Cracking The Code: How To Determine If Your Eggs Have Gone Bad

When you find a good deal on eggs it is smart to stock up on this frugal protein staple. While you can freeze eggs for future use and you can get plenty of use out of eggs with these easy egg recipes it is still not uncommon to find eggs shoved at the back of the refrigerator or farm-fresh eggs shoved behind something on the counter.

Instead of throwing the eggs out learn how to tell if eggs are good or if they have gone bad without risking breaking a bad egg.

How to tell if your eggs are still good

The expiration date on the side of your package of eggs is more of a sell-by date and is highly unreliable for determining if eggs are still good enough to use.

The best way to determine if eggs are still good is to use the float test. Grab a bowl of ice-cold water. Place eggs gently into the water. If they stay flat on the bottom they are extremely fresh. these eggs have a long time left to them before they go bad and can be stored longer.

If the eggs stand up or tilt up while still at the bottom of the bowl, they are still good and just right for making hardboiled eggs. These will peel easily and still hold all of the nutrition and flavor of the fresh eggs.

If your eggs float at the top of the water they are past their prime and may have a sulfur-like smell. Carefully disposed of these eggs to avoid them cracking inside your home leaving behind a rotten egg smell.

Key Signs That Your Eggs Are Bad

Determining the freshness of your eggs is crucial for both taste and safety. Here are some key signs that your eggs have gone bad:

The Float Test: This is one of the most reliable methods to check if an egg has gone bad. Fill a bowl with cold water and gently place the egg in it. If the egg sinks and lays flat on its side, it’s still fresh. If it stands upright on the bottom or starts to float, it is no longer fresh. An egg that floats on the surface is likely bad and should be discarded.

The Sniff Test: Fresh eggs should not have a strong smell. If you crack open an egg and it gives off a foul or unpleasant odor, it’s a clear sign that the egg has gone bad.

Visual Inspection: Look at the egg white and yolk once it’s cracked open. If the egg white is cloudy instead of clear or if the yolk has a flat and discolored appearance, it’s best not to consume the egg.

Expiration Date: While the expiration date on the egg carton isn’t always a definitive indicator of an egg’s freshness, it can serve as a useful guideline. If the date has passed, it’s best to perform the float test to ensure the eggs are still good.

Remember, when in doubt, it’s safer to discard questionable eggs rather than risk foodborne illness. It’s always better to err on the side of caution when it comes to food safety.

What to do with older eggs that are still good

When it comes to hard-boiling eggs, age truly does matter. While fresh eggs are wonderful for many culinary uses, older eggs actually have a distinct advantage when it comes to hard-boiling. Here’s why:

Eggs naturally have a small air pocket at the wider end between the shell and the egg white. As the egg ages, moisture and carbon dioxide are lost through the porous shell, causing this air pocket to expand. This process also results in the pH of the egg white increasing, which makes it less adherent to the shell.

When you hard-boil fresh eggs, the membrane beneath the shell sticks tightly to the egg white, making peeling the egg quite a challenge. However, with older eggs, the membrane separates more easily from the egg white, so they are much easier to peel after boiling.

So, if you’re planning to make hard-boiled eggs, using your older eggs will save you time and effort during the peeling process. This is particularly useful if you’re preparing dishes like deviled eggs or egg salad, where a smooth, clean egg white is desirable.

Remember to always check the freshness of your eggs before using them, even when you want them to be a bit older for hard-boiling. The float test can be a helpful tool here: older but still good eggs will stand upright on the bottom of a bowl of water rather than laying flat.

Having a hard time peeling your hard-boiled eggs?

I recommend an egg peeler, this handy kitchen tool helps you easily peel boiled eggs, which can be useful in determining if the egg is bad or not based on its appearance and smell.

You can find it on Amazon here.

This tool can be a great addition to any kitchen and can make the process of checking and preparing eggs much easier.

What to do if you crack a bad egg?

While just past their prime eggs won’t cause a problem if you crack them you may find yourself in the position of having cracked an egg that had long gone bad. Whether the egg is cooked or not a truly rotten egg will leave a smell behind that you won’t soon forget.

I still distinctly remember the smell left behind one summer when we discovered an easter egg that had been lost in a window sill.

To get rid of this odor from a rotten egg clean the area with vinegar. Leave a small dish of vinegar in the room to help absorb the odor. Open windows. As the vinegar dries it will stop smelling and take the smell of the rotten egg with it.