Eggs are essential food in the home and the top item on most people’s shopping lists, but it has long been debated where the best place to keep them fresh is in your kitchen.
Although they have a long shelf life, there has been a fierce debate among shoppers if eggs will keep better if stored in the fridge or last longer on the kitchen counter,
However, one professional chef appears to have solved the controversial food argument once and for all – and it turns out the colder temperature is best.
Anna Williams is the Head Pastry Chef at the award-winning restaurant Fallow, and explained that eggs should always be kept in the fridge but never on their designated shelf inside the fridge door.
Anna said: “Eggs are best kept on a middle fridge shelf close to the back in the cardboard they come in.
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She continued: “This location in the fridge is best to keep the eggs at a constant temperature and the cardboard boxes provide the perfect level of protection, plus they will have the expiry date on them.”
Eggs need a consistent cool temperature to keep their freshest and should be stored in their original packaging in temperatures between 0C and 4C.
The key aspect to making sure eggs do not spoil is keeping them at the same temperature. This is why eggs should not be placed in your fridge door as the constant change in temperature from the door opening and closing will make them more likely to spoil.
This is also why eggs are not refrigerated in supermarkets, as the sudden change in temperature from the cold fridge to a shopping trolly and then again placed in a cold home fridge would cause condensation and more likely to attract bacteria.
Your fridge door is best for keeping leftovers, sandwich fillings, and condiments according to Anna.
Britain’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has also agreed with Anna’s recommendation. They wrote: “Store whole eggs in a cool dry place, ideally in the fridge, until you use them.
“Storing eggs at a constant cool temperature will help to keep them safe.”
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However, if you have already cracked your eggs then a different food storage method is needed, and the egg yolks and whites need to be stored in a covered bowl away from your other ingredients.
Anna explained: “Bacteria can form on the porous eggshells and can easily contaminate the other eggs.”
According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the shelf limit for cracked eggs is only one day.
On the FSA, they wrote: “If you are breaking eggs to use later, do not keep large amounts of liquid egg at room temperature. Store it (covered) in the fridge and take out a small amount when you are ready to use it.
“Only break the eggs you will need for the day and avoid storing liquid egg for more than 24 hours. Never add new eggs to a batch of liquid egg – use up one batch and then start another. Make sure you rotate your stock by using the oldest eggs first.”
