I had friends from the country to stay in London last week and, being a good host, I made them breakfast. Over eggs and coffee the husband asked why I kept my eggs in the fridge. The conversation moved to other burning questions about eggs - should one eat the yolk and do eggs lead to high levels of cholesterol.

I remember when Edwina Currie, the then health minister, was forced to resign in December 1988 having suggested that salmonella affected most eggs in the UK. Were this true today then keeping eggs in the fridge might be sensible, but as it's not the case it seems that there is no difference between eggs stored at room temperature or kept cool. The advice is that they should be kept in the box, not in the rack in the fridge door as the opening and closing might crack the shells. Additionally, eggs should be turned over every few days when stored. My friend's wife, a keen baker, told me that very cold eggs didn't mix well when combined with other ingredients but as I don't bake such details don't bother me.

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What To Eat Now: Eggs, cholesterol and my fridge
As for eating the yolk and cholesterol, they are two parts of the same question. The yolk of medium sized egg contains around 170mg of cholesterol, which is roughly 55 per cent of dietary cholesterol. However, cholesterol is an essential substance and as such is manufactured by the liver in response to eating. Cholesterol is then absorbed from the digestive system into the blood stream for circulation. Only 25 per cent comes directly from diet, and for most people, eating foods that contain cholesterol means that the liver makes less to compensate.

Either way the cholesterol is lurking in the gut, yet soluble fibre can - to some degree - prevent absorption. Soluble fibre is found in oats, beans, nuts, seeds, together with fibrous fruits and vegetables such as apples and carrots. In theory, one can potentially reduce the amount of cholesterol waiting to be absorbed after eating an egg by having a few almonds, some sunflower seeds or an apple, too.

My eggs-in-or-out-of-the-fridge dilemma has been settled. They live in the fridge for no other reason than I have space there, and that's as good a reason as any.
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