Shelf Life of Raw and Hard-Boiled Eggs

How Long Do Raw and Hard-Boiled Eggs Keep?

April 6, 2009

The answer to this question may surprise you: while uncooked eggs typically last four to five weeks when properly refrigerated, hard-boiled eggs will only last about a week. This is because egg shells, which are highly porous, are sprayed before sale with a thin coating of mineral oil that seals the egg. Boiling the egg washes this coating away, however, leaving the shell susceptible to bacteria.

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11 Comments

TerryShawn 1 year 5 weeks

Thanks for the info, However I have been doing searches on this and the consensus is they last about 10 days? When they are peeled the shelf life is less though. http://www.eatbydate.com/hard-boiled-eggs-shelf-life-expiration-date/

Spectra 4 years 6 weeks

Yeah, you have to be careful about boiled eggs. If you are planning an Easter egg hunt using hard-boiled eggs, don't leave them out of the fridge for longer than about an hour if you plan to eat them later on. Bacteria love to grow in egg protein, so you have to be very careful. It's a lot better to just use plastic eggs with candy inside to hide for an egg hunt, just to be safe.

aimeeb 4 years 6 weeks

Yum, I love hard boiled eggs!

POPSUGAR Food 4 years 6 weeks

The same applies for organic eggs (both raw and hard-boiled), and farm-fresh eggs that have been boiled. Raw farm-fresh eggs, however, are fresher than their store-bought counterparts: While conventional eggs may have been around for a couple of weeks, eggs bought at farmers markets are generally no more than a couple of days old.

Modus Vivendi 4 years 6 weeks

Good to know. I just bought five dozen for Easter!

BOBCAT 4 years 6 weeks

hmm, i did not know this! we are doing eggs today and painting them for EASTER, so thanks!

starangel82 4 years 6 weeks

I'm glad someone mentioned the bad egg will float in water trick. It works.

tlsgirl 4 years 6 weeks

@madball - I think that farm fresh eggs last about a month as well, because you're actually cutting a lot of time out between farm to store (that's oddly worded, I hope it makes sense). Also, if an egg is bad it will float when placed in water, so that's one way to tell.

jhig 4 years 6 weeks

I'm curious? Are the mineral oil sprayed eggs are the ones sold at "general" grocery stores, such as Walmart, Krogers or does it apply for stores such as Trader Joes and Whole Foods?

norabora 4 years 6 weeks

what perfect timing for this to show up! i literally called my mom this morning to get her opinion on whether or not my eggs would still be good... ha ha ha.

madball 4 years 6 weeks

Anybody know how long unsprayed eggs last? I'm occasionally the lucky recipient of my neighbor's chickens' unborn offspring.

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