![]() If the egg smells nasty or moldy at all, pitch and do not eat. The bloom on farm fresh eggs are what also helps protect them from spoiling when stored at room temperature of any temperature over the 45 F (7 F) setting that is standard on most refrigerators.Įggs that have been sunk or float tested should always be stored in a refrigerator, and ideally consumed within two weeks even if they sunk when submerged in the cold water.īefore you store the eggs in a carton in the refrigerator, especially if you are going to use the carton again when collecting eggs from your chicken coop, go ahead and cleanse them thoroughly to remove dirt and feces.ĥ More Easy Ways to Tell If an Egg Is Bad The bloom covering prevents oxygen, bacteria, and debris from attaching to the shell and permeating the egg. There is only one drawback to the sink or float test: once the eggs have been submerged in water, the protective bloom that covers the eggs during the laying process has been disturbed or removed. The extra air that materializes as an egg ages from fresh to getting close to rotten may cause them to be easier to peel, as well. Some folks swear that hard boiling eggs that stood upright during the egg sink or float test is the best way to eat them. You can see a floating egg in the picture below: If an egg floats, it is either cracked or too old to be safely consumed. If the egg remains submerged, but is standing up with the wide side down, it may still be safe to eat, but is getting old and was likely laid about 5 to 7 days ago. If the egg sinks, it is fresh (only 1 to 3 days old usually) and can be used. Fill a bowl with enough cold water that the collected chicken eggs can be covered by about 2 inches when submerged. Eating a bad egg could merely give you a stomach ache and induce vomiting or diarrhea.īut eating just a single rotten egg that is contaminated with the salmonella bacteria could land you in the hospital with a possibly deadly illness. Salmonella poisoning or other types of illness can result from eating rotten eggs. Rotten eggs have a distinctive and nasty smell that surely would deter you from eating, cooking, or baking with one, but egg that has merely gone bad will not necessary boast that rancid odor – the natural “do not eat” warning.Ĭonducting the old-fashioned (as well as tried and true) egg sink or float test is a far better way to determine if an egg is not fresh enough to eat than throwing caution to the wind and simply consuming it to find out. Sell by or best by dates are a guide to help us to determine freshness, but not necessarily when the egg has gone bad. When you raise your own chickens or ducks to provide eggs for the homestead, there is no carton expiration date to rely on to determine freshness.
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