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Confused about eggs
We went to the Farmer's Market this morning, and some of the vendors had eggs. They were in crates, and not refrigerated. I did some reading online about this, and I am assuming it is because the eggs are not pasteurized. The eggs we buy at the grocery store are obviously refrigerated, so I assume they ARE pasteurized?
Are the eggs from the Farmer's Market safe to eat? I cook eggs either scrambled or over hard, but my husband eats them over easy.
Has anyone checked with their doctor, or does anyone here have chickens that could give some info?
Thanks!
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Re: Confused about eggs
Only some eggs at the grocery store are pasteurized. They need to be refrigerated b/c the USDA requires that they be cleaned, which makes the egg shell porous.
The ones at the farmer's market likely need to be refrigerated, as well, to conform w/ USDA standards, but in general you can leave eggs on the counter for a day (or more, really) with no issues.
Don't be afraid to cook with them. If they are "happy" chicken eggs (free to roam or in a big coop) they are much less likely to be contaminated with bacteria than in an industrial chicken coop.
Joseph Henry was born at home on March 9, 2009
Nora Mae was born at home on October 30, 2011
In Italy they never seemed to refrigerate them...just sold them off the regular shelves. lol, I didn't even know they could pasteurize shell eggs. I think i'd be more comfortable with the fresh farm eggs. i think if they were bad you would know it by the smell (think Easter when people don't find them all in the hunt and they start to smell...eww, hydrogen sulfide)
Or put the eggs in water...If the eggs continue to float on the surface of the water, that means they have gone bad and should not be consumed.
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I didn't read any of the responses so I might be repeating answers but I'm on the way out the door. Fresh eggs actually don't need to be refrigerated. In England, or at least parts of it, they sell them on the regular shelves. The eggs you buy at the store ARE NOT pasteurized. They need to be cooked to hard to be fully safe so technically when you eat a runny yoke you open yourself up to the possibility of salmonella. That's why restaurants always have little warnings at the bottom of their menus about eating undercooked foods. That said, I love a good runny yoke.
You can buy pasteurized eggs but they're a specialty item and are more expensive. You usually only would buy them if you're making homemade egg nog or mayonnaise and are concerned about salmonella.
I think once they are washed they need to be refrigerated. As eggs sold in stores are washed, they are kept refrigerated.
We have chickens. They are free range (locked up in a coop only at night). During the day they have free run of our 3ish acres (or the neighbors land...thank goodness they don't mind). So sometimes we find nests that have probably been there a few days. There are fine for eating. You can always try the float test to see if an egg is good or bad. (Or as DH says, just throw one at the side of a barn far away from you. If you can smell it, don't eat it!)
We've even been known to leave eggs sitting in a bowl of cold water overnight in the kitchen sink (make them easier to clean).
In most of Asia or half of Europe or in Mexico they don't refrigerate eggs. They'll be fine.