Why It's Important To Store Eggs In The Original Cardboard Carton

We all like to keep our fridges organized. For some people, that means emptying certain products into compact baskets or aesthetic containers. But while glass jars and ceramic bowls can make things look pretty, there are some foods that are best left in their original packaging, like eggs.

You've probably already noticed this but eggs always come in a standardized cardboard carton. There are actually a few reasons behind this. The first is that the cartons are specially designed to protect the fragile shells, and the second is that the cardboard absorbs external odors. Egg shells are extremely porous, meaning that air and moisture can easily pass through. If your fridge contains any particularly strong-smelling foods, like garlic or onion, the flavors can actually pass into your eggs if there isn't a barrier in place to block them out.

The shape of the cartons also allows the eggs to be stored with the larger end up, keeping the yolk centered and your crispy fried eggs looking perfect. Finally, the best before date is printed on the carton, so by keeping it you can easily check how long your eggs will stay fresh.

What's funny is that a lot of fridges feature a special egg caddy for storing eggs. For all of the reasons we've already discussed, you shouldn't use this, especially if it's located inside the door. Eggs need to be stored at a consistently cool temperature, so they're much better off in the main part of the fridge where they're not being constantly exposed to an external environment.

Keep them in the center of the fridge if you can, toward the back ideally. If something happens to the carton, you can store the eggs inside a sealed container instead. Just be careful if there's nothing protecting the eggs from rolling into each other and avoid materials like ceramic, which are more likely to crack the eggs if bumped too hard. Plastic and cardboard egg containers have shock-absorbing properties and are designed to prevent one cracked egg from spilling into another, which is hard to replicate at home.

Make sure you write down the best before date of your eggs if you have to dispose of the carton, too. Raw eggs should be used within three weeks of purchase, according to the FDA, and cooked eggs, like hard boiled eggs, should be consumed within one week. So, keep those eggs in the original carton to make sure your fluffy scrambled eggs are fresh, odor-free, and even possible to make in the first place.