How to Store Fresh Eggs

Today a friend gave me two large cartons of fresh eggs collected from the chickens they have in their yard. The eggs are unwashed and have been stored 6 days on the counter at room temperature. I was told that as long as the eggs are unwashed they will keep on the kitchen counter a month or two. Does anyone have knowledge of this. I have searched online and have read nothing from a really reliable source.

I love fresh eggs; the taste seems so much richer.  The ones we have been gifted have always been washed and we put them straight in the fridge.  I don't think any of my "chicken folk" friends will be working tomorrow.  I'm sure the teacher would know, she raises chickens as pets and for eggs.  

I'm not sure but I'll ask my mother if she knows tomorrow.  One of her good friends raises chickens for eggs. They really do taste better!  We used to buy them from her regularly.

You can keep local, unwashed eggs on the counter for two weeks, maybe longer. I would not eat eggs stored on the counter for two months, though.

Eggs at grocery stores in the U.S. have been washed and their protective layer is gone, so they have to be stored in the refrigerator. Not only can salmonella enter the egg through the unprotected shell, but salmonella can already be in the egg. (Most hens over 2 years old have it.) Room temperature storage would allow the bacterial to grow like crazy, while refrigeration would keep their numbers at the safe level.

In the U.S., eggs are washed like crazy, sanitized, and the shells are bleached. They can get very dirty in bad laying conditions where salmonella thrives (and they get poop all over them in crowded conditions). In Great Britain, hens are immunized against salmonella, so the eggs are not washed. The eggs in Great Britain can be left on the counter or refrigerated.

I love fresh eggs! We used to have chickens, they are the best. Most grocery store eggs smell like wet dog to me and I can't eat them (organic ones are usually okay). We get them from a local farm share in the summer, along with the vegetables and fruit, can't wait to have them again this summer.

blueyedgirl5946 said:

Today a friend gave me two large cartons of fresh eggs collected from the chickens they have in their yard. The eggs are unwashed and have been stored 6 days on the counter at room temperature. I was told that as long as the eggs are unwashed they will keep on the kitchen counter a month or two. Does anyone have knowledge of this. I have searched online and have read nothing from a really reliable source.

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Yes, unwashed eggs still have their protective layer so they will last much longer than washed eggs.  My mom raises chickens and most of our eggs come from her.  We routinely use them 3-4 weeks after getting them.  They might last two months but I've never kept them that long.

I o hope I get some more answers here. Today, they are seven days old and on my kitchen counter. I am wondering if I should just set them in the fridge, clean them off right before I use them. Any opinions.

I am sorry you aren't getting many answers here.  Even though I grew up on a farm we didn't have chickens so I really have no idea.

I feel kind of stupid that I wasted my time writing a reply.

I think SwampWitch and betstgee gave you some very sound advice! Are you trying to hatch those eggs? Just put them in the refrigerator now, please.

SW.... . It's OK. I know nothing about farm-fresh eggs, so can't say anything at all.

Anne with Cats said:

I think SwampWitch and betstgee gave you some very sound advice! Are you trying to hatch those eggs? Just put them in the refrigerator now, please.

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I opened this thread because most of what I read online was conflicting advice. anne with cats I am not trying to hatch eggs. :lol3: @ SwampWitch and betsygee did give me some good advice. It agrees with what I was told by a person who raises free range chickens and sells the eggs at farmers markets. She said as Betsy did that three to four weeks on the counter is safe for unwashed eggs, not two months. The two months part agrees with what SwampWitch told me.

Thanks to everyone for the answers. When I was a child we had fresh eggs and they were kept in a bowl on the kitchen counter. We just had so many mouths to feed they disappeared quickly.

We had a "breakfast for supper" meal last night and ate some of these fresh chicken eggs. The yolks are so colorful and the eggs taste so much richer than the ones from the grocery. I am sure we are going to enjoy every last one of them. :lol3:

I took a photo once of the yolk of a fresh egg from my mom next to one from the store.  Wow, what a difference!

Enjoy those eggs.  

We love fresh eggs. We get them from a friend of mine. She always washes them and puts them in the fridge. They never last long at our house.

My BF is going to get some chickens from his mom once we get the pens at the house set up. She leaves hers unwashed on the counter, I'm not sure but they don't last long at her house either.

If I think my eggs are getting too old, I will boil them for salads or breakfast.

The fresh eggs are so much better than store bought.

I boiled a half dozen of them this morning and made egg salad for our lunch. Those egg yolks are just so rich looking. I did decide to put them in the refrigerator since I have plenty of room. They are in cartons, so I just put them there unwashed. I get the feeling they will last longer if not washed until ready to use because of the coating on the eggs. I did that because I already had a dozen from the store in my refrigerator. There are only two of us so I thought it might take us a while to eat four dozen eggs. The person who gave them to me showed me some "egg muffins" she made. She browned some sausage meat, stirred up some eggs, and mixed it together. Then she cooked it in muffin pans and her family was eating them for breakfast.

blueyedgirl5946 said:

I boiled a half dozen of them this morning and made egg salad for our lunch. Those egg yolks are just so rich looking. I did decide to put them in the refrigerator since I have plenty of room. They are in cartons, so I just put them there unwashed. I get the feeling they will last longer if not washed until ready to use because of the coating on the eggs. I did that because I already had a dozen from the store in my refrigerator. There are only two of us so I thought it might take us a while to eat four dozen eggs. The person who gave them to me showed me some "egg muffins" she made. She browned some sausage meat, stirred up some eggs, and mixed it together. Then she cooked it in muffin pans and her family was eating them for breakfast.

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Those are really good for a breakfast on the run. Add cheese and stuff like you would for an omelet and bake them in muffin pans and you have a ready made breakfast. You can wrap them in a tortilla and voila! breakfast FAST.

SwampWitch said:

 
I feel kind of stupid that I wasted my time writing a reply.

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I read you and that was very informative.  Not a total waste of time.  I knew that in some areas they do not refridgerate , But never knew why I do.

We used to get fresh eggs from my FIL's farm. Man those things were hard to crack open! Super strong shells. They always had really bright orangey yolks too. Very different from the ones in store.
I would love to be able to raise my own chooks and have fresh eggs like that.

I just read an interesting article about storing eggs:

http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/20...-not-store-your-eggs-in-the-refrigerator.html

Yes, I think it is better to store fresh eggs on the counter. When I was getting so many of them I did a lot of educating myself and realized the general rule is to do just that. When I had them I never did "wash" them under the running water at the sink. I dampened a paper towel and wiped each one before cracking.

I did have a bad experience with the last fresh eggs I got from that person. I did that to the last dozen eggs I had purchased from her. Then I boiled them to make deviled eggs to take somewhere. Oh my, there was a huge black spot in each egg. I don't know if they were spoiled or too fertile. I wondered if they had been sat on by the hen and maybe would have hatched. I started buying eggs at the store again after that. I am just so glad I didn't bite into one of them because I do like hard boiled eggs. :lol3: