Question about eggs in Argentina

I went to Argentina over the summer and happened to notice that the Argentineans do not refrigerate their eggs.

I found all the eggs in the dry goods aisle, right next to say, a box of crackers. Growing up in America where we refrigerate our eggs or throw them out, I was quite confused.

Anyone know why or how this is the practice there? Do we unnecessarily refrigerate our eggs?

As it has been explained to me, eggs in this country are washed to remove dirt (reduced labor costs) and remove microbes (improved food safety). Washing also removes a protective layer so that refrigeration is recommended and often required. Not sure how much health danger there is with unwashed eggs or unrefrigerated/washed eggs, but I would guess the risk is low either way.

I lived in China for years, and they don't refrigerate their eggs, of course, they don't clean them either. I never really thought of it, I just left out on the counter, and except for occasional blood spots in the eggs ( I never just cracked an egg in to the pan), I never worried about it.

This Allexperts answer from U of IL Extension notes that we tend to store eggs longer than most cultures do, and offers a pantry life for eggs.

a lot of places don't refredgerate eggs.

Thanks everyone for their answers - the cleaning explanation seems to make some sense.

Eggs are not refrigerated in Mexico, either. Here's a shot from a Mexican supermarket.

To chime in with the perspective of other cultures, in Hungary the eggs are generally put out in the same manner as stevez's picture. I used to buy 6-packs of eggs and just keep them in the cupboard and use as needed. Never suffered any ill consequences from it. Here, I put them in the fridge because, well, that's just what we do here. When in Rome, and all that....

I remember being a bit freaked out seeing non-refrigerated eggs in grocery stores in Hong Kong.

I'm trying to remember and I think that in Chile I saw eggs in a cool cabinet in the grocery store - chicken eggs, that is. Quail eggs were not.

I apologize for the tangent, but does anyone know of a place in the Chicago area to get quail eggs? Delightful little things to eat hard-boiled. But the devil to devil, ha ha!

Speaking of eggs and refrigeration, I was just thinking that I often find quail eggs unrefrigerated; at H-Mart, they're often in with the produce. Marketplace on Oakton also often has them but with the chicken eggs in the fridge...

Ah, HMart! Didn't think of that. Thank you, Mhays!

Do you realize we're having a conversation about quail eggs at 3am? LTH is so much better for insomnia than monster movies...

I was just going to say ... you should go to bed! And so should I. Any minute now Sweet Baboo is going to semi-wake-up and make some noise about why I'm still onthe computer.

But I'm not done checking all the forums yet. And I'm pumped now 'cuz I found out where to get quail eggs!

You know you're an LTHer when...

HI,

Another source for quail as well as duck eggs is Captain Porky's in Zion, which is a GNR nominee. I would call in advance to double-check they are there, though I have reliably seen them at H-Mart and other Asian markets for years. At the Madison, WI Farmers Market, I saw Ostrich eggs on sale for $10 or $15 dollars both empty or filled.

At the some Asian grocery stores that sell duck eggs for Balut, it has happened the critters began to hatch before they were ever sold.

Regards,

Another quick data point: They don't refrigerate eggs in the UK, either. I spent most of 2006 in Birmingham and London and was fortunate enough to be based in a furnished apartments, which meant I could cook my meals when I wanted rather than eat out for every meal. The first time at a local grocery store I could not find the eggs for the life of me. They were located in the aisles. Also butcher shops have them located outside the refrigerated meat cases.

Perhaps one of the reasons that eggs are usually refrigerated here is because of what seems to me like the relatively common occurrence of finding at least one broken egg in a box. Without refrigeration, those duds would end up spoiling a lot faster. Perhaps our agro-biz egg farms geared to maximum output are producing thin-shelled eggs that break more easily than those in other markets?

Katie wrote:I remember being a bit freaked out seeing non-refrigerated eggs in grocery stores in Hong Kong.

I'm trying to remember and I think that in Chile I saw eggs in a cool cabinet in the grocery store - chicken eggs, that is. Quail eggs were not.

I apologize for the tangent, but does anyone know of a place in the Chicago area to get quail eggs? Delightful little things to eat hard-boiled. But the devil to devil, ha ha!

On the South Side, the local Pete's Markets usually have quail eggs in the regular egg section.

I was in some very modern supermarkets in Costa Rica about 2 years ago and saw the same thing - eggs were stacked in the dairy area of the store but definitely not refrigerated. Usually saw them at the end of an aisle or as a free standing display.

Believe it or not when I was in the Navy we didn't refrigerate our eggs on the submarine either. Space is the biggest consideration when storing food on board a submarine so anything that didn't need to be refrigerated didn't get refrigerated. Also, there is nothing worse than powdered eggs except perhaps powdered milk so the two things that took up a lot of space that were always loaded as much as possible were eggs and milk. As a result I can state that eggs stay surprisingly well in a dark cool dry space.

As a side note we always ran out of milk before we ran out of eggs, and that was always because of something that the jew in me could never get used to: people who drink milk with every meal. I have never kept kosher but still there seems something wrong about a glass of milk with prime rib and lobster (our fancy meal).

gtomaras wrote:As a side note we always ran out of milk before we ran out of eggs, and that was always because of something that the jew in me could never get used to: people who drink milk with every meal. I have never kept kosher but still there seems something wrong about a glass of milk with prime rib and lobster (our fancy meal).

You're right, prime rib and lobster really goes better with Coke!

Until I was a teenager, I had milk with every meal. My consumption has dropped considerably since someone insisted on skim milk exclusively.

Regards,