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Here's How Long Fresh Eggs Can Sit Out Unrefrigerated By Maria Scinto Dec. 13, 2025 10:00 pm EST

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If you're buying your eggs from the supermarket, chances are you take them home and stick them straight in the fridge. Do you really need to refrigerate your eggs , though? Lisa Steele, a chicken-keeper and author whose cookbook In Season: 125+ Sweet and Savory Recipes Celebrating Simple, Fresh Ingredients will be available May 2026, says you don't need to do so right away if those eggs came straight from a farm. "As long as an egg hasn't been washed, it doesn't need refrigeration because there's an invisible coating on the outer eggshell called the bloom that keeps out the air and bacteria," she explained.

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