How to Tell If Your Eggs Are Fresh « My Morning Chocolate

How to Tell If Your Eggs Are Fresh

October 13, 2009 by Jen W.

I apologize for not posting yesterday with a recipe inspired by a Heroes character. For the next two weeks, I’ll be extra busy with school, work, and travel, so I will post the next Heroes recipe for Sylar on Monday, October 26.

The wide end of the light brown and white eggs are floating to the top of the bowl of water. These eggs are losing their freshness.

The wide end of the light brown and white eggs are floating to the top of the bowl of water. These eggs are older and should be used quickly.

A couple of weeks ago, Kenny and I were at my parents’ house while they were in Hawaii. Kenny made himself an omelet with the eggs that were in the fridge; later on, he felt sick. We think the age of the eggs was the problem.

This got me thinking about the life of an egg. What happens to an egg over time? Is there a way to tell how old your eggs are before you eat them?

The quality of an egg deteriorates right after it leaves the hen, according to Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking. A fresh egg white will be cloudy but, as the egg ages, the white becomes more clear and runny.

A fresh yolk has more dissolved molecules than the white, and this “osmotic imbalance creates a natural pressure for water in the white to migrate across the yolk membrane” (81). Each day, five milligrams of water cross from the white to the yolk in each of your refrigerated eggs; the water causes the yolk to swell, thinning it and weakening the membrane.

The egg itself also loses water daily, causing the yolk and white to shrink while the air cell at the wide end of the egg expands.

Because of this moisture loss, there is an easy way to gauge the freshness of your eggs.

Fill a bowl with water and drop your eggs in. A fresh egg has less air space; therefore it is denser than water and will sink to the bottom.

But, as the egg ages, the loss of water causes the air cell to expand. The older the egg, the higher the wide end of the shell will rise in a bowl of water.

“An egg that actually floats is very old and should be discarded,” according to McGee (82).

Posted in Books, Ingredients | Tagged harold mcgee eggs, how to tell if your eggs are hard-boiled, how to tell if your eggs are old, on food and cooking eggs | 42 Comments

42 Responses

on October 13, 2009 at 3:01 pm | Reply Steven Harris

We always know our eggs are fresh – we keep chickens. Cheating, I know, but tasty too.
http://doctorbeatnik.wordpress.com/
on October 13, 2009 at 3:03 pm | Reply The Pretty Project

1) I freakin’ love eggs

2) This is genius!

3) Thank you for this

http://www.theprettyproject.com
on October 13, 2009 at 3:04 pm | Reply livvyjane

We have chickens on our little farm and have used this method multiple times to see if the eggs are fresh or not!
- on October 14, 2009 at 11:25 am | Reply Jen W.
  
  Steven and livvyjane,
  
  Fresh eggs from chickens are the best way to go. My aunt and uncle used to have chickens; my husband made an omelet with their eggs and said it was the best he’s ever had.
on October 13, 2009 at 4:22 pm | Reply Mike

very nice tip
on October 13, 2009 at 4:28 pm | Reply Nikole Hahn

Good to know! I always thought if the egg spins without wobbling it is an old egg.
- on October 13, 2009 at 11:05 pm | Reply shoutabyss
  
  I think that is the test for hard boiled or not.
  - on October 14, 2009 at 11:27 am Jen W.
    
    Hi Nikole and S.,
    
    Yes, this is the hard-boiled egg test. This is a valuable tip too! Thanks for sharing it.
on October 13, 2009 at 4:40 pm | Reply ilbu

thanks for such valueable information
on October 13, 2009 at 4:51 pm | Reply Tanwa

Egg is basic food and I love it very much.
Thank for Knowledge \^_^/

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on October 13, 2009 at 5:01 pm | Reply abiel

That method is a convinient and assuring way of checking for the expiration of an egg.
on October 13, 2009 at 7:09 pm | Reply hg

one of the best ways to know you’re getting fresh eggs is to buy them from your local farmers markets. not only will they be fresh, they will also be more flavorful and you will be supporting local agriculture.
- on October 14, 2009 at 11:58 am | Reply Jen W.
  
  I agree, it’s best to buy your eggs at a farmers market if you can. It’s always good to support your local farmers, and I’ve also found that the farmers market eggs cost about the same or less than the free-range eggs in the grocery store.
on October 13, 2009 at 7:18 pm | Reply crowbiz

My rule of thumb is to toss out any egg that sasses back.
on October 13, 2009 at 7:42 pm | Reply Sarah

I love this because we eat a ton of eggs in our family. I try to buy farm fresh eggs as oftern as possible.

Have you ever wondered how the processed eggs get so white? Well I have, it seems so creepy to think you are eating an all white eggs when you know full well they don’t come out looking like that.

We all should go brown!
on October 13, 2009 at 8:08 pm | Reply icliks

Great info. Thanks! I think, tho that there is a minor error in your report. You say that a fresh egg has “more air space,” but I think you mean less air space. Then it expands.

i
- on October 14, 2009 at 11:22 am | Reply Jen W.
  
  Icliks,
  
  You’re right. I changed the blog entry. Thanks for catching that mistake and telling me about it!
on October 13, 2009 at 8:09 pm | Reply Christie

Very interesting !
I learned something new about eggs haha

Thanks !
on October 13, 2009 at 8:13 pm | Reply deezahoney

Great tip – thanks!
on October 13, 2009 at 8:26 pm | Reply ally

great tip! and perfect timing because I was just wondering if the eggs in my fridge are any good. can’t wait to go home and check!
http://cupcakesandcatfood.wordpress.com/
on October 13, 2009 at 9:03 pm | Reply theasley

I heard from my wife’s former roommate that eggs last a lot longer than what it says on the carton. I think she said a year after buying them…? Can’t remember exactly, but she is a dietetics major.

