How Do I Store Eggs?

Do you use a lot of eggs at home? It’s important to store eggs correctly to keep them fresh and to keep them safe for your family to eat.

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There are a few things you need to keep in mind when you’re using fresh eggs at home. Let’s talk about where and how to store eggs, how long you can keep eggs, and how to know if eggs are still fresh.

Where Should I Store My Eggs?

In the United States, eggs should be stored in the refrigerator. Many other countries store eggs at room temperature. Eggs are handled differently between the farm and the grocery store in the United States, and that means we need to handle our eggs a little differently at home.

When a hen lays an egg, the egg has a protective coating on the outside surface, called the “cuticle” or “bloom.” Eggshells have thousands of tiny pores, which can let air, moisture, and bacteria in and out of the eggshell. The cuticle helps to block those pores and keep the egg fresh.

In the US, the United States Department of Agriculture requires that eggs are washed before they are packaged to help prevent the spread of Salmonella. While washing the eggs does help remove Salmonella from the surface of the egg, it also removes the cuticle. This means that the egg has lost some of its natural defenses, and needs to be refrigerated to protect against the growth of other bacteria.

Many other countries do not wash eggs in this way, so they can be stored at room temperature.

How Should I Store Eggs in the Refrigerator?

You should always store your eggs on a shelf in the refrigerator, not on the door. Because the refrigerator door is opened and closed all the time, the temperature can fluctuate. Storing eggs on a shelf inside will help to keep the temperature more constant, and your eggs fresher.

Keep your eggs inside their original carton or transfer them to a covered container like this one. The carton helps to protect the eggs from breaking. It also helps protect the eggs from absorbing any strange smells from your refrigerator. Remember those pores we talked about a minute ago? Those will let funny smells in, too. So keep your eggs covered!

Eggs should be stored with the large side up (pointed side down). There is a small air sac in the large end of the egg. Storing eggs with the air sac (large end) up, helps to keep them from drying out. (Yep, those pores let moisture out of the egg, too!) This will also help to keep the yolk centered in the egg. That’s not such a big deal if you’re just going to scramble them, but it does make prettier hard-boiled eggs.

How Long Can I Keep Eggs?

These are the recommendations from FoodSafety.gov on how long to store eggs before you use them.

Whole eggs can be kept in your refrigerator for 3-5 weeks past the pack date.
Any leftover egg whites or yolks should be covered and refrigerated immediately. Cover egg yolks with a little bit of water to keep them from drying out. Drain the water before using. Use these within 2-4 days.
Cooked egg dishes (casserole, quiche, etc) should also be stored covered in the refrigerator and used within 3 days (just like any other leftovers).
Hard-boiled eggs will stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Liquid egg substitutes can be kept up to 10 days before the carton is opened, but should be used within 3 days after opening.

You can also freeze eggs if you won’t use them up. Crack and lightly scramble eggs, and freeze in small containers (ice cube trays work well). Only thaw as much as you need to cook. When you thaw scrambled eggs, 3 Tablespoons is roughly equal to 1 large egg.

Freeze egg whites in an ice cube tray. Two teaspoons of thawed egg white is equal to 1 large egg white.
Egg yolks can be frozen, but they need a little special treatment. Over time, they can become very gummy in the freezer, and are difficult to use. Before freezing, scramble 4 egg yolks with 1/8 teaspoon of salt or 4 egg yolks with 1.5 teaspoons of sugar. When thawed, 1 Tablespoon of egg yolk is equal to 1 large egg yolk.

How Can I Tell if an Egg is Fresh?

You can do a “float test” to see how fresh your eggs are. Check out this post for more details! (And get a free printable cheat sheet to keep in your kitchen.)

When you break an egg, look for the shape of the yolk, the thickness of the white, and the cloudiness of the white. In a fresh egg, the yolk will be round and tall, the white will be thick and may be cloudy. The cloudiness in an egg white is from the carbon dioxide that is in the white when the egg is laid. More cloudiness means more carbon dioxide, which means a fresher egg. As eggs age, the yolks start to flatten out and can break easily. The egg white becomes runnier and more clear.

Enjoy!

How Do I Store Eggs?