Where do you store your eggs?

I saw the title of this post and just had to read it and post. English humour I guess but it's brightened up rather a heavy case I'm working on this afternoon.

We keep ours in the fridge though I'm frequently told they should be kept out

Also...once you do refrigerate your eggs, they then need to stay refrigerated (not deciding later to set the same eggs out at room temperature)...

Calling upon ksand24's vast knowledge from an old thread:

Basically, when eggs are first laid, they have a protective layer on them to prevent them going bad. This layer remains intact unless the eggs are stored above or below a certain temperature - so as soon as they are put in the fridge, the layer breaks down and they must be kept in the fridge or they will go bad.

In the UK (and other areas of the world), eggs are not washed/cleaned before they are sold in the supermarket and so they still have their protective layer intact and are safe to be kept at room temperature. However, once you get them home and put them in the fridge, they have to be kept in the fridge.

In the US, though, USDA standards require that all eggs are washed/cleaned before they are sold and so the protective layer is destroyed and so they have to be kept in the fridge in the supermarket to prevent them going bad.

As long as you don't put them in a fridge or in a hot room, they will stay fresh at room temperature until you want to use them .

Read all about it on the old thread here.

We keep ours in the fridge out of habit. MIL keeps hers in the cabinet, and they have always been fine if I've ever had to borrow any.

On an aside...last year I bought a 15 pack of eggs at Morrisons and they all had double yolks. How nuts is that?

We bought an 18 pack from Morrisons sometime last year, and about 14 of them were double yolks. Interesting that there would be two packs with so many. Ours were from the Blackburn store.

Well its nice to know I'm not the only one to keep them in the fridge just out of habit   Maybe someday when we have more space I can get a nice bowl for them.

I still keep mine in the fridge, partially out of habit and partially because a 6-pack may be around for a week or it may be 3 weeks (in which case I use them for baking).

I've never been totally sure what to do, plus we really don't know the temperature they may have been subjected to at any point during the 'chicken to shelf' journey. Different when my neighbor brings me eggs from his friend who lives on a local farm; I know those eggs are totally fresh, and even when they were gathered.

We keep ours in the fridge. It came with an egg-holder thing so we must not be the only ones. We have a pretty big fridge though and not much counter space so it was the obvious decision.

Now, do you wash your eggs before cracking them? Am I the only one to even consider this? They're pre-washed in the states and sometimes the ones with feathers on them are just a little icky looking, especially if you accidentally break loads of shell in!

I definitely wash them, especially the free range eggs. Feathers don't bother me, but the other (ah) stuff that may be on the shell is a definite no-no 

we buy farm fresh eggs (straight fresh off the farm, not seen a store shelf EVER!) and put them in the fridge we go through them so quickly, we don't need to worry bout the best-by-date.

Room temperature & often past their sell by date! 

Me too in the carton so they are not exposed to light. Lately I've been boiling eggs as a quick takeaway food option. Usually I'll boil up four or so and leave them on the counter or fridge and eat them plain or in a salad.

Room temperature & often past their sell by date!  I just give 'em a sniff when I crack them usually.

This!

I had to reply to this thread for a couple of reasons: 1) I love eggs and always have some around and 2) I'm a pastry chef, so I'll go through dozens of eggs in a day.  There's a lot of debate about this and there are valid points about where to keep eggs. 

First, that date printed on the egg is a BEST by date, not a use by date.  Big difference meaning they'll start losing quality once it passes that point, but they're still safe to eat. 

Second, the chances of getting salmonella from an egg these days is pretty slim, according to a 2004 report by the Food Safety Agency, the prevalence of salmonella in eggs

Statistical analysis of the contamination rate of Salmonella in a box of 6 eggs showed that the overall prevalence of Salmonella in a box of six eggs
was 0.34% for the UK as a whole, i.e. around 1 box in every 290 boxes.

  Storage doesn't really affect whether you'll get sick or not, it's more about proper cooking and avoiding cracked eggs.  If an egg happens to be infected with any bacteria, storing them in the fridge will control the multiplication of bacteria, so you can imagine what might happen to an egg if it's been sitting on your warm kitchen counter for even a few days.  Perfect conditions for bacterial growth: warmth, protein rich food source and plenty of water to consume!

Having said these, eggs work best at room temperature, especially for meringues and baking, so if ya keep them in the fridge, leave them out to warm up. 

I'd be leery of leaving them out, but if you do, then don't use them for anything that needs raw or undercooked eggs. 

I definitely wash them, especially the free range eggs. Feathers don't bother me, but the other (ah) stuff that may be on the shell is a definite no-no 

Good point!!! Never thought that through and now I am grossed out.  So after washing them would you have to store them in the fridge or just wash them before you crack them?? 

Just before you crack. Eggs have a protective coating on them until you wash them.

I wash just before I crack mine - even though they are kept in the fridge. Chickens are not particularly wonderful clean animals. Even if I know the farm where they live, I don't want 'stuff' in my cake or on my plate.

All my relatives kept chickens when I was a kid as did most of the neighbors. My mother didn't like the mess, so we never had them, but I certainly know first hand what a mess they can make.