Yes, you read the title right. I decided today to write about eggs and egg cartons in the Kingdom. In most places of the world, when one buys eggs that are in a sturdy cardboard or Styrofoam carton with a lid which covers the eggs. This protects the eggs and makes it easy (and relatively safe) when transporting them from the store to the home. Now for whatever reason, in the Kingdom when one purchases eggs they are packaged in one of two ways. At a larger store such as a Tamimi (Safeway), Panda, Danube or Geant, the eggs will be in a flimsy (emphasis on flimsy) carton which does not have a lid. While in rare instances one will see eggs sold in groups of six, usually they are packaged in groups of one or two dozen. Yes, packaged in a flimsy cardboard container with no cover. Or alternatively, if one goes to a small privately owned corner grocery store which abound in the Kingdom, chances are you will receive your eggs in a plastic bag. That’s right – the eggs will be in a plastic bag with no protection from each other or any other elements. However unlike the larger stores, when buying eggs from the local corner shop, one can request as few or as many eggs one desires.
So now I segue to part two of this post, getting the eggs home unscathed and unbroken….almost always impossible! Think about it, trying to now travel the crazy roads of Riyadh with unprotected eggs in the car and getting home without any of them having been cracked or broken. In my two plus years now in the Kingdom, we have yet to arrive home with all eggs intact, especially those few occasions when we have the eggs all together in a plastic bag!
Another aspect of buying eggs in the Kingdom which surprised me is that in most cases the eggs have not been washed prior to sale either. Yes, the eggs will likely have remaining residue on them from the hens. I could understand this if eggs were purchased locally at a chicken farm such as I did occasionally in the States but was surprised to see this at the retail grocery stores. But if I had to make a choice between a sturdy container or residue on the eggs, I’d vote for the sturdy container. After all, I can always wash the eggs but I cannot patch a broken one back together again.
Filed under: culture, Saudi Arabia, Saudi culture, Saudi customs, travel, Uncategorized
Great story. I learned something about KSA culture and laughed a bit. I just bought eggs today, and being in Atlanta, I now know how fortunate I am to have the foam egg case. I was still overly protective of my eggs, I admit. I can’t believe that they don’t wash the eggs, maybe I am wrong, but I thought the threat of salmonella was on the outside of the eggshell, not inside the actual egg. Good luck to you. I look forward to reading your other blogs.
Lypala,
Welcome and thanks for your comments.
Glad you enjoyed.
Regards,
Carol
Personally, I can’t get over the fact that we buy them on trays of 30 or 60!!! at a time here. Holy moley – that’s a whole bunch of eggs! What’s even more wacked is the prices – about $5.20 for two and a half dozen eggs. I remember buying them for like .99 cents a dozen. What are the prices like now in the states?
I guess I should be happy, though – ours are actually covered with a clear plastic lid. But, the maid never fails to break at least a few between lugging them in from the car and the kitchen – after I oh so carefully guarded them the whole time in the store and then put them on my lap on the way home for the car ride….
This is probably one of the most interesting threads I’ve ever read! HA HA.
Having had chickens myself I seem to remember that eggs have a natural protection layer, and if you don’t wash them they keep a bit longer. That said, eggs from my chickens were always clean anyway, very rarely a bit of waste or feathers on them.
Shows a great trust on providence, taking your eggs home in a plastic bag!
Can’t you get those plastic egg-containers? I mean the (usual) cardboard or styrofoam (bad for the environment) boxes, but in plastic?
I’ve seen them around.
People here tend to recycle the cardboard boxes, I bring one if I buy eggs at the market, but I’ve been thinking about getting one of those plastic ones.
L Oman – welcome to the blog and thanks for your comment. Where are you located? Yes; I’ve also seen them 30 to 60 at a time in a flimsy uncovered “container.” Actually I’m not sure of the price….I’ll have to double check what they are running here in Riyadh.
Aafke, I don’t know what the reaction would be if I were to bring in my own carton for eggs (and that’s if I could even get a container with a lid like seen elsewhere in most other countries to begin with…)
My husband also reminded me that in Pakistan we usually had the eggs placed into bags and not in containers as well.
I’m selling eggs for 4.00$ a dz. at a local farmers market.People are actually glad to pay so much for free range organic eggs! In reality we’re barely breaking even as feed costs have doubled in the last year.
