Can You Refrigerate Soft Boiled Eggs?
You can refrigerate soft boiled eggs but make sure that they are unpeeled before placing them in the fridge. After this, all you’d have to do is place them in simmering water just for less than one minute and they’ll be cooked enough to eat. However, remember that they can only be refrigerated for two days.
If you are not eating your soft-boiled eggs immediately after cooking, you are fine keeping them in the shells and refrigerating for up to two days. If frozen cooked eggs are still in the shell, then you can simply put hard-boiled eggs back into the carton they came in and store in the fridge. A clean, sealed container or bag can be used to store the hard-boiled eggs, which are still in their shells, in a freezer. Hard-cooked eggs that are cooled rapidly and placed in a freezer, in their shells, must be consumed within seven days.
Peeled, hard-cooked eggs stored in the refrigerator should be consumed within 48 hours because the moist eggshell surfaces are exposed and there is the possibility for growth of microorganisms. Peeling the hard-boiled eggs prior to storage in the refrigerator reduces the shelf life of them to four to five days. Peeled, hard-boiled eggs can be stored in the fridge in a cold water bowl with cover for about 1 week (change water daily)–or in a sealed container with no water (cover eggs with damp paper towels) for about as long.
| Storage | Temperature | Shelf Life |
| Kitchen counter | 60-68°F | 2 hours (suggested by USDA) |
| In the refrigerator | 32-34°F | 2 days |
You can also put peeled boiled eggs in a sealed, airtight container for up to one week, covered with moistened paper towels to keep them somewhat moist. Place the eggs (at room temperature) into the pan, then cover the eggs with cold tap water, which should cool down, but not freeze. To ensure that the fresh eggs are safe, keep them stored in a temperature of 40 degrees or cooler at all times.
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Leave eggs outside of the fridge for 2 hours to bring to room temperature for use in methods one or two. If you happen to leave eggs out at room temperature for two hours or longer, to prevent food poisoning, throw them out immediately. If you do not intend on eating the eggs once they are prepped, be sure to put them in the refrigerator.
While it is totally safe to put fresh cooked eggs into the refrigerator when they are still warm, you might want to let them cool down slightly to lessen any shock to the interior temperature of your cooler. If you remove eggs from the refrigerator and drop them straight into the boiling water, the centers of the eggs are too cold to be cooked properly. However, cooling the hard-boiled eggs quickly by placing them into a bowl of cold water right after they are cooked, will help keep your eggs from getting too cooked.
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Many people store eggs refrigerated; this means that your eggs are cold throughout, which makes it more time-consuming to prepare. The safest way to store eggs is to store them in the original cardboard box within your cooler, not on the doors.
The shell helps keep eggs free from bacteria, and it may also prevent them from picking up smells from the other foods in the fridge. If you add boiling or iced water to an egg, the shell will break off, allowing its contents to soak in the boiling water. By adding some bicarb of soda to your boiling water, you are increasing the pH, so it makes it easier to remove the shells.
This means the boiling water and eggs are heated together until they reach boiling temperature, and thus the temperature difference is avoided. When the timer goes off, take the eggs out of the boiling water, then add them to an ice bath right away. The ice bath stops the cooking process, so the eggs retain their deliciously sloppy yolks, while the ice bath makes it much easier to peel.
Instead, place eggs into a bowl and crack shells with a spoon, and peel off the top quarter. Carefully insert the spoon between the eggs and their shell, then swirl the spoon over the eggs to break up the shell and remove them. Sprinkle salt and pepper, Everything Bagel Seasoning, or Zaatar over the egg, then consume straight from the shell. Before you boil them, toss any eggs with cracked or irregular shells, advises FDA.
If you are not cooking the inside completely (as with soft-boiled or medium-boiled eggs), you are not always killing bacteria found inside an egg. If the chicken is contaminated with Salmonella, the bacteria can also be found in the eggs interior. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, cooked eggs are actually more vulnerable to bacteria contamination because the cooking process damages a protective layer on the eggs shell.
They do not last as long as uncooked eggs, as during the cooking process, the shells protective layer is compromised, and open pores make it easier for bacteria to enter and contaminate the eggs. Hard-boiled eggs in the shell have a much shorter shelf life than uncooked eggs in the shell, which may last for three to five weeks in the refrigerator. Raw eggs in the shell have an average expiration date of about two weeks, depending on how they are stored. You can also eat an older soft-boiled egg more safely than a freshly made, piping hot omelet, because the chances of an egg coming into contact with contaminated shells are lower compared with omelets.
It does take you taking a skillet outside, waiting for the half-inch of water to bubble, and peeling an egg while it is still hot (which is tricky at times), but now I can package up boiled eggs for work and heat them up easily–and the heat-versus-cook psychology really does improve the odds I do not completely give up on eggs. By cooling eggs rapidly in ice water for 20-40 minutes (depending on how many eggs need cooling) after they are cooked, and then placing them in the fridge, there is less potential to raise other foods temperatures in the fridge.
Never leave cooked eggs or eggs dishes outside of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours, or more than 1 hour, when temperatures are over 90degF. Bacteria that can cause disease grow rapidly in warmer temperatures (between 40degF and 140degF). If served at buffet tables, keep them refrigerated when served, and throw away any leftovers.
How long can soft-boiled eggs sit out?
Be safe and discard your eggs if they are left out longer than necessary. It’s essential to keep in mind that, according to the USDA, perishable goods should not be kept at room temperature for more than two hours (or one hour if the temperature is 90 degrees F or above).
Can you refrigerate peeled soft-boiled eggs?
The refrigerator should be used to store peeled soft-boiled eggs in closed containers. Hard-boiled eggs can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week after being peeled if you replace the water daily in a dish of cold water.
How do you store peeled soft-boiled eggs?
Boiling eggs should be left unpeeled and at room temperature for storage. After cooking them for two hours, put them in the fridge. If the eggs have been peeled, put them in a bowl of cold water and store them in the fridge to avoid drying out.