(I agree with most of this article, the author should take care not to fall into the same trap as the "culinary Luddites" he describes, stating something they m

(I agree with most of this article, the author should take care not to fall into the same trap as the "culinary Luddites" he describes, stating something they merely believe to be the case, that isn't actually based in fact) > prompting him to wonder whether they would really like things the way they naturally used to be. Natural was unreliable. Fresh fish began to stink. Fresh milk soured, eggs went rotten. Eggs don't work that way. They don't go rotten unless they're damaged. An egg is like a really big cell, and it's sterile on the inside. US eggs are washed clean, to protect against Salmonella--which lives in intestines and spreads through faecal matter, therefore occurs strictly on the outside of an egg shell, and washing it probably works well against that. Except it also removes/damages a protective layer (cuticle) in the shell, allowing the rotting process to enter the inside. In Europe the eggs aren't washed (I guess we take our chances with the Salmonella?), and can therefore be stored unrefrigerated up to (at least) 21 days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_%28food%29#Storage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_%28food%29#Storage I have heard (but never tested! so take this with a grain of salt) that with an unwashed egg, in the end it is the yolk that sinks down, touches the shell, making the membrane more permeable, that allows for the rotting to start. I've been told (but again, never tested, own risk, etc) that if you turn those eggs weekly, keeping the yolk floating in the middle, you can even keep them for 1-2 years. I suppose it might lose some of its flavour though :-P If I were to look purely at the health-factors of rotting vs Salmonella, I'd have to prefer washing. At least if your egg is rotten, you'll immediately know it's rotten as soon as you open it (the smell is either there or it isn't), while with Salmonella, you won't know until half a day after eating. But I do like being able to keep my eggs at room-temperature in the kitchen cupboard, though :)