The Shelf Life of Eggs – What are Old Eggs?
Have you ever thought about the shelf life of eggs? Well, I have, and I’m still thinking about it. More specifically, I’m still experimenting. This fine January morning I enjoyed four nice fried eggs from a carton of 18 that were marked May of last year. That’s fully seven months ago that those eggs were harvested, cleaned, boxed and refrigerated.
If you’re into food storage, or you just want to stock up on eggs in the summer and fall for when your flock starts to reduce its egg production in the cooler and shorter days of the year, you’ll be happy to know that several months of storage is easy. And, six to seven months is entirely possible. I’ll keep you posted as I continue to push the envelope – taking egg storage to where no man has gone before! And, perhaps where no man should ever go again.
Getting eggs to last a long time isn’t just luck. You have to take care to do the following:
- Harvest the day they’re laid.
- Clean and dry them the same day as the harvest.
- Don’t store soiled or cracked eggs.
- Store them in foam egg cartons.
- Refrigerate them soon after cleaning.
This egg shows an air pocket that indicates months of storage in a cardboard carton, and/or an egg that is four to six months old.
My experience shows that cardboard egg cartons can wick away moisture from inside the egg shell over time. When moisture is wicked away, an air pocket starts to form within the shell.
Use foam egg cartons if you want to super extend the shelf life of eggs in the refrigerator.
Even though you’ve treated your eggs well right from the point of harvest (or from the point of sale), some can still go bad after a while. Rotten eggs are never welcome in the kitchen, and much less welcome in whatever you’re cooking, so you have to know how to identify bad eggs before you put them into whatever it is you’re fixing for grub.
I’ll share my approach to identifying bad eggs in an upcoming post.
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Clair Schwan keeps chickens mainly for fresh eggs. If you’re interested in raising chickens, he has plenty of experience and suggestions to share. Come see all of his advice about raising small animals for meat and eggs at Frugal Living Freedom, where the motto is “…living well, and well within your means…”
