Eggs. How can you tell if they are bad?

Put them into a bowl of water - whole ?- if they float they are bad

If they smell OK then they are OK.

Do the water test and smell test mentioned above. If I’m still not sure, I break them into a bowl and if the albumen is like water I ditch them.
I heard you could get salmonella poisoning, but I think you might just have a stomach upset or diarrhœa. I wouldn’t risk it.

You can buy eggs singly from M&S in our new foodstore. You could make some mini quiches and freeze them.

Crack open on a flat plate there should be a runny outer layer a raised middle layer and a prominent yolk. If it’s flat and very runny it far from fresh.

ElaineI

You can buy eggs singly from M&S in our new foodstore. You could make some mini quiches and freeze them.

How much does a single egg cost, I wonder?

Crack into a bowl and smell - a bad egg is very rare these days and very obvious from appearance and smell. Eggs last for weeks after date on pack - I've never thrown out eggs.

If cooked (I assume you don't eat raw!) they couldn't make you sick as any bugs, like Salmonella, would be killed.

Thanks. I knew you would know.
I have just eaten a hardboiled one which had a date of best before 3rd May and it tasted fine But it had semi-floated in the pan of water beforehand.
I should live but I'll let you know if I become sick!
That is interesting that M&S are selling single eggs. I will ask if our new community store will offer the same.

The freshest eggs - just laid have no runny albumen at all.

I have happily cooked and eaten eggs that are way past the best before date. No problems at all.

Blinko me too. We had a neighbour who kept chickens at our French home. She became allergic to eggs, but kept them because her DH and DD ate them. All the excess were put in a basket and given to us on our next visit. It contained eggs laid the day we went home until the day we went home on the next visit. Some were up to six weeks old. They all looked the same.

When I got home I broke each egg into a cup, mixed yoke and white together and froze two eggs at a time in small plastic boxes. They were fine for cooking, scrambled eggs and omelettes, but obviously nothing that required whole eggs. In 5 years I only had one rotten egg and nobody had food poisoning of any kind

Eggs float when they are less fresh because the shells are porous and the liquid inside evaporates slightly; it doesn't mean they're bad.
I've eaten eggs that are a couple of months older than the sell by date and they taste absolutely fine - ok they aren't lovely and plump if you are frying them, but they are actually easier to peel if you are hard boiling them.

In 60 years of baking, I've only ever had 1 bad egg.

Very rare these days but sometimes when you open the box one has a crack in it so I throw that one out.

Our eggs have often gone well beyond their sell by date.
I’ve never had a bad one.
Unless it’s for a boiled egg, I crack them into a saucer first.

nanna8 cannot believe that you throw out eggs just because they are cracked. What a waste of good food!!!
I love eggs, in almost any form. I do try to check the boxes before I put them in my shopping bag, but if I find any tha are cracked, etc when I return home, I just keep them in a small glass ready for use.
Why are you thorwing these away???

Always crack mine into a tea cup, you are very unlikely to get a bad egg unless you have your own chickens and a previously undiscovered egg gets collected. I sent the grandchildren to collect eggs, they were most diligent, found 2 that were 6 months old, they looked suspicious and I cracked them outdoors, very bad indeed.

I manage to get through some eggs by having an omelette for dinner (2 eggs) and then later in the week boil a couple more and slice or mash them with mayonnaise and have an egg and cress sandwich (1 egg per sandwich) which I love. That way I get through 4 eggs a week. Any baking would use more of course.

Same here Blinko.
My Dh looks at sell by dates so i put eggs straight in the crockery chicken.

I can happily assume that the Best before dates on the boxes are a mere guide only?
I suppose suppliers have to err on the side of caution.

Milk is another thing which doesn't change much if kept in the fridge, except that nowadays with homogenisation and all it goes bad rather than sour. Do you agree?
I was shocked to find some teenaged girls going by the date rather than the smell for milk.

We buy six eggs a week on average and they sit in the cupboard until they get used. Only once thrown out a bad egg. We do check the dates when we buy, and check for cracks, just to get the freshest eggs at the time.

We make egg mayonnaise for sandwiches during the week, omelettes, scrambled eggs, baking, boiled eggs with soldiers now and again. And I use two a week to wash my hair ?

Amberone do tell more re hair wash! How long have you been doing it do you have to wash hair in cold water?

I was glad to see this thread as I keep using eggs way past their use by date if I am not able to bake. I too use it as a guide and have often wondered how farmers know all the eggs have been collected the same day and not missed any for a day or more.

Now here’s an interesting story I ve gone off eggs and haven’t eaten one for ages I realised I had 6 in their packet sitting on the side in my kitchen I looked at the packet and they are 2 months past their sell by date YES 2 MONTHS I was just about to throw them in the bin when I decided to break one and see what it was like out of curiosity It looked and smelt perfect I cooked it and had it on toast for my tea and .......
I m still here

Apparently egg white makes a good face mask if you want to use up your eggs.

Lollin Normally when I say that I get ? It's not as gross as it sounds. I use my hand blender to blend the eggs and a dollop of honey then add a tiny bit of xanthan gum and it ends up like a yellow cream - a bit like custard ? I pour it into a squeezy bottle and use that to put it in my hair, then use my hands to get it through my hair. Leave in for about twenty minutes or so, then rinse out with warm water then a rinse with cold water. Because they've been mixed with other things the eggs don't scramble in warm water. I would never use hot water on my hair anyway, it makes it frizz. That's my hair done for the week.