You know those eggs that seem like they've been sitting in the fridge for a while? You're not alone if you've ever wondered how to tell whether an egg is rotten. We've all been there, glancing at the sell-by date (or, even worse, staring at eggs we've unloaded onto an egg tray with no date to guide us).
Fear not: the sell-by date isn't always the greatest indicator of freshness. Eggs, on the other hand, are normally good for a long time after those dates have passed. That's why, when we're attempting to cut down on grocery store excursions, eggs are one of our favourite items to keep in the fridge. The good news is that you can identify whether eggs are excellent or rotten regardless of their expiry date.
We'll go through where sell-by dates come from, as well as the other date on the carton that counts. We'll also show you how to do a 3-second, no-fail test to ensure the freshness of any egg, as well as how to properly store your eggs so they keep as fresh as possible for as long as possible.
Let's get started!
Foolproof way to tell if you have good eggs to eat
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- 1. On the egg carton, there's a number that matters, but it's not the expiry date.
- 2. The egg float test is always accurate.
- 3. The egg is at its freshest when it lowers and falls on its broad side.
- 4. It's acceptable if the egg drops and then rises.
- 5. It's a poor egg if it floats.
- 6. You may also smell of the egg or shake it.
- 7. Toss an egg if you're still unsure about its freshness.
- 8. To keep your eggs as fresh as possible, store them near the bottom of the fridge.
- 9. Make hard-boiled eggs if you have a number of eggs that are about to expire.
1. On the egg carton, there's a number that matters, but it's not the expiry date.
First and foremost, disregard the expiration date. Any sell-by date on eggs must be 21–30 days from the time they were packaged, according to the USDA. The sell-by date is fairly broad, and although it's beneficial for inventory management at a grocery store, it's not as helpful for home chefs.
There's a more reliable approach to determine whether or not your eggs are still edible. A lengthier numerical number is listed above or below the expiry or sell-by date on the side of every egg carton. The final three digits of this lengthier code represent the Julian date, which assigns a number between 001 and 365 to each day of the year—for example, "140" represents May 20th (the USDA offers a helpful table if you don't want to do the arithmetic).
That date is the exact day the eggs were packaged, and they'll be perfectly good in four to five weeks from that day. Do you want to avoid having to check the chart every time you open the fridge? Simply figure out the true expiry date and write it on the container.
To determine egg freshness, you just need the last three digits of the number code on the bottom right.
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2. The egg float test is always accurate.
If you don't want to deal with Julian calendar dates at all, try this simple egg test. A dish of water, deep enough to immerse one egg plus a few inches, is all you need. See what happens if you gently drop your raw eggs (still in the shell!) into the chilly water.
3. The egg is at its freshest when it lowers and falls on its broad side.
A fresh egg is one that dips into its broad side as if it were laying down. Why? Fresher eggs have less air behind the eggshells, thus when put in water, they sink to the bottom of the bowl. You may cook them, poach them, or fold them into a soufflé.
4. It's acceptable if the egg drops and then rises.
An egg that settles to the bottom and "stands" on its smaller end is still edible, although it is most likely beyond its prime. The more time an egg has been around, the more the liquid within it evaporates, allowing air pockets to fill the void, causing the egg to "stand up" and almost float.
5. It's a poor egg if it floats.
It's no longer safe to consume an egg that has enough air to float. Put that jerk in the compost bin and move on.
6. You may also smell of the egg or shake it.
Shaking the egg near your ear and listening for a splashing sound is another method to tell whether it's fresh. It's not good if you hear swishing—it signifies the yolk has gone runny and old (yuck). Have you heard nothing? You still have a fresh egg on your hands.
If you break an egg believing it's fresh but it smells bad, dump it right away. Fresh eggs have no odour, but an old egg will have a sour odour (that's why they're called rotten eggs).
If the egg smells OK, doesn't float, and doesn't make a swishy sound, it's probably alright—but if you break it and the egg white is discoloured in any manner (or very runny), it's definitely terrible.
7. Toss an egg if you're still unsure about its freshness.
If you're ever unsure about an egg's quality, don't eat it (better to be safe than sorry). Salmonella, a form of bacterial growth that may cause fever, vomiting, and stomach pains for up to a week, can be carried by bad eggs. No, thank you.
read also: 5 Substitutes for Buttermilk
8. To keep your eggs as fresh as possible, store them near the bottom of the fridge.
Make sure you store your carton of eggs in the coldest portion of your fridge, which is normally the bottom shelves and at the rear of the fridge since cold air sinks. Many people keep their eggs on the inside of the fridge door—sometimes there's even a dedicated egg compartment—but that's really the hottest portion of the fridge since it's exposed to the kitchen's heat the most. Instead, go deep!
9. Make hard-boiled eggs if you have a number of eggs that are about to expire.
Don't throw away any of your eggs! If you have a large number of eggs to use up, we suggest hard-boiling them. It's the most efficient method to use up older eggs that shouldn't be left uncooked for too long. Your hard-boiled eggs will last another week in the fridge and may be used in salads, dressings, grain bowls, sandwiches, and more. (For more ideas, see 37 ways to utilise hard-boiled eggs.)
