# Refrigerating Boiled Eggs



## thegrova (Oct 6, 2006)

Hi All.  A quick question.  I  have searched the forum but cannot find the answer.  Can any one tell me how long I can safely refrigerate hard boiled eggs.  I am a bit 'over cautions' when it comes to food safety so am interested in hearing what others have to say.


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## Mel! (Oct 6, 2006)

*Eggs*

I think a week, or a little more. 
I just use the "if in doubt, throw it out" rule.
If it smells or looks or tastes bad, then it is not longer good. Otherwise, it is OK, to eat.
Mel


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## Hades (Oct 6, 2006)

And make sure the shells are intact. If they're damaged, use the eggs as quickly as possible.


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## Gretchen (Oct 6, 2006)

And you will want to put them in a plastic bag or cover tightly. Their aroma will come out.


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## Andy M. (Oct 6, 2006)

Check out this authority on the subject.


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## sattie (Oct 6, 2006)

Thanks Andy!!


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## thegrova (Oct 7, 2006)

Thank you all for your suggestions and the link to the egg info centre.  Eggs have always been a bit of a worry for me!


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## auntdot (Oct 8, 2006)

Andy, I have a disconnect here.

Raw eggs are OK for weeks but once they are boiled they are only good for one week?

Cooking, of course, is a way of preserving food, it denatures the proteins and makes them less susceptible to bacterial action.  Also the boiling, it would seem to me, would kill most of the bacteria there.

And if a refrigerated raw egg is OK to use for 5 weeks or so, why does cooking it reduce its shelf life? 

It seems to me that if one can make thousand year old eggs by placing raw eggs in the ground merely surrounded by some tea, salt, ashes, and lime for 100 days, and then eat them, a hard boiled egg, refrigerated, should last more than one week.

Not telling anyone to keep boiled eggs longer than that, but something does not seem to add up.

Sorry, it is the middle of the night and I am feeling a bit fussy.


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## thegrova (Oct 8, 2006)

Thanks for that auntdot!  For me it is a safety issue.  I would rather boil eggs as needed than leave them in the fridge too long once cooked if that increases the risk of their being spoiled.  I have been told that I can be a bit precious regarding food safety - but hey, that is just me!


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## Andy M. (Oct 8, 2006)

auntdot said:
			
		

> Andy, I have a disconnect here.
> 
> Raw eggs are OK for weeks but once they are boiled they are only good for one week?
> 
> ...


 


I can't explain the science behind the answer.  However, I would not reject the answer because the reason is unclear.  Perhaps it has to do with the shell's being made more porous by the cooking and therefore allowing more bacteria into a cooked egg.

You have to figure the American Egg Board is out to put the best egg image forward.  If they could tell you a cooked gg would last a year, they would.


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## YT2095 (Oct 8, 2006)

ever noticed the Smell of a chopped up boiled egg?
also the Dark greyish area between the yolk and the albumen?

well that`s all down to the action of Sulpher, the smell is actualy Sulpher Dioxide, it`s also extremely Toxic! more so than Cyanide even! (no I`m NOT joking).
this will then condense to an acid renedering the food at the very least unpalletable.

it`s a Chemical reason rather than a Bio one.


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## Andy M. (Oct 8, 2006)

YT2095 said:
			
		

> ever noticed the Smell of a chopped up boiled egg?
> also the Dark greyish area between the yolk and the albumen?...


 

If your eggs have thes qualities, they have been overcooked.  A properly hard cooked egg does not smell and has no grey/green coating on the yolk.


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## YT2095 (Oct 8, 2006)

well I don`t eat them personaly, but the wife will cook them (I run when she does) when cold, she cuts them up in a bowl and puts on a sandwich.
they Always smell (that`s why I run, I don`t like eggs).
cold hardboiled eggs here and other places I`ve been have this grey tinge, it Does get worse over time too.

it`s only the Sulpher sure, and I handle chems daily in the lab (incl Elemental sulpher), but in Food..... Naaah! :P


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## Constance (Oct 8, 2006)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> If your eggs have thes qualities, they have been overcooked.  A properly hard cooked egg does not smell and has no grey/green coating on the yolk.



I know what you say is true, Andy, but it's what I'm used to, I guess. I've tried the newer recommended way of cooking eggs, and I find that the yolks don't get completely done. I guess it's not just me, because I have noticed chefs on Food TV using "properly cooked" hard-boiled eggs, and their yolks aren't completely cooked through either.


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