.......In the fridge or out of the fridge?
Where do you keep yours?
I get my eggs from a neighbour who runs a poultry farm nearby. Lovely fresh eggs, when I want them, varying in size and colour with beautiful deep yellow yolks. I usually buy a tray of 36 eggs (at a mere £3.80) that last for a couple of weeks. We get through quite a few - breakfasts of boiled, poached or scrambled eggs; Yorkshire puddings, omelettes, pancakes and of course the odd cake or two.
Most recipes ask for room temperature eggs which I do. But when poaching an egg, I have for years put them in the boiling water straight from the fridge, where they end up with the whites swimming messily around the pan and end up looking very sad indeed. So today I tried room temperature and - hey presto they looked normal. In fact my best yet - and a tip from my grown up son no less.
Then there's boiled eggs. My husband, like his late mother, brings the water to a boil and then puts the egg in for four or sometimes five minutes depending how soft/firm you want it - but they always crack. I put mine in cold water and after the've come to the boil, time them for three minutes. So, on the odd occasion that we may have gone away and the hotel/guest house asks if we want a 3 or 4 minute egg, we have to go into the whole tirade of asking how they do it - cold water or hot water?
So - what is the consensus of opinion?
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Incidentally, my dear friend Val at Val's Alentejo asked me to say Hi to all those who know her. She is having some blogging problems at the moment as well as busy with her family but hopes to see you all again very soon.
Patricia x
I don't really eat eggs! I make vegan pancakes and don't bake. Very occasionally, I fancy scrambled egg on toast, but that's it, and that's rare. My mum keeps eggs in the fridge but other people in the family kept them in a wire basket so I've never know what the best egg storage way is - but I don't worry about it too much as I don't 'do' eggs!
ReplyDeleteAlways in the fridge for me as my kitchen gets very hot in summer. If I remember, I take them out about an hour before baking (plus butter or marg) so things are a bit warmer. We use an electronic egg cooker and place them straight in there from the fridge, same for all other cooking of eggs. I thought the thickness of the whites and whether they spread or not, was more to do with the freshness of the egg.
ReplyDeleteHi Patricia, the truth is I have never given much thought to eggs. I do keep mine in the refrigerator, but then I buy them at the market, and they are far from being as fresh as you get from the poultry farm. I wish I had a farmer to buy eggs from. When it comes to boiling eggs I always start with cold water, because that's the way my Mom did it :) This is a very interesting post . . . I know that I'll be giving more thought to my eggs now :)
ReplyDeleteKeep Smiling, Connie :)
I'm not really an 'egg' person, I use them for baking cakes but very rarely eat them as eggs - unless I'm on holiday when I will eat scrambled eggs for breakfast. My mother used to keep her eggs in one of those pottery hens which I now have but we keep our eggs in the box we buy them in the the larder cupboard:)
ReplyDeleteMy mum always had her eggs but we have always had ours in the fridge. My husband always cooks his boiled eggs after they have boiled. I do the same as you and cook them with cold water.
ReplyDeleteSarah x
I keep mine in the fridge as we don't use many, being porridge for breakfast people. :-) But I do take them out and bring them to room temperature if a recipe demands it. I cook boiled eggs in boiling water but pierce the shells first to stop them cracking.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear Val's got blogging problems again.
I keep mine in the fridge. We don't use a lot of eggs, maybe a dozen per week, but I rarely eat eggs by themselves. My husband and kids will, but I just never developed a taste for them. So I think that if I ate more eggs, we might have a different storage situation because maybe they wouldn't fit in the fridge? I'm not sure...haha, it's not something I've thought about before but you've given me something to ponder... :)
ReplyDeleteI keep mine on a shelf in the kitchen. I usually buy a dozen a week as I use eggs a lot mainly in baking and recipes usually say to have ingredients at room temperature. I love sof boiled eggs but rarely get them just how I like them so I tend to poach them in clingfilm, it always works.
ReplyDeleteMine are in the fridge,they taste fine but I don'y do cakes very often so not qualified to comment really,jusy wanted to say hello Patricia!!!
ReplyDeleteI do keep mine in the fridge although I am happy to leave them out and would not worry about them 'going off'. Unlike other food products!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has 6 chickens and 2 ducks so I do get fresh eggs when there are some to spare. I use lots in cooking, they are so versatile and agree with you, I put mine in cold water and bring to the boil too. Mine also crack otherwise! Great post and photos.
