How Long Can Hard Boiled Eggs Sit Out And Does It Go Bad?

Eggs are an important part of our everyday breakfasts. These are an excellent source of proteins. Hard-boiled eggs do not contain many calories and provide lame proteins and vitamins that do not cause your body to gain excessive weight. Besides boiling, eggs are consumed as various foods.

Those foods include scotch eggs, smoked eggs, shakshouka or Soufflé. Despite all of its advantages, there is one bad thing. And that is, the hard-boiled eggs do not sit out for much longer and may spoil due to bacterial growth. Interested in finding out more about these hard-textured boiled eggs? Then give us this piece of writing and remove all your queries.

How Long Can Hard Boiled Eggs Sit Out?

Eating rotten and spoiled food, be it hard-boiled eggs, meat, or milk, can cause fever, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Therefore, it is important to know how long these eggs can sit out. At room temperature conditions, hard-boiled eggs can only sit out for up to two hours, as described by the Food and Drug Administration.

Eggs are susceptible to rapid bacterial attack after the abovementioned duration. As per FDA recommendation, salmonella is one of the common risks associated with spoiled eggs. In the refrigerator, hard-boiled eggs stay well up to a week.

To allow hard-boiled eggs to sit out for longer, you must refrigerate whether peeled or unpeeled. However, you may consider soaking the boiled eggs in chilled water inside the container for peeled eggs.

What Happens if Hard Boiled Eggs Sit Out Too Long?

If boiled eggs are allowed to sit out for too long, there is a higher probability of them going bad. Spoiled hard-boiled eggs usually tend to develop an unpleasant and distinctive odor. However, if you witness the shell around the egg, its spoilage is confirmed by cracking it to assess the smell.

Salmonella bacteria multiply when these eggs are allowed to sit out for long. Therefore, store the eggs by refrigerating, soaking or keeping the eggs in a damp cloth. Stored eggs may be reheated and eaten to gain nutrition.

What Should You Do If Hard Boiled Eggs Are Left Out Too Long?

Left hard-boiled eggs for too long? Worried about your health and hygiene? Don’t know what to do next? No need to bother, as we got that clear right below. The US department of agriculture says if hard-boiled eggs are left out for too long, unfortunately, these are not safe to be consumed.

The duration until which these boiled eggs remain safe to use is up to two hours only at room temperature. However, this duration reduces further to one hour when the temperature is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. If hard-boiled eggs are left out for too long, do not risk your health and discard them.

How Long Can Hard Boiled Eggs Be In The Car For?

What happens if hard-boiled eggs are allowed to sit out inside the car? For how long can these eggs be there? Let’s bring that into the discussion now. If boiled eggs are left in a warm car for more than 2 hours, bacterial growth begins within them, causing their spoilage.

However, if the temperature is cold, eggs may usually be fine. The sweating of eggs indicates that they are at risk of bacterial development. The temperature of the car and the store from where these are brought also plays a crucial in determining their shelf life.

Do Hard Boiled Eggs Go Bad If Not Refrigerated?

Like all other meals left at room temperature, hard-boiled eggs do not seem safe for longer than two hours. Therefore, it is encouraged to drop the eggs post-boil in an ice water bowl and transfer the chilled eggs inside the refrigerator for a longer shelf-life.

Do Hard Boiled Eggs Go Bad If You Lose Power?

After hard-boiled eggs are being refrigerated, they must stay cool even if you lose power. If cold eggs are allowed to sit out at room temperature, it facilitates sweat which in turn causes bacterial growth. Keep in mind that the refrigerator can only sustain its temperature for four hours after a power outage. 

What Temperature Is Safe For Hard Boiled Eggs?

Hard-boiled eggs may not sit out for long and go bad as a result. So, the question which arises now is what temperature is optimum for their quality maintenance. The optimum temperature condition for hard-boiled eggs is approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit or even lower than that. This temperature elevates the shelf life of hard boiled eggs.

How to store hard-boiled eggs?

Hard-boiled eggs are a perfect topping for different kinds of salads. They can also be eaten with a pinch of black pepper and salt. Despite being a delicious snack, they go bad fast. We can prevent this by storing them properly so that they can last a little longer.

It is recommended to store the hard-boiled eggs with their shell on. This makes them prevent the bacteria for a longer time. To keep the hard-boiled eggs properly, we can follow apt measures:

In the refrigerator

When it comes to storing eggs, the answer is always refrigerator. A refrigerator is important to keep the hard-boiled eggs from spoiling. It increases the shelf life of eggs too. But the place to store the eggs should be the main body of the refrigerator.

Make sure to store the eggs in an airtight jar or container. Putting the eggs openly is not recommended because the air allows the bacteria to grow even in the refrigerator. So, put them in an airtight container.

Soaking the eggs in water

If you boil eggs in bulk and accidentally peel them all, you must be more careful while storing them. You cannot just put the peeled, boiled eggs in the refrigerator openly because there is no shell on them to protect them.

To store peeled hard-boiled eggs, you have to soak the boiled eggs in chilled water inside the container. Then cover the lid of the box tightly so that no air goes inside. Don’t forget to change the water daily. This method will also increase the shelf life of hard-boiled eggs.

Keeping the eggs in a damp cloth

It is a method to store the eggs if you do not want to refrigerate them. To keep the temperature constant, soak the eggs in chilled water right after boiling and then save the eggs in a damp cloth or towel. You can keep the eggs in the cloth or towel for a maximum of 2 days.

Can you freeze hard-boiled eggs?

Freezing the eggs is not a good idea as freezing changes the texture of the egg white. The soft white part of the egg turns rubbery, but the yolk remains the same. Technically, we can freeze eggs, but it is not recommended.

However, we can freeze the hard-boiled eggs if we want to do some décor or topping for salads and other various dishes. You can easily cut the frozen egg into different shapes and sizes for décor. Make sure to freeze the eggs by putting them in an airtight container or freezer bags.

How long do hard-boiled eggs last?

The shelf life of hard-boiled eggs is quite short. The lifetime of the eggs depends on storage conditions. Also, it depends on whether the eggs are with or without shell because the unpeeled eggs last longer than the peeled ones.

The unpeeled egg lasts for a week inside the refrigerator if it is kept in proper containers. This is because the egg has its layer of a shell that keeps it protected. Also, the container protects the egg from bacteria, etc. In contrast, at room temperature, and unpeeled egg lasts for 6 hours.

When it comes to a peeled egg, it lasts for 5 to 6 days inside the refrigerator and 2 to 3 hours at room temperature. It has a slightly less life span than the unpeeled egg. This is because it has no shell that protects it from going bad. That why it is recommended to peel the egg just before using it.

How to tell if hard-boiled eggs are bad?

If the hard-boiled eggs have gone bad, you cannot bear their smell. They smell really bad and gross. Following are the signs that show that it is time to waste your eggs:

• If the eggs smell bad, i.e., they smell like sulfur or any bad smell, throw your eggs away because they have gone bad.
• If you see any discoloration in the egg, stop using it immediately.
• Cut the egg in two halves and check if there is any unusual thing. If you found one, then waste your egg.
• Do not use a hard-boiled egg if it is kept in the refrigerator for more than a week.

Source:

• WebMD
• livestrong
• Healthline
• stilltasty
• preparedcooks