estimate the age of an egg but who's to say it wouldn't work/