How Long Do Farm Fresh Eggs Last?

It's no secret that farm fresh eggs have a significantly longer shelf life than store bought. Here's the rundown on how to store for the longest shelf life.

UNWASHED EGGS

• Unwashed eggs have a natural protective cuticle or the "bloom" still in tact.
• Can be stored 2-3 weeks at room temperature on the counter
• We recommend refrigerating, where the shelf life is 3-5+ months
• We recommend washing before use as well
• We do our best to provide our eggs unwashed, but this can be difficult, especially during times of wet weather. We will NOT sell eggs that are visibly dirty, so we do wash them when necessary.

WASHED EGGS

• Washing eggs removes the natural protective cuticle, making the shelf life a little shorter
• Must be refrigerated
• Last about 2 months in the refrigerator

THE EGG FLOAT TEST FOR FRESHNESS

Fresh eggs have a shelf life that can vary quite a bit. We have provided the general recommendations above, but we would be lying if we said those numbers always held true. Perhaps there is a crack not visible to the eye that causes premature spoilage. With older eggs, we have had them far exceeded the general guidelines and were still good.

As a rule of thumb, we generally do an egg test after the first month, just to be sure that they are good. It only takes a quick second, and can be done while you are washing your eggs.

1. Fill a bowl with lukewarm water. Make sure your bowl is deep enough for about 2 eggs height (you will see why later). If you don't have a tall bowl handy, you might find that your husband's favorite Glenlivet glass is the perfect size for egg testing.

2. Gently drop the egg into the bowl, being careful not to crack it on it's journey down. 

3. Check to see where the egg stays

• Egg Sinks: (pictured above) This means the egg is very fresh. The egg above was collected today. Fresh from the rump.

• Egg stands with feet on the ground: This means the egg isn't super fresh, but it isn't bad either. Safe to eat, and better to hard boil than a very fresh egg (much easier to peel). 

• Egg floats and breaks the surface: DO NOT EAT - this is a bad egg. This is a pullet egg I set aside 6 months ago for another egg experiment...that I forgot to do...and kept pushing it to the back of the fridge... but I digress...If it floats, it's a NOPES!

Hope this helps! 

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