How To Check The Freshness Of An Egg

Most boxes of eggs should come with an expiry date. However, in some cases this is not the case & you will need to determine if an egg is fresh or not.

Eggs have an air pocket in them. The fresher the egg, the smaller the pocket. As the egg ages, the air pocket expands.

Floating:

• Fill a bowl with cold water, it should be twice as deep as the egg itself.

• A fresh egg, will sink to the bottom & lie on it's side.

• A slightly older egg will still sink to the bottom but will be tilted up, with the rounded egg pointing upwards.

• A really old egg will float to the top. This should not be consumed.

Cracking:

• Crack the egg onto a flat plate.

• If it's fresh, the yolk should be domed & sit high in the centre of the white.

• The white will stay close to the yolk & should be thick and cloudy.

Buying and storing eggs:

When purchasing eggs, open the box & check there are no eggs with cracks in them.

Eggs should be stored in a refrigerator in the egg carton. This helps prevent eggs absorbing odours from the fridge.

Also see:

How to peel an egg