How to check if an Egg is Rotten

[Bethsy]

I have been reading some threads about how to handle rotten eggs. Here is a trick my mother taught me:

Before cracking the eggs you wish to use, fill a bowl/sink with water (enough so that the eggs are completely submerged and then some.) Simply place the eggs in the water and watch to see if they float to the surface. If the egg is rotten or beginning to go bad it will float due to the build up of gases inside the shell. Eggs are naturally slightly buoyent so don't be concerned if they don't sit flat on the bottom, all i mean is if the FLOAT chuck them out and save yourself the smelly encounter.

Peace out.
Bethsy.

 

[TATTRAT]

and a stale egg will stink threw the shell, if it is truly bad. The shell IS a membrane, and will alert you to danger if you heed the signs

 

[boufa06]

What Daisy said, ie. shaking an egg next to your ear to see (or rather hear) if it's rotten works without fail for me. Eggs that have gone bad make the characteristic sound of something splashing around inside the shell while fresh eggs make no sound at all.

For those not used to this method of detection, a word of caution might be in order. Do not hold the egg too tightly or shake too energetically. It is not that in case you do so you will fail to detect a rotten egg. Detection will be as easy or even easier in this case. However, there may be undesirable side effects, if you know what I mean.

 

[urmaniac13]

Yey, thanks guys for very timely advices!! I just bought new eggs, and accidentally they got mixed up with the already existing eggs (which are I am sure nearing towards the expiring date) in the fridge and I was a bit apprehensive about how to tell if some of the old ones got left behind and has gone bad... I surely would prefer avoiding those smelly encounters!!

 

[Sararwelch]

A fair amount of chefs break their eggs into a separate bowl before they add them to a mixture in case they get a bad egg - then it doesn't ruin everything.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Actually - "floating" eggs aren't necessarily "rotten" - they're just older. And as such they are PERFECT to use for hardboiled eggs because the same air space that allows them to float also makes them a breeze to peel.

Unless you're purchasing your eggs from a local farmer who can't guarantee time/handling, the chances of your supermarket eggs being old enough to actually be "rotten" are very small unless you've had them sitting around for 6 months or so - lol!!!

As far as keeping track of which eggs are new vs. old, what I do is just buy a different color egg each time I start running out of eggs. For instance, I bought brown eggs last time & still have a couple left, so today I bought a dozen white eggs. This way I easily know which ones to use up first.

 

[Bethsy]

Breezycooking thats a bit of a gamble. If there is air of gas trapped inside the egg chances are it's a bad sign. Of corse there are different stages of an egg maturing and eventually becoming rotten.I have my own chickens, ducks and geese which all provide eggs that we eat. I strongly stand by the floatation method of testing. I also agree that it is a very good idea to always crack your eggs into a separate bowl before use.
*And just a thought. My chickens lay different colour eggs... different shapes and textures... Don't you think it is a bit unnatural that you are able to buy eggs that are all brown or all white? The colour of normal chickens eggs is greatly effected by their diet and i always varied.
*Companies who sell caged chickens eggs have realised that there is a market for people who want to buy free range eggs. As such now many companies who keep caged chickens also keep free range chickens so that they can apeal to as much of the consumer market as possible. BE CAREFUL OF WHAT YOU BUY! In choosing carefully you will be making the choice between supporting companies who abuse their chickens and companies that are humane. Just because it says free range.... doesn't mean anything.
I know this is all alittle off topic. I apologise. I hope you all enjoy continueing to eat and cook with eggs
Bethsy.

 

[Andy M.]

Bethsy, I have seen completely white eggs and completely brown eggs in the supermarket all my life. I don't think it's unnatural at all. The breed of the chicken and the feed determines the color of the shell so it's not at all surprising that shell colors are uniform.

Breezy, I segregate old and new eggs in the fridge by keeping them in their original cartons. No need to keep switching colors.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Bethsy - WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!!!

First of all, I said in my post that floating eggs from the supermarket didn't necessarily mean they were "rotten", just good for hard-boiled eggs. Supermarket eggs are held to much hgher standards than farmers market or private sale eggs, & I "stand" by that like you "stand" by your comments. I also stated in my post "except" if your eggs were purchased from a local farmer. Perhaps you missed that? If I buy eggs from my local farmer, any floaters will either be broken & sniffed or tossed.

I raised chickens for eggs for over 15 years & don't grade their quality by the color of their shells. My Aracaunas laid eggs in shades from pink to green. Of course eggshell color is different according to both chicken breed & diet. However, the shell color won't differ a whole heckuva lot in supermarket eggs since each farm will be feeding the same basic diet in most cases.