Though, my wife and I did eat some four/five month old eggs and they were just great.
- on October 14, 2009 at 11:37 am | Reply Jen W.
  
  Hi Theasley,
  
  I don’t think I’ve ever had eggs that were four/five months old. Did they look different (was the yolk runny for example)? Just curious!
  
  Your post got me wondering how long eggs are supposed to last so I went back to On Food and Cooking. Here what McGee says:
  
  “Bought fresh and treated with care, eggs should keep for several weeks in the shell” (83).
  
  To treat eggs with care, he also recommends storing them in an airtight container instead of a loose carton because it slows moisture loss. I’d be afraid the eggs would crack, even if it does keep them fresh for a longer time.
on October 13, 2009 at 9:42 pm | Reply vampiregran

Awesome information! And I love that book by Harold McGee. My chef recommended it when I was in culinary school. Another great book that every cook should have is Food Lover’s Companion.
- on October 14, 2009 at 11:46 am | Reply Jen W.
  
  Great suggestion! I love the Food Lover’s Companion. This book is an encyclopedia of food, and it seems like it covers every ingredient/dish possible.
  
  For example, if you look under eggs, there’s entries for egg scissors, egg slicers, egg separators, egg timers, and Egg Sardou (a poached egg dish that is “a specialty of Antoine’s restaurant in New Orleans”). There’s great info in this book!
on October 13, 2009 at 10:55 pm | Reply lifeaftereighty

In 1950 I shared a government issued study on eggs with my then radio audience (KANS, Wichita, KS). I doubt if eggs have changed much since that time.

The study said that refrigeration greatly prolongs the life of an egg. That a fresh egg will keep for thirty days in your refrigerator and be the same age as one left at room temperature for three days.

I also know that if you should crack a rotten egg it will give out it’s own warning – much like a skunk does.
- on October 14, 2009 at 11:50 am | Reply Jen W.
  
  Thanks for the info! Refrigeration does greatly prolong the life of an egg, but I didn’t realize what a big difference it makes.
on October 13, 2009 at 11:07 pm | Reply shoutabyss

Not all dates on food packaging can be trusted. Product may have been allowed to sit prior to dating. That makes this a fabulous tip.
on October 14, 2009 at 12:18 am | Reply ZZMike

Great idea.

After I started reading, I realized that you meant “before you eat them”.

This may be old hat, but the next question is, how do you tell if an egg is hard-boiled or uncooked? (Yes, without breaking it.)

In my fridge, I just look for the big black “X” that I put on them after they’re cooked.
- on October 14, 2009 at 11:54 am | Reply Jen W.
  
  Hi Mike,
  
  To see if your egg is hard-boiled, you can spin the egg. If the egg spins on its own, it’s hard-boiled; if it wobbles and stops spinning, it’s not. It would be a good idea to spot your egg in case it’s not hard-boiled.
  
  I’ve never tried this experiment, but ehow.com says it works.
  
  The Black X method sounds like a good one too!
  - on October 14, 2009 at 4:32 pm shoutabyss
    
    I’ve used that test many times. It really does work.
on October 14, 2009 at 12:39 am | Reply autumnincolors

Interesting! I’m gonna try it!
on October 14, 2009 at 2:45 am | Reply Star Carlton

Nice – I will try that next time. Thanks
on October 14, 2009 at 4:25 am | Reply Ana Priscila

Great tip! I’ll probably share on my blog, too. Credit is always given where credit is due.
on October 14, 2009 at 4:53 am | Reply J. Joseph

Thanks. We stack eggs in the fridge. Since we do not have a strict FIFO (first in, fist out) system, we sometimes leave the old ones there for long. Your tip now solves the problem of identifying the old ones.

Keep going. Your advice is food for thought as well as good for food.
on October 14, 2009 at 5:42 am | Reply watup_love2002

sorry they don’t lay egg’s with date stamp on it !!!
but it would be nice if they did !!!!!!!!!!
on October 14, 2009 at 7:54 am | Reply sunny

One of my favorite foods is sunny- side- up.
I’ll use this tip.
on October 14, 2009 at 8:31 am | Reply Abhishek

thanks for this nice little tip !!! Can’t wait to go home and try it ……
on October 14, 2009 at 8:47 am | Reply Sajib

Thanks for the nice tip. I’m sure it’s going to help my mom a lot.
on October 14, 2009 at 9:12 am | Reply jimmynorth

wow! never even thought about this! great idea! and very useful one! thanks for sharing! good luck with study and work! and have a nice travel!
- on October 14, 2009 at 11:55 am | Reply Jen W.
  
  Thanks Jimmy!
on October 15, 2009 at 5:40 pm | Reply Jessie

What great information, especially for someone like me who has expiration date phobias!
on October 21, 2009 at 2:21 pm | Reply Test for Egg Freshness « The Bad Egg

[...] WordPress.com Test for Egg Freshness October 21, 2009, 7:00 am Filed under: News & Resources So I was going to write up my own post on how to test the freshness of your eggs, but the My Morning Chocolate blog already did: How to Tell if Your Eggs Are Fresh [...]