why are eggs sold in dozens or half dozens?

Question

Everything is supposed to be 'metric' yet we retain this. I would like to buy a couple of eggs at a time as and when I want them.

Answer 1

well 1st of all, since when is everything "supposed" to be metric??

i choose to buy at least 6 eggs at a time instead of a few at a time,

for what?

alot of recipes call for eggs,

americans eat eggs for breakfast

anything breaded uses eggs

glazing uses eggs....

who buys eggs 1 or 2 at a time???

Answer 2

No Idea, Its Been Used For Ages And I Guess No-One Changed It Yet, I Suppose Every-Ones Used To Saying Dozen/Half A Dozen Etc To Change It Now Would Be A Little Confusing =D

Answer 3

Dozens go back to medieval times and before; so, it is a traditional thing that is still popular because 'even numbered' groups of things can fit into boxes better than odd numbered things AND six is better than just four. Six eggs are a more optimal amount for a weeks supply of that type of food for a couple or somebody single like me. It sometimes lasts more than a week.



Twelve eggs are good for a small family. A pack of ten will not do; two more is better. It might be my opinion, but since six is better than five, then you might as well go for the old dozen amount so that it is exactly double the smaller amount.

Answer 4

In supermarkets in the UK you can buy eggs in cartons of six, a dozen or eighteen.

Organic eggs in supermarkets are sometimes sold in tens.

When I was a child, eggs came in a paper bag, but during the war years the ration was 1 egg per person, per week (sometimes reducing to 1 per fortnight) so we could buy them in odd numbers according to the size of the family.

The problem we have in the UK is that things like egg cartons and milk bottles etc., need expensive machinery to produce them. If the EU directed that we were to sell things only in metric quantities, it would cost the Country hundreds of thousands to scrap all existing machines and buy new.

Undoubtedly, the cost of the new machinery would fall upon the consumer and the price of everything would escalate to pay for it.

Answer 5

If you bought your eggs from a farm you can buy a tray of eggs. There are 30 eggs on a tray. Buy two trays and you can buy 5 dozen eggs.

In the UK nothing is metric, but it is here in Spain and they still sell eggs the same as anywhere else.

Answer 6

go to a health food store! there you should be able to purchase just a couple of eggs. Or find a friendly farmer who will sell eggs one at a time and milk by the pint.



We are supposed ot go metric, but our cookbooks are passed down from our grandmothers!! They are NOT metric no matter if you live in the EU or USA. It matters not a whit to the cookbooks that we are all supposed to be metric. It would be easier to divide down recipes if they were, but they are not.



Also, most school children have no knowledge of cup, quart, bushel, inch, yard, furlong or whatever other measure we used to use. When they have all these measurements untaught then we will go strictly metric.

Answer 7

I always buy 30 eggs at a time. This is the largest number of eggs you can get here, packed in a carton. There are also those which are 6 in a pack.



At the wet markets, eggs are sold loose, meaning you can buy any number you choose.

Answer 8

You can buy 8 eggs or dozen or more its just how they sell things not bad though its a good way of selling things i wouldn't be mad about it or angry i love eggs so i get alot of them cause i go thru them everyweek just eatting them as eggs their so good for you and can be made into anything

Answer 9

lol...

the farmers have to make money...

do this.....

a car tin of eggs cost whatever take the number of eggs in the box and divide them

example....

4.99 divided by 12 = what ever...

when you get the number you can see why farmers have to sell them in certain numbers