But I digress - what I meant to say is Bethsy - CHILL OUT. You are definitely not the be all & end all of chicken eggs. Neither am I. I hate to break it to you, but there are other folks on this board who have &/or do raise chickens for both meat & eggs.

Sorry for the rant, but geez, give me a break.

 

[auntdot]

Just city folk here who do now live in the country, but in a development where they don't allow anything resembling livestock larger than a gerbil (regular pets are OK but no lambs, goats, pigs, chickens, etc).

Like Andy, have always seen eggs that were either pure white or brown (most were brown in New England ).

Even when I was a kid quite a few years ago. Never saw a speckled one (not chicken eggs anyway, quail eggs sure).

We even buy them from local growers and they are always uniform.

I guess the uniformity comes from the breed and perhaps the use of a similar feed (admittedly, don't know nothin' about breedin' no chickens).

After we retire, want to live in a place where we can try some to do some of that stuff though.

Have never, ever had a rotten egg. We never pay any attention to the expiration date. And generally do not use them very often. Have had a few in the fridge from time to time we kinda were worried about (since we had not used one in a while, 'Gosh what is this egg still doing here' kind of thing) but just broke them in a bowl individually, which we routinely do anyway, and had no problem.

Knew about the water trick but never tried it because did not know how much buoyancy indicated an older egg and how much represented a rotten one.

That's pretty much all I know about raw eggs.

 

[goboenomo]

How long do eggs last?
We've never had an egg go bad at my house.

 

[expatgirl]

A bit of a digression--maybe not-----is it just me or am I just jinxed but I've been cooking and baking for over 30 years and it seems like that in the past few years I'm getting more and more eggs with "blood spots". Now, I've been told not to use those eggs and I don't but what makes me mad is that I'll crack 3-4 eggs in a bowl and then the last one is bloody and I have to throw everything out. So now I find myself breaking each egg in a separate container before adding it to the rest. Anyone else having this problem? As for determining fresh eggs----where I live I always "float" my eggs. Not much quality control I'm afraid.

 

[Mrs. Cuillo]

Since we are on the topic of eggs...I got one the other day with two yolks. Is it ok to use them?? (Can you tell I am new to cooking or what?!?!)

 

[Dove]

Thank you daisy..that was very interesting.
Marge

 

[BreezyCooking]

It's definitely A-ok to use double yolkers. When I used to raise chickens, as the birds got older we got double yolkers more & more often & considered them "Bonus Eggs" - lol!

If the eggs you bought were from a supermarket, I'm surprised that a double-yolker snuck past the egg company, as they usually weed them out when the eggs are candled (run past a bright light so the egg can be checked for abnormalities). But there's absolutely nothing wrong with them - they just don't "conform to the norm", as they say - lol!!

 

[buckytom]

i throw mine at elfie's house.

if she pulls out a pan and whips up something delicious, then i know the eggs are good.

you don't wanna know "if not"...

 

[Mrs. Cuillo]

Well, many things come from finding a double yolker!! I had no idea! I was pretty suprised when I saw it myself. Being unsure, I threw it away and used another but now I will make a wish and take it as a sign of good luck. I need some...my family always says "Nik, if you didn't have bad luck, you'd have no luck at all". Anything is worth a shot!!

 

[boufa06]

Superstition has it that a double-yolker will being you good luck. I don't need to be told that - two for the price of one is always good! If you get a double-yolker when making custard, the end result will be a better colour. And there's something decadent about a poached double-yolker on toast!!

Actually, breaking a double-yolker open is a sure sign you'll be coming into some money soon, perhaps winning a prize on the lottery. Certainly, make a wish when you break a double-yolker. It's sure to come true.

Gee Daisy, what is wrong with me? I crack open double yolkers all the time and I never got any luck in the lottery or the casino. Could it be that my luck vanishes because I can tell a double yolker before I crack it open?

 

[boufa06]

Well, many things come from finding a double yolker!! I had no idea! I was pretty suprised when I saw it myself. Being unsure, I threw it away and used another but now I will make a wish and take it as a sign of good luck. I need some...my family always says "Nik, if you didn't have bad luck, you'd have no luck at all". Anything is worth a shot!!

My goodness, you could have thrown just one of the two yolks and bring the egg back to normal or even keep the extra yolk for a while just in case you run into a yolkless egg!

 

[boufa06]

Ok I'll bite. Are there yolkless eggs?
Hugs,
Pook

Gosh, I don't know. But there could be. Cholesterol prevention research could hatch one anytime. The good cook should be prepared.