While the bloom (or natural coating) on eggs and a nice cold fridge keeps them fresh for up to 3 months, if you’ve lost track of how long they’ve been sitting in your fridge (or on your counter), you might just crack open an off one (and let’s not talk about that smell).
Here are 3 ways to tell if your eggs are still fresh.
How to tell if your eggs are still fresh
1. Check the expiration date
If you still have the original carton/packaging, then finding out whether your eggs are still fresh or not is easy. Look for the “expiration date” or “sell by date” on the packaging. The “expiration date” marks the date after which eggs are considered not fresh/possibly have gone off. The “sell by date” only indicates how long the store should offer eggs for sale (usually 30 days) – not necessarily that eggs are considered expired or off.
2. Sniff them and check their appearance
If you’ve thrown away the packaging or are one or two days beyond the expiration date, it’s worth taking a whiff and inspecting their appearance.
If any eggs have any cracks or dents, dispose of them right away. Any openings will mean that harmful bacteria have the chance to invade the egg, compromising its safety.
The ‘sniff test’ is the oldest in the book and works for both raw and cooked eggs. Sniff the whole egg, or crack it into a clean bowl/plate and give it a whiff. If you detect any foul odours, dispose of them right away (maybe far away too).
3. The float test
If you’re not one for sniffing (or don’t want your house smelling like rotten eggs), use the float test.
Fill a clear glass with water. Pop the egg in question gently into the water and give it a minute. If the egg sinks right to the bottom, it’s fresh and safe to eat. If it bobs around the bottom but does not float to the top, it’s stale – a little older than fresh but still safe to eat (crack it open and do a sniff test to be certain).
If the egg floats at the top of the water, it’s off and needs to be disposed of.
Also See: Farm eggs vs. store eggs: Is there really a difference?
