When we returned from vacation the eggs in the fridge had passed their “sell by” date. I was pretty sure they were still good, but wanted to make sure before I fed them to the kids.
This easy test will determine if your egg is good enough to eat, or it is time to toss.
Submerge your egg in water. If the egg is fresh it will sink to the bottom. If it floats to the top throw it out. If it sits somewhere in the middle eat it today!
The reason a fresh egg sinks is because it has a very small air pocket inside the shell. As time goes on the fluid inside the shell evaporates and more gases fill the shell causing it to float.
Shoshana says
That’s really good to know, thanks! I always throw eggs away when “expired” but I know now to do this test before I do.
Karina says
This is a really good trick. I tried it this morning when I was making pancakes and the eggs had expired. I was good to go and avoided a wasted trip to the store!
Lisa Sullivan says
This is really helpful. My mother shared this with me long ago. When you purchase fresh farm eggs there is no expiration date, so this is a good way to test them if your unsure. We use so many eggs that we don’t really have to worry about spoilage 🙂
Mary says
What does it mean if you crack an egg and there is blood in it? This has happened to me 3 times through out the years. I just throw them out, but I am still curious.
Jenalee says
A blood spot in an egg is a natural occurrence. The blood spot is than what you would eat in a hamburger patty. You can usually remove the blood spot with the tip of a spoon or knife. Usually eggs are candled before being sold and any eggs with blood spots are not sold, but a spot may be missed here and there. Fresher eggs have more blood spots than older eggs as blood spots tend to disappear with time. Don’t throw away the egg. Just remove the blood spot. The egg is fine.
Jenalee says
Sorry, I left out the word less in the sentence, “The blood spot is less than what you would eat in a hamburger patty.”