Funny abut the cartons,maybe we could send some? I usually have a lot of extra cartons in the winter not so much now in the spring since we’re getting two dozen a day.
I got a plastic egg holder from SACO world last year. I can fit 12 or 16 eggs and it shuts with a solid clip. I bought it because the mini market on my compound used to sell the eggs in a plastic bag. H enever minded if i brought my box along!
I will check out SACO.
And thanks for your offer ‘always in the kitchen.’
The plastic containers here are pretty vintage, but I’m going to get you one from a recycle-shop.
Tupperware also have an egg box. They fit 6 eggs.
Hey, do you have second-hand shops or markets in KSA? And what do people think about antiques?
Yes; the old souks can be comparable to second-hand shops and markets. And there are also places here which sell antiques. Now typical antiques here can be daggers, carpets, pots and pans from the old days, old musical instruments, unique carved chests…
Carol,
u hav been to pakistan??!!! gr8.
anyway i thnk the best way to transport them is to make sure they r firmly placed in the car trunk. or better yet buy them at a store near ur house so that u wont have to drive. but still there will be some “casualties”.
This was pretty common in Egypt. I would just order them to be delivered, thus leaving to the delivery guy to worry about their safe journey.
You know what? Best way to get them home unbroken is to buy them while they’re still inside the chicken!
Carol,
Aafkes last comment reminds me of one of your previous posts where you said while looking out into your court yard one day you thought it may be a good idea for a chicken coop. Are you still considering that or was that a joke I didn’t get?!!!
Tina, I really wanted to get a few hens but right after that was the bird flu scare which permanently scared husband from the thought of ever having hens. )-:
Samir: Yes, I lived in Pakistan on two different occasions and loved it. Would not hesitate to go back.
Cairogal: We’ve had them delivered a few times and sadly not without casualities…and delivered in their plastic bag by the delivery guy on his scooter!!
You know why they are often sold by the dozen or double dozen, even to smaller families? Because 4 to 6 eggs can be expected to not survive the trip home!
Here in Germany, people often bring their own (recycled) egg cartons to get fresh eggs from the farmers’ market…. Or also just donate their cartons to the farmers there so they won’t go to waste.
Here in Bahrain they are sold in cardboard trays…24 eggs usually….very flimsy unless you stack at least two trays together to form a solid base.
I wouldnt recommend placing the tray on your front passenger seat to keep them safe from moving around in the back…if you happen to be unaware that a speed bump was installed seemingly at 2 am or there abouts(it wasnt there the previous nite…but was the next day around noon) and hit it with obvious results. Do you want to know how hard it is to clean egg out of all the cracks of your car interior…and do you want to know what it smells like a week later which indicates you didnt get it all…sheesh!
This is quite interesting for it sounds like flimsy to non-existent egg cartons are more widespread than KSA. I’m surprised that places continue to just use bags or these flimsy containers when more sturdier ones could likely be made available?
I used hard plastic egg cases, found in most of the suqs I visited. They weren’t a guarantee against breakage–they were hard plastic, after all–but they did limit the damage to the eggs and whatever else the eggs were near. The hinged cases, usually in some bright color, were made in China for the most part, though you’d sometimes find them from India.
Besides, I think there’s a cultural attitude that since eggs will break, the collective population should share the pain, not just the merchant who needs to pass on the cracked egg to preserve his profit!
As Aafke notes, washing eggs quickens the rate of spoilage. All that mucusy gunk on the egg serves as a barrier to air. Even the USDA advises against washing eggs before storing them. The gunk washes right off, even if it looks a little grim.
I never thought I’d find myself wishing for the sturdy cardboard egg cartons or styrofoam cartons found in abundance back in the States!
Now I’m curious…I recall when buying eggs in the States at Safeway or Wegmans they were always very clean. I guess there was some way to clean them without spoilage?
Just where did you do your research? As I live in the United Kingdom and always have, I can assure you that eggs are almost always packed in cardboard egg trays and invariable sold in 6s or 12s, occasionally greater numbers but always multiples of 6.
I haven’t seen eggs in a plastic bag EVER and never in non-multiples of 6.
Oops, sorry – it’s early here and I the search I came up with indicated this was a United Kingdom blog – didn’t realise it was KSA!
No problem Amanda!