How to Tell If Your Eggs Have Gone Bad

How to Tell If Your Eggs Have Gone Bad

Eggs are one of those incredible food options that you can prepare in a couple of minutes when you truly can’t be bothered to spend time cooking. Toss them in a pan and you have a meal on the way.

Being a true kitchen staple for many, however, means that there’s a good chance your carton of eggs may spend a little longer than you’d like sitting in your fridge just in case. Meaning that when you eventually come around and use one of these guys, there’s a chance they’re past their prime.

So, what’s the best way to tell if your eggs are off?

Check the various dates on the carton

First things first: check the expiration date on the egg carton. That will at least give you a general idea of when you bought the eggs (if you can’t remember) and when they’re projected to go bad. And like many foods, the expiration may tell you more about when the eggs will taste the best, versus when they might make you sick.

In his book How to Cook Everything, Mark Bittman says that eggs can be good for up to four to five weeks beyond their pack date. And no, the pack date isn’t the same as the expiration date, which usually say something like “sell by” or “best by.”

According to Food52, the pack date is a three-digit number—ranging between 001 (January 1) and 365 (December 31)—that corresponds with a day of the year. It’s sometimes referred to as the “Julian date.” Here’s a cheat sheet in case it’s helpful.

Pop the eggs in a bowl of water

The dates on the cartons are helpful, but just because they’ve come and gone doesn’t mean you need to throw the eggs away. If you’re not sure whether or not it’s safe to use an egg, here’s what you need to do:

Fill a bowl with cold water and place the egg inside. If it sinks to the bottom, it’s good. If it sinks but stands on its point, it’s good, but won’t be good for much longer and should be used soon. If it floats, toss it. This works because old eggs will have lost a lot of the liquid on the inside, evaporating through their porous shell—causing the egg to float instead of sink.

Best of all, you won’t have to crack any shells to find out if your eggs are still safe to eat, and this method only takes about a minute.

This story has been updated since its original publication.


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