Outlines how to test eggs for freshness, using water, the shake test, examining the yold and white, and how to test hard-boiled eggs.
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It happens again and again that you still have eggs in the refrigerator, but no longer know when they were bought, let alone what their laying date is. This is problematic because the shelf life of eggs can be determined as follows: Shelf life up to approx. 28 days after laying date
Fresh eggs should always have a best-before date if sold in stores. If stored correctly, you can still consume them after this date without any problems. But eggs can sometimes still be sold in discount stores up to 3 weeks after the laying date. Therefore you should pay attention to the best before date when buying.
Nobody wants to eat spoiled eggs: if the eggs are no longer good, the risk of a salmonella infection increases, for a start. Is the egg still good – or already spoiled? You can find out how fresh raw and hard-boiled eggs are with a few very simple tricks.
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How to test eggs in water
If you want to test whether an egg is still fresh, it is best to do the water test . Put the egg in a glass filled with water. If the egg is fresh, it stays on the bottom. Eggs that are about a week old have the blunt end raised. When an egg is around two weeks old, it is in the water.
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From the age of four weeks, the egg swims without contact with the bottom. If the egg floats, stop eating it. The reason for the slowly rising egg is the air chamber in the egg, which gets bigger over time.
In summary
- Fill a glass with water
- Slowly place the egg in the water glass
- Now the actual egg test follows:
- Egg stays on the bottom: the egg is still fresh!
- Egg stays on the bottom, but stands up: the egg is a bit older and should be eaten soon!
- Egg floats on top:the egg is spoiled and should not be eaten!
How to test eggs for freshness: shake them
If you shake the egg and there is no sound, you can eat the egg – it is fresh. If, on the other hand, it ‘chuckles’ when shaken, air has again migrated, which has enlarged the air bubble.
How to test eggs for freshness: the light test
Hold eggs up to the light : Hold the egg directly in front of a light bulb. Fresh eggs have a translucent shell, so you can see the egg yolk through the shell.
How to test eggs for freshness: Check the yolk and white
When you break the egg, you can easily tell if the egg is still fresh. Then the egg white is tough, the egg yolk sits raised on the egg white. If the egg is no longer good, the egg yolk is rather flat and the egg white is watery. The reason: The protein chains (these are various interconnected substances) in the egg white dissolve over time, so that the egg yolk and egg white no longer stick together as strongly and run stronger.
How long can eggs be eaten?
For fresh egg dishes such as tiramisu, zabaione or mayonnaise, it is better to only use eggs that are not older than ten days. After the best before date (28 days after the laying date), you should boil eggs for at least ten minutes.
How do I know if hard-boiled eggs are still fresh?
Boiled eggs are often left in the supermarket for weeks. First of all, this is not a problem, because hard-boiled eggs are not perishable foods. Cooking kills the bacteria that raw eggs can contain. Boiled eggs in the package must have a best-before date (BBD). But even after that, eggs are often safe to eat for a long time.
- The colored eggs from the supermarket that have been industrially boiled can be kept for up to three months – even without refrigeration. Here the lacquer contained in the egg color makes the eggs durable, no air penetrates the egg through it.
- Eggs that you have hard-boiled yourself at home can easily be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks.
What about loose eggs?
“If the eggs are offered loose – that is, without outer packaging – you won’t even find out the best before date,” explains nutrition expert Geraldine Huisinga from the Consumer Center. It is difficult for the consumer to tell whether the colorful Easter eggs are really fresh. These tricks help:
- If the egg shows extensive discoloration, it could be because the shell was defective. Then you shouldn’t eat it anymore.
- Another trick to judging the freshness of an egg is the location of the yolk. If it is in the middle, the egg is fresh. With older eggs, the air chamber grows and the egg yolk moves more and more towards the shell.
- If an egg smells rotten, the thing is clear: Put it in the bin!
How to ensure your eggs stay fresh
Buy eggs as fresh as possible and use them as soon as possible
• Store eggs in the refrigerator. The reason: Salmonella practically does not multiply at temperatures below 6 ° C. At room temperature, however, it multiplies explosively. Subsequent cooling cannot reverse this
• You should only use fresh eggs for dishes that contain raw eggs
• Leave breakfast eggs in boiling water for at least 5 minutes
• Eggs whose best-before date has expired should only be eaten heated. Salmonella are killed at 70 ° C
• Eggs with damaged shells should be consumed immediately and only for well-heated dishes
