You can use an egg test to find out whether a chicken egg is still good. Because even if the best-before date has passed, most eggs are not yet spoiled.
On each egg carton you will find a sticker with the best before date of the eggs. As a rule, the eggs themselves also have a stamp with the date on the shell. The minimum shelf life is 28 days from the laying day.
If the best before date has passed, many eggs are still good. They will keep for up to three weeks without the fridge. You can then keep them in the fridge for another week or two. To be on the safe side, however, you should not eat expired eggs raw, but only eat them as boiled eggs or well-fried fried eggs.
There are also various egg tests that you can use to find out whether older eggs are still good.
Egg test: the water check for breakfast eggs
The best known is this egg test with water to find out whether an egg is still edible. Simply put the raw egg in a glass of water.
- If the egg sinks to the bottom, it’s still fresh.
- If the egg floats on the surface of the water, it is spoiled.
- If the egg is slightly slanted in the water, it should only be eaten well heated through.
Why is the egg floating on top? The older the egg is, the more water evaporates from the yolk through the shell. The free space fills with air, which allows the egg to rise up in the water glass. If the egg floats to the surface of the water, you should not eat it.
Egg test: what does the yolk look like?
The egg yolk also shows you whether the egg is still good. Accordingly, this method is not suitable for a boiled breakfast egg. But for all recipes with raw eggs, you can use this egg test:
- Carefully crack an egg on a plate.
- It is important that the plate really has a flat surface.
- If the yolk is evenly distributed in the middle, the egg is still fresh.
Why does the yolk float in the middle? As an egg gets older, the white becomes more runny and can no longer hold the yolk in the middle. Then the yolk slips to the edge or runs out. It should then only be eaten well heated through.
Shake eggs or hold up to the light
There are two other egg testing methods to distinguish fresh eggs from spoiled ones. However, they are not always very clear. We therefore only recommend them in combination with the methods mentioned above:
Shake eggs
When you shake spoiled eggs, you can sometimes hear a gurgle. This occurs in older eggs because the egg whites are no longer quite solid. It then sloshes around inside the egg when you shake it.
Hold the egg up to the light
You can also hold the egg in front of a strong lamp or directly in front of the lightbulb. Because fresh eggs have a very translucent shell. You will then see the egg yolk through the shell.