Americans do a lot of foolish things, but refrigerating their eggs is not one of them.

There is a good reason: eggs are washed before they’re sold in the US, which removes the egg’s cuticle (a natural protective coating). This process reduces the risk of bacterial contamination, and, when combined with refrigeration, extends the shelf life of the egg. That matters in a country with a distributed population as geographically vast as the U.S., where food often travels longer distances before reaching the consumer. Refrigerating eggs is a solution to a logistical challenge not present in Europe.

I like to point this out because a European unaware of this difference might visit America, refuse to refrigerate their eggs (believing their own cultural practices to be superior and more “natural”) and end up with salmonella. It’s ironic because getting sick in another country due to ignorance of local customs, while assuming your own culture is better, is a very American thing to do. I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.