3 ms·

$6.20 for a dozen eggs still sounds like a good deal. Think about the amount of work to get those onto a refrigerated shelf in the supermarket. It's amazing.

CaptainOfCoit 1y ago
> refrigerated shelf in the supermarket Wow, today I learned that in some countries, the supermarkets keep their eggs in the refrigerator! Apparently there is a protective coat on eggs that sometimes gets washed away, and when it is, you need to store the egg in a cold environment otherwise bacteria gets in. In other places, eggs aren't washed (that much at least) so the protective coat is still there, so we store our eggs on normal room temperature shelves.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 1y ago
  No comment about refrigerated eggs goes unanswered.
  - CaptainOfCoit 1y ago
    One of us has to be the lucky 1 in 10,000, today it was my day :)
- kbcool 1y ago
  That much is the key. They're still washed, otherwise they would have all kinds of crap on them (literally, chickens only have one hole), they just aren't subjected to chemicals and scrubbing etc. Having very low salmonella rates in the flock makes it really unnecessary
  - CaptainOfCoit 1y ago
    > otherwise they would have all kinds of crap on them The eggs I buy in my supermarket don't have literally crap on them, but it isn't uncommon that they have bit of dirt or hay/grass on them, and those are bought from a mainstream supermarket chain. I do realize they obviously do a quick cleaning pass regardless, just wanted to clarify that many eggs aren't pristine when bought :)
- microtonal 1y ago
  Yeah, I wondered for a long time why fridges have egg holders, since I had never seen eggs in a fridge in a supermarket (yeah, I’m not in the US). They are probably washed, but only minimally - sometimes there is still a small feather or some dirt on an egg.
- rsynnott 1y ago
  This was a big talking point back when TTIP was on the agenda; eggs were kind of the model case of how completely incompatible EU and US regulations would act as a trade barrier even in the absence of tariffs: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nadiaarumugam/2012/10/25/why-american-eggs-would-be-illegal-in-a-british-supermarket-and-vice-versa/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/nadiaarumugam/2012/10/25/why-am...
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
rob 1y ago
No it isn't. A dozen can fly by for a single person or a small family. You'll probably need at least two dozen a week. Hell, a lot of recipes ask for 2-3. So now you're looking at almost $50 a month just for eggs (2dozen/week @6.20.) That might be easy for you when you're working at Microsoft and making $500,000 a year, but that's a significant amount of money for a lot of people in the United States. And eggs aren't some fancy item. They're eggs. "It's one banana, Michael. What could it cost?"
- bluedino 1y ago
  I work from home so I eat 3-4 each morning.
- gruez 1y ago
  >And eggs aren't some fancy item. They're eggs. >"It's one banana, Michael. What could it cost?" It's funny you bring up that up, because bananas are tropical fruits shipped from thousands of miles away, but somehow cost less than domestic fruits like apples. You might not think bananas are "fancy" either, but it's a miracle it's as cheap as they are.
- Jeremy1026 1y ago
  > A dozen can fly by for a single person or a small family. A dozen eggs lasts months in my house (family of 4). We just aren't egg people. The kids will ask for scrambled eggs occasionally, but it's pretty rare. The only time we use a lot of eggs is when we make Christmas cookies, and an 18-count pack typically does the job there. My point being, it's all relative.
  - walkabout 1y ago
    Depends on your cooking. Lots of baking, or lots of certain dishes (pastas, stir fries, that call for or benefit from eggs)? You’ll tear through eggs even if nobody eats them scrambled or over-easy for breakfast. One angel food cake or batch of soufflé and you’ll use a bunch right there. Just a glaze on some meat pasties might burn two or three, and they’re barely even an ingredient in that case. Hell, family of five, one scrambled egg breakfast a week can knock out an entire dozen if you use zero other eggs that week for anything. The things are little chemical miracles somewhere between useful and indispensable for all kinds of stuff in the kitchen, or good as a (usually…) dirt-cheap source of protein, vitamins, and flavor that can be added to lots of dishes or eaten on their own, making them remarkably versatile and easy to use.
thisislife2 1y ago
Hmmm ... 12 eggs in India is currently only around $1 (it used to be around 1/2 that price a year or 2 ago) ... Those packed and sold by billion dollar companies, retail from around US $2 though ...

