Huevos

 When we first moved to Latin America, we quickly learned that eggs are not handled in the same manner as those of us from the northern part of the Americas.    The most glaring difference is that eggs here are not refrigerated once you get them home.  Of course, you can refrigerate anything you want once you get it home.  But the norm here in Colombia and in Honduras was to just leave them out on the counter, in the pantry or on top of the fridge.

 Growing up with chickens and regularly eating fresh eggs, we went by the rule that if the egg was not yet washed, it didn't need to be refrigerated right away, but once the egg was washed (to get the poop, straw and feathers off), it needed to be refrigerated.  I've read read that before washing the eggs, there is a natural protective coating that helps preserve the eggs.  I suppose if you're eating the farm eggs each day as they are laid, they never have a chance to go bad.

  

Quail eggs

Egg stall at Bogotá's biggest market

The other difference, which is much more minor than the first is the quantities in which you can buy eggs.  Up north, a dozen eggs is the norm.  In Honduras, we would buy them 15 or 30 at a time.  Here, we are buying them 30 at a time, although at the big grocery stores it is also common to buy them by the dozen or half dozen.  In the big supermarkets and at the small town stores, the eggs are sold off the shelf, not kept behind glass doors in a refrigerator.  Also, quail eggs seem to be quite common here.  I'm not sure yet how they fit into Colombian cuisine, but I'll ask around.  We have been buying the campesino eggs from the outdoor market that sets up each Saturday in our neighborhood.

So, if your wondering where we keep our eggs now, here's the answer...

No need to take up refrigerator space with these guys... I'm a leave-your-eggs-in-the-pantry convert!