In the fridge, room temp for baking and cold water plus 3 mins once boiling :-) That's the egg policy in our home!
ReplyDeleteGreat post and fun to read the different opinions & comments... and I could really go a boiled egg & soldiers right now - your fab pics have made me hungry!
Happy weekend,
Xx
In the fridge then pull them out when I know I need them.
ReplyDeleteI am a very eggy person I love them in every different way - I think it comes from keeping hens and ducks for so many years and having such an abundance to get rid of.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like I am on my own. I leave mine out of the fridge - in fact I put very little in the fridge these days. I heard an item on the radio from a food expert who said you should keep products in the temperature environment that they come from. Fruit and veg grow outside and the fridge is an alien place for them. You never see eggs in the fridge at the shops - likewise fruit and veg. I am finding that my tomatoes are lasting longer as are the salad products which I now keep in the cool utility room.
ReplyDeleteSo pleased to learn that Val is alright - I had been wondering what had happened to her.
You've chosen a good subject and have got lots of replies, Patricia, all very interesting..We don't eat many eggs - perhaps one meal a week and then I keep half a dozen eggs for baking a cake, usually once a week. The eggs are kept in the fridge. Because we don't eat many a meal of an omelette and chips makes a change and a recent lunch out with a friend was a poached egg with hollandaise sauce!
ReplyDeleteI love eggs, but only eat one or two per week, and bake rarely. They have to live in the fridge here, as it is much too hot to have them out. I think eggs look lovely displayed in a wire basket in a kitchen but it would not be wise! I try to bring them to room temperature before baking, for better results. And I boil from cold water, to avoid cracking. After reading all the comments I think bacon and eggs might be the Saturday breakfast of choice for us! Great topic Patricia x
ReplyDeleteIt's funny you should bring this up. We were just talking about the fact that some Brits leave their eggs at room temperature. I have never known anyone in Canada to do that. If the recipe calls for the eggs to be at room temp I just take them out of the fridge a bit ahead of when I need them. Unfortunately salmonella is a problem with both eggs and raw chicken. I have had salmonella from undercooked chicken eaten at a restaurant and never want to repeat that experience!
ReplyDeleteMine are always kept at room temperature Patricia. I never used to years ago but now because I tend to do a lot of baking I do. Eggs for baking are better at room temperature.
ReplyDeleteEggs- such a simple food yet such a great discussion- Boiled, fried, poached, scrambled, Florentine, pancakes, French toast, baking- so many uses! I keep my eggs in the fridge as it's too hot not to- but then always take them out to room temp before I bake. As for boiling- cold water first- and then I take them out whenever I remember that I put them on in the first place!! :)
ReplyDeleteI used to keep mine in the fridge til I read that when you buy them, they aren't in the chiller cabinets, but on ordinary shelves - something I'd not twigged to previously! So I now keep them out on the kitchen bench in a big old fashioned wire egg basket.
ReplyDeleteBH x
(I now fancy really a poached egg on toast too...!)
You shouldn't put eggs n the fridge! Room temp, and use them regularly! We put WAY too much stuff in the fridge that really needs to be kept at room temperature. Chilled tomatoes are my worst nightmare!! Lx
ReplyDeleteI keep mine in the fridge. For boiled eggs I put them into cold water and time three minutes from when the water starts boiling. For baking I take them out of the fridge well in advance to warm up.
ReplyDeletePatricia, I have the same questions!
ReplyDeleteI love soft egg so I bring the water to boiling then I stand an egg on a table to warm it a little after fridge and when the water boils I omit an egg for 6-7 minutes,
but sometimes it still cracks and the protein flows away in water!!
Have a nice week!
I love eggs, and have always refrigerated them. My favorite way is to scramble or make an omelette! I've never thought of keeping them at room temperature, but might try it. :). I'm a little neurotic about possible food bourne illness. But if i can get past it, next time i buy, i might try leaving them out. Great pist!
ReplyDeleteGosh sorry, i meant post. :)
ReplyDeleteA tricky one Patricia! I keep them in the fridge, but take them out for a little while before making cakes etc. They wouldn't last very well here left out all the time, in our heat/heating during summer/winter.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Betty