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ok, so we're housesitting and they have chickens here. I collected 10 eggs yesterday and 6 more today. His sister says
she washes them in soapy water. I'm assuming its just dish water but does anyone with chickens do this too. This morning
I just rinsed them and put them in the fridge. When I was a kid we just used to collect them and left them in a coffee
can on the counter and used as needed. I only remember washing one if it was really dirty.

No idea, when I was on my grandparents farm, we would just collect them and Grandma would put them in the fridge. Like you we only washed one if it was really dirty. But today everyone is more " germ conscious" then we were growing up.

My grandma wiped as necessary with a cloth in her apron pocket. Here is a good article with way more experience than I.

http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2011 ... -wash.html

There have been several articles lately about egg care and the difference between what is required in the U.S. And those eggs bought in Europe. The one detail I remember is the eggs in the U.S. Are required to be washed which then means they have to be refrigerated. If you don't wash them there is a natural barrier protecting the egg from bacteria and they can be stored out.

I seem to remember washing mine in soapy water. Then I would put them in the frig, because as Tina said, their natural barrier would be removed.

I get farm eggs every week and if I find a dirty one I spray a paper towel with my vinegar/water solution and clean it.

Hi Alice,

I would love to have some chickens, but I live in the city and they frown having chickens in your back yard.
I had two sets of grandparents who both had a few chickens. My grandma Hayward always kept the eggs on the kitchen counter and she never did more then wipe them off if they were less than clean. My Grandmother Sherman on the other hand washed eggs in the bathtub. They had more chicken and Grandpa would sell the eggs. The eggs were washed and graded. Whenever we visited Grandma every other year, you couldn't take a bath without having to move all the eggs. It's funny I seem to be the only one oft siblings who remember the eggs in Grandma's tub. Fond memories....

thank you

I raised chickens when I was about 11. I just wiped them off. I lived out in the hills above today's Silicon Valley, and when neighbors called for eggs I'd hop on my horse and go deliver them right to their door - 50 cents a dozen.
Sandi

Because egg shells are quite porous, soap would be a bad idea as it might actually change the flavor or even contaminate them.
Velda

MandysMom wrote:Because egg shells are quite porous, soap would be a bad idea as it might actually change the flavor or even contaminate them.
Velda

that was my thought exactly, I did not use soap, I just rinsed them and put them in the fridge. Hardboiled the ones from the day before.

avalen wrote:

MandysMom wrote:Because egg shells are quite porous, soap would be a bad idea as it might actually change the flavor or even contaminate them.
Velda

that was my thought exactly, I did not use soap, I just rinsed them and put them in the fridge. Hardboiled the ones from the day before.

And if you read the link included by two people, rinse with warm to hot water.