How to Tell if an Egg is Good or Bad without Cracking It

A friend called me to ask how do I tell if an egg is good or bad without having to crack it open. Since I’m so well versed in the kitchen (NOT), I decided that I would Google the answer. The answer that I got was pretty clever, so I thought I’d share this little diddly of knowledge with you!

Food poisoning is one of the worst experiences a person can go through. Eggs can be the source of some superb meals, but they can also be the source of food poisoning if they are eaten when they’ve gone bad. How do you tell when an egg is fresh or if it has gone bad, without cracking it open to find out?

Step 1:

Place the egg into a bowl of cold water. The water level should be about 2 times higher than the egg.

Step 2:

Observe what the egg does.

• Fresh eggs will sink to the bottom of the bowl and probably lie on their sides.
• Slightly older eggs (about one week) will lie on the bottom but bob slightly.
• If the egg balances on its smallest tip, with the large tip reaching for the top, it’s probably close to three weeks old.
• Eggs that float at the surface are bad and should not be consumed.

Step 3:

If all else fails, crack the egg open and look at it to see if there is mold or something and look carefully.

• Blood spots (also referred to as “meat” spots) don’t signify a bad or fertilized egg. It’s caused by a ruptured blood vessel during the formation of the egg. Since blood spots are diluted as the egg ages, their presence actually means you have a fresh egg. You can eat it safely, or remove the blood spot with the tip of a knife, if it makes you feel better.
• Stringy, rope-like strands of egg white are chalazae which are present in every egg to keep the yolk centered. They’re not a sign that the egg is bad or fertilized, and they can be consumed safely or removed.
• An egg white that is cloudy or has a yellow or greenish cast to it is caused by carbon dioxide not having had enough time to escape from the shell and is especially common in fresh eggs.

The gas hydrogen sulfide causes the “rotten egg smell”. It is caused when bacteria break down the proteins in the whites of the egg and creates gas.

And now you know…

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