CaptainOfCoit 1y ago

> refrigerated shelf in the supermarket Wow, today I learned that in some countries, the supermarkets keep their eggs in the refrigerator! Apparently there is a protective coat on eggs that sometimes gets washed away, and when it is, you need to store the egg in a cold environment otherwise bacteria gets in. In other places, eggs aren't washed (that much at least) so the protective coat is still there, so we store our eggs on normal room temperature shelves.

2OEH8eoCRo0 1y ago
No comment about refrigerated eggs goes unanswered.
- CaptainOfCoit 1y ago
  One of us has to be the lucky 1 in 10,000, today it was my day :)
kbcool 1y ago
That much is the key. They're still washed, otherwise they would have all kinds of crap on them (literally, chickens only have one hole), they just aren't subjected to chemicals and scrubbing etc. Having very low salmonella rates in the flock makes it really unnecessary
- CaptainOfCoit 1y ago
  > otherwise they would have all kinds of crap on them The eggs I buy in my supermarket don't have literally crap on them, but it isn't uncommon that they have bit of dirt or hay/grass on them, and those are bought from a mainstream supermarket chain. I do realize they obviously do a quick cleaning pass regardless, just wanted to clarify that many eggs aren't pristine when bought :)
microtonal 1y ago
Yeah, I wondered for a long time why fridges have egg holders, since I had never seen eggs in a fridge in a supermarket (yeah, I’m not in the US). They are probably washed, but only minimally - sometimes there is still a small feather or some dirt on an egg.
rsynnott 1y ago
This was a big talking point back when TTIP was on the agenda; eggs were kind of the model case of how completely incompatible EU and US regulations would act as a trade barrier even in the absence of tariffs: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nadiaarumugam/2012/10/25/why-american-eggs-would-be-illegal-in-a-british-supermarket-and-vice-versa/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/nadiaarumugam/2012/10/25/why-am...

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

rob 1y ago

No it isn't. A dozen can fly by for a single person or a small family. You'll probably need at least two dozen a week. Hell, a lot of recipes ask for 2-3. So now you're looking at almost $50 a month just for eggs (2dozen/week @6.20.) That might be easy for you when you're working at Microsoft and making $500,000 a year, but that's a significant amount of money for a lot of people in the United States. And eggs aren't some fancy item. They're eggs. "It's one banana, Michael. What could it cost?"

bluedino 1y ago
I work from home so I eat 3-4 each morning.
gruez 1y ago
>And eggs aren't some fancy item. They're eggs. >"It's one banana, Michael. What could it cost?" It's funny you bring up that up, because bananas are tropical fruits shipped from thousands of miles away, but somehow cost less than domestic fruits like apples. You might not think bananas are "fancy" either, but it's a miracle it's as cheap as they are.
Jeremy1026 1y ago
> A dozen can fly by for a single person or a small family. A dozen eggs lasts months in my house (family of 4). We just aren't egg people. The kids will ask for scrambled eggs occasionally, but it's pretty rare. The only time we use a lot of eggs is when we make Christmas cookies, and an 18-count pack typically does the job there. My point being, it's all relative.
- walkabout 1y ago
  Depends on your cooking. Lots of baking, or lots of certain dishes (pastas, stir fries, that call for or benefit from eggs)? You’ll tear through eggs even if nobody eats them scrambled or over-easy for breakfast. One angel food cake or batch of soufflé and you’ll use a bunch right there. Just a glaze on some meat pasties might burn two or three, and they’re barely even an ingredient in that case. Hell, family of five, one scrambled egg breakfast a week can knock out an entire dozen if you use zero other eggs that week for anything. The things are little chemical miracles somewhere between useful and indispensable for all kinds of stuff in the kitchen, or good as a (usually…) dirt-cheap source of protein, vitamins, and flavor that can be added to lots of dishes or eaten on their own, making them remarkably versatile and easy to use.

thisislife2 1y ago

Hmmm ... 12 eggs in India is currently only around $1 (it used to be around 1/2 that price a year or 2 ago) ... Those packed and sold by billion dollar companies, retail from around US $2 though ...