Storing Eggs

Buying and Storing Tips

Only buy refrigerated eggs with clean, unbroken shells.

It is best not to wash eggs before storing or using them. Washing is a routine part of commercial egg processing and the eggs do not need to be rewashed.

At home, keep raw eggs in their original carton on an inside shelf in the refrigerator (40 °F). For best quality, use within 5 weeks after bringing them home.

Keep hard-cooked eggs (in the shell or peeled) in the refrigerator (40 °F). Use within 1 week after cooking.

Most eggs sold today are infertile; roosters are not housed with the laying hens. Shell color depends on the breed of the hen. Yolk color depends on the feed the hen consumes. There is no nutritional difference between fertile and infertile eggs, brown- and white-shelled eggs, or pale or dark egg yolks.