You must be wondering how to know if eggs are good before cracking them up. Just like other foodstuffs, even eggs don’t last forever. Eggs do have a surprisingly long shelf life but can go bad over time. In today’s article, I will teach you how to know if eggs are good or bad. It is a bit tough to determine the freshness of an egg by its appearance. Luckily, there are a few easy ways to determine if an egg is still good to use. Without wasting much time, let us now learn how to know if eggs are good with the following tests.  

How To Know If Eggs Are Good?

You can easily learn how to know if eggs are good by the following methods.

1. Floating test
2. Smell
3. Appearance
4. Egg White Consistency
5. Shake it
6. Check the Expiry Date

The good news is that spoiled eggs are easy to detect. The most popular way to tell if an egg is bad is the float test. You can also try the other five methods to determine if your eggs are safe to eat. Keep on reading further to know more about how to know if eggs are good.

Click here – How To Know If Chicken Is Bad?

Common Spoilage Signs Of Eggs

Many among us often deal with an older egg that looks fine from the outside. It is important to determine an egg’s freshness before you consume it. So, let us now first learn how to know if eggs are good in the water.

1. Float Test

You can do an egg float test for egg freshness. For this, simply take a glass or bowl filled with cold water and place your egg into this cold water. Wait for a while and keep an eye on your egg movements. If your egg sinks to the button and lay flat on its side, it is still fresh. Even if your egg stays at the bottom but stands on one end, it can be consumed. Spoiled eggs will float to the surface, so it’s better to discard them!

Keep on reading further to know more about how to know if eggs are good or not.

2. Smell

Apart from the water test, you can also tell if an egg is good by its smell. Fresh eggs have little to no noticeable odor. If you get a pungent smell from your eggs, they are no longer safer to eat. Sometimes, you might also get a sulphuric, gassy, or sour smell from eggs. Eggs often develop cracks during transportation. Due to these cracks, bacteria get a chance to enter through the shell and develop an odor inside the egg.

3. Appearance

It is very important to know what does a bad egg look like while it is still in the shell. When you notice it has a slimy or powdery exterior, they are contaminated by bacteria or mold. You can also take a look at the inside of the eggshell after cracking it up. If you notice black or brown spots, it is no longer fresh.

You can keep on reading to find out how to tell eggs are bad after cracking.

4. Egg White Consistency

After you crack an egg onto a flat surface, you must also observe its yolk and egg white. Fresh eggs will always have a bright yellow or orange yolk. And the egg white is slightly stiff and will sit up around the yolk. However, the egg white of the spoiled egg will be flatter and spread out.

5. Shake It

Alternatively, you can also hold an egg up to your ear and shake it. Fresh eggs won’t make any noise. On the other hand, the egg is no longer good if you hear the liquid swishing around inside. This swishing sound indicates that the egg is very old and has a watery yolk.

6. Check The Expiry Date

While purchasing eggs from the grocery store, you must check the use-by date on the carton. The sell-by date indicates how long a store should sell the eggs. While the use-by date indicates the date after which the eggs are considered less than fresh. If your eggs are passed the expiry date, you can still eat them only if they are refrigerated.

Now, you must be wondering how do you know if an egg is bad after boiling it. Hard-boiled eggs have shorter shelf life than raw eggs. Boiled eggs are more prone to bacteria and other contaminants. If you notice a slimy or chalky texture on your egg, simply discard it.

Tips To Prevent Eggs From Going Bad

By far, I hope you’ve now understood how to know if eggs are good. Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do to keep your eggs fresh as long as possible. Below, I’ve listed a few best methods for you to prevent your eggs from going bad.

• Always check the eggs inside the carton.
• Avoid purchasing eggs that have cracks or dirt.
• You must always refrigerate your eggs in the carton they come in to prevent water loss.
• Make sure you keep eggs in the coldest part of the fridge (middle or lower shelf).
• Never leave refrigerated eggs out at room temperature for more than two hours.
• You can keep refrigerated eggs for up to six weeks.

What Happens If You Eat A Bad Egg?

After learning how to know if eggs are good, you must also know the side effects caused by eating a bad egg. It can cause food poisoning, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, and vomiting. These symptoms will develop between six and 48 hours after eating a contaminated egg. It can last between 4 to 7 days and will go away on its own.

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FAQ

Is The Egg Float Test Accurate?

An egg can sink and still be bad, while an egg that floats may still be fine to eat (2). Checking whether an egg sinks or floats is a popular way to check how fresh it is. However, it can’t tell you if an egg has gone bad.

How Do You Know If Your Eggs Have Gone Bad?

Simply fill a bowl with cold tap water and place your eggs in it. If they sink to the bottom and lay flat on one side, they are fresh and good to eat. A bad egg will float because of the large air cell that forms at its base. Any floating eggs should be thrown out.

What Happens If You Eat A Bad Egg?

Risks of Eating Bad Eggs
Coli that lead to severe illness. If an egg is bad, symptoms of illness appear within six to 48 hours and may include: Diarrhea. Stomach pain and cramps.

What Do Bad Eggs Look Like?

The best way to determine if your egg is spoiled is by cracking it open into a bowl. If the egg white is pink or iridescent this is an indication of spoilage due to Pseudomonas bacteria. Some of these bacteria can make us sick when eaten and they will produce a greenish, fluorescent, water-soluble color.

Click here – How To Know If Garlic Is Bad?

How Can You Tell If An Egg Is Bad?

Simply fill a bowl with cold tap water and place your eggs in it. If they sink to the bottom and lay flat on one side, they are fresh and good to eat. A bad egg will float because of the large air cell that forms at its base. Any floating eggs should be thrown out.

Can You Eat Eggs That Float?

An older egg will either stand on its end or float. The float test works because air builds up inside the egg as it ages, increasing its buoyancy. However, an egg that floats may still be safe to eat, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Conclusion

In the above post, I’ve discussed how to know if your fresh eggs are still good. The most common way to spot a spoiled egg is the float test and smell test. If the egg floats or smells like sulphur, you should throw it right away! Badly spoiled eggs are easy to detect as soon as you crack them open. If you see green, pink, or black discoloration, then it is not safe. You must also check the consistency of the egg white. Once you understand how to know if eggs are good, you won’t end up throwing good eggs!