How to assess the freshness of eggs

Eggs are kitchen essential and much like any other trust worthy kitchen ingredient, we tend to simply pick one and make use of it without checking its quality.

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Here are details on how to check the freshness of eggs.

Eggs are kitchen essential and much like any other trust worthy kitchen ingredient, we tend to simply pick one and make use of it without checking its quality. However, not every egg that looks clean on the outside is fresh and it is extremely easy to check the freshness of eggs.

Checking freshness of eggs without cracking it

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Check the label. The first way to assess egg quality is by checking the packaging and best before dates mentioned on the carton. Do the float test. It is very easy to perform this test, just place the eggs in a bowl with enough water to immerse them. If the egg stays inside the water or lies at the bottom then the egg is fresh as it has a small bubble in it. However, if the egg floats on the surface of the water then it has turned bad and should be discarded.

Is the float test really effective? Yes, it is quite effective. Every egg has a tiny air cell in the area between the shell and thin membrane inside the egg. As the egg ages, this pocket of air bubble grows inside it, which means the larger the bubble the more buoyant the egg will become. This buoyant egg floats easily and reveals the age of the egg.

Checking freshness of a cracked egg

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Just in case you forgot to check fresh of the egg before cracking it, there are other ways to assess it as well.

A fresh egg upon cracking will have a thick white that won’t spread much and yolk that will be nice and round. If the egg white is thin and runny, it should not be consumed. If the yolk breaks easily or flattens out on the surface, then it indicates the egg has gone bad. The white part of a fresh egg will be cloudy and not clear. Most importantly, sniff the cracked egg to know if it is rotten as the bad smell indicates that the egg is old and should not be consumed.

Choosing and storing the eggs

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Always buy AA grade eggs that are of high quality and have a longer shelf life. You can also consider buying pasteurized eggs that have been treated to destroy the bacteria present inside without cooking them. You may store the fresh eggs at room temperature, or refrigerate them if desired, and then definitely transfer them in to the refrigerator after a couple of days to prolong their shelf life.

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