Eggs and use by date

Correction it's not 'use by' it's 'best before' date.

I have kept eggs for over a week after "best before" date but when I have used them eg scrambled or in an omelette I have opened each separately in case one was "off" and I did not want to ruin the others. I have never had a problem.

Float them. If they float discard if they sink they can be used for things like egg on toast etc if they half sink decant them into a cup before use and if they smell ok use in cakes etc.

I found half a dozen eggs in my fridge a MONTH after the "best before" date. Reasoning that before date labelling came in I would have broken each separately into a cup and sniffed it before using it, (even if it claimed to be fresh) I did just that. They smelt fine so I made cakes. The cakes were delicious.

Agree with the break and smell routine. I don’t tend to set too much store by use by dates and mostly use my eggs in baking and cooking anyway. If we are eating them, I use the ones that are in date.

Thanks all I'll use the break and sniff test I think.

Our neighbour in France became allergic to eggs. Rather than kill all her chickens she saved the eggs until we came over each month and then presented them to us.

So each month I was presented with sometimes as many as 4 or 5 dozen eggs of uncertain age. I would give some away and use the rest over the following month. In 5 years I had only had one rotten egg and nobody went down with food poisoning. then the chickens went and the supply stopped.

I was going to say the same as whitewave
The float test (in shell) and then a sniff test.

Same here. Just crack the eggs individually and smell them and if they smell all right I just use them. I have discarded some that don't look quite 'right', but they may well have been OK to use - I just wasn't brave enough to chance it!

Crack and sniff for me too! Never had a bad one, weeks after the date.
I note that Elegran found some out of date eggs in her fridge. I always store mine at room temperature which doesn't seem to affect the shelf life.

I don't even keep a record of the date purchased or use by to be honest.

When you crack an egg if the yolk is round and the white is firm it's fresh and if it is flat and the white spreads out thin then time to consider using them up and buy in fresh works for me.

I used to have hens and these days buy expensive eggs because they're the best I've found. I cracked some from a slightly less expensive company this morning. They were well within the Best Buy date but the whites spread out thin. They tasted ok but I won't be saving 20pence buying them again.

I can't read the sell by dates stamped on the eggs anyway

I use eggs weeks and weeks after sell by in fact I should think I rarely use them in sell by I never look never have a bad one that I can remember and yes I store in the fridge ( not enough room on the worktops

Always crack eggs, one at a time, into a small dish before adding them to a cake, the pan or the other eggs. You’ll soon know if they’re ‘off’ your nose will tell you that.

Nature designs the eggs to keep.

Oopps! It hadn't occurred to me there was a sell by/use by date on eggs! I've never looked! How long do they supposedly keep? Our butcher has erratic supplies of duck eggs and I do prefer to use them first. I feel sure that we've had hens eggs sat on the side (not in the fridge) for weeks sometimes - especially in summer as we often go away for a few days to DDs and leave them there.

Having been brought up with hens kept for eggs to sell, we usually had the older ones so I always automatically crack them into a cup to check they're ok before using.

Wasn't there something years ago about not using an egg before it was three days old? Apparently it was very bad for you - but can't remember why.

Just looked at the egg box in the kitchen. Best Before 24 Nov. Scrambled eggs for lunch then! But it is Best Before - not Use By. So they just deteriorate after that day I suppose.

I always float them - if they settle on their sides at the bottom they're fine; if they settle on their ends at the bottom, they're still OK, but use them promptly; if they rise to the top discard them!

I have never even looked at use by dates on eggs - but I do not eat them! I do cook with them though. I apply the sniff test - if they smell OK then that is fine.

Don't the Chinese bury their eggs for 100 years or something like that?!

Our chickens got very good at hiding eggs a few years back & when I found them I no clue how old they were. I used the sniff test but never actually found a bad one. I think the egg shell is a brilliant preservative.

When presented with a glut I do the crack and sniff then put three liquid eggs at a time in polybags, remove all the air, seal and freeze them. They are fine for cakes.

Eggs last for ages after the date given on the box - but best not to try and use the whites for meringues on old eggs because they are less likely to whip up well.

according to my chef guy (he knows all about elf and safety where food and kitchens are concerned) eggs will still be ok after two months. but don't store them in the fridge.

You're right, Craftycat, the shells are brilliant preservatives. Keep eggs in a cool place but not in the fridge. When my hens went in to overdrive, I used eggs more than a month old. The whites go a little bit runny but are great for baking. We're all getting so precious about sell/use by dates...use your nose!