Chicken and quail eggs are an important source of protein, amino acids, vitamins B, A, E and minerals necessary for normal human life. Unfortunately, their shelf life is very short, after its expiration, the use of the product becomes dangerous. How to determine the freshness of eggs? To do this, there are several fairly simple ways that every good housewife should know.

Shelf life of eggs

Interested in how to determine the freshness of eggs? To begin with, it is necessary to clarify information about the optimal periods of their storage. The product can only be kept in the refrigerator, without any primary processing, for a maximum of 3-4 weeks. If you broke the shell, then both the protein and the yolk, together and separately from each other, will remain usable for no more than 4 days, but it is better to eat them within two days. A boiled egg can be stored for a week.

Visual signs of egg freshness

So, how to determine the freshness of a chicken egg? First of all, this can be done by its appearance. In the first few days, the shell looks very presentable, it shines and has a pleasant, even shade. Over time, the surface of the egg fades, the color becomes darker, uneven. Visually, you can check the freshness and the light. Pick up the egg, place it in front of a bright light bulb and examine it carefully. If its shelf life is running out, then dark spots will be present in the center, this is not observed in a fresh product. A characteristic sign of a stale egg can also be a very unpleasant odor, but this feature already applies to the last stage. Throw it away without hesitation.

Proteins and yolks

Are there more reliable ways to determine the freshness of eggs? Certainly yes. But for this you need to break the integrity of the shell. Break the egg on a flat saucer and carefully examine its contents. If he is only a couple of days old, then you will be able to note the following signs:

• dense protein, spreads over the surface minimally;
• the yolk has a round shape, rises high above the plane;
• there is no sharp, unpleasant odor.

Stale protein is rather liquid, viscous, spreads throughout the saucer, the yolk does not hold its shape and does not rise above the surface.

Most popular method

How to determine the freshness of eggs by the most popular method? Take a deep bowl and fill it with water, then put an egg in the center of it and watch. If it has lain for more than 2 weeks, then air voids begin to form in it, it no longer lies on the surface, but stands with its narrow end down and its blunt end up, as if balancing. A rotten egg floats on the surface of the water, it is categorically not recommended to use it. A fresh egg lies at the very bottom on its side, this is due to the fact that there are almost no pockets of air in it, it is quite heavy. You can feel its weight just by holding it in your hands. By the way, it is worth noting that such a test is valid only if the egg does not have cracks and dents.

Method for determining the freshness of quail eggs

How to determine the freshness of quail eggs, are there special methods? You can use accurate electronic scales for this purpose. As a result of measurement, a usable product will give you an indicator of about 20 grams, but a rotten egg will weigh several times less, only 5 grams.

Of course, these data are approximate and may differ slightly in one direction or another, but they are still quite indicative. All the above methods of verification can be applied to quail eggs, they will also be absolutely fair. Among other things, when buying packaging in a store, you should also be guided by the expiration date indicated on it.

Hello my dear readers! Do you have unused raw eggs left after the holidays? I have quite often. After a while, I begin to doubt their freshness, and then the old tried and tested method of checking comes to my aid. Today I will tell you how to check the freshness of eggs in water.

I often buy homemade chicken eggs from the market, so it's hard for me to check their expiration date. When the chicken took them down and how long they were stored before the sale, I do not know. Mistresses usually collect a batch and only then take it out for sale.

Ordinary water and elementary knowledge of physics come to the rescue. It’s a pity to throw away good, so it’s worth a little tinkering. Checking the freshness of raw chicken and quail eggs with water is very easy!

How to check the freshness of eggs in water in a proven way

Collect cold water in a bowl or glass.

If the egg sank to the very bottom and “lay down” on its side, then you can be congratulated. You are dealing with the freshest, almost freshly laid chicken copy. Pictured is the glass on the left. If the test object sinks to the bottom, but slightly raises the blunt end up, then its age is about seven days. In the photo - on the right.

If the subject sinks to the bottom with a sharp end, and the blunt one looks up, then he is two to three weeks old. It should be used for cooking first.

On a note

The freshness of quail eggs in water is checked in the same way as the freshness of chicken eggs!

Here in the picture is a quail check.

That's all! We have learned to determine the freshness of eggs by dropping them into water.

Brief instruction

1. Pour water into a bowl or clear glass.
2. Submerge the specimen in water.
3. Observe his behavior: the egg at the bottom on its side is the freshest, the blunt end slightly raised - fresh, a week old, stands perpendicular to the bottom with the blunt end up - two - three weeks ago, surfaced - unfit for food!

I suggest you watch another video on how to check eggs for freshness.

Why is this method accurate?

The eggs are very porous. Over time, air penetrates through the shell (shell) inside. The more air gets under the shell, the shorter the shelf life of the product. In addition, the more air enters under the shell, the more buoyant the egg becomes.

Have you ever tried this method to check the freshness of eggs? How do you like this method, my dear readers? He has never let me down. Share your experience. Did you find the article about

Eggs are an excellent source of proteins, they are frequent guests on our table. The taste properties of finished products depend on their quality characteristics and freshness. Housewives, when buying eggs in the market or in a store, rarely think about the fact that they can be spoiled or “old”. How to visually, “by eye”, determine the degree of freshness and calculate the optimal shelf life for products in this category, found out on the site.

How to determine the freshness of chicken eggs

Even at the stage of buying in a supermarket, you can determine the freshness of the product by criteria such as:

• appearance. The shell of a fresh specimen has a shiny matte surface with no visible flaws, while a stale product gives out a glossy sheen. It is advisable to pay attention to the entire tray - if everyone has the same matte rough shell, then this group of eggs has just gone on sale. But if the shell of some has defects or stains, then it is more prudent to refuse to buy such a batch;
• characteristic "squishing" sound. If you shake the selected egg near the ear, then the fresh one makes absolutely no sounds, while inside the already “lying down” strange sounds will be heard, reminiscent of “squishing” or “gurgling”;
• temperature of the sharp and blunt end of the egg. Of course, this method is very extreme, and it is also dangerous to health, but you can also use it to determine the “age” of a poultry product. To do this, alternately touch each of the ends (sharp and blunt) with the tip of the tongue - if the product is fresh, then the temperature of the blunt end will be higher than the sharp one; if the temperature is the same, then the egg is old.

But all the worries associated with the difficult choice are already behind us, the eggs have been brought home, and now a new stage of determining the purchased products “for spoilage” is beginning.

Determining egg freshness with water or saline

This is the simplest and at the same time reliable way to determine freshness. It is based on the fact that under the shell of a chicken egg there is an air chamber. If it is fresh, then the amount of air in this chamber is minimal, but over time, more and more air accumulates, and the useful insides of the egg “dry out”. The definition algorithm is as follows:

1. it is necessary to prepare a container with a sufficient amount of water;
2. drop a few eggs into the prepared vessel;
3. after 20-30 seconds, you can draw conclusions:

• fresh completely “lie down” to the bottom in a horizontal position - such specimens can be used for “soft-boiled” cooking and even consumed raw;
• an egg produced 7-10 days ago will also sink to the bottom, but its blunt end will remain in an elevated (about 45 degrees) position. The product can be used to create mouth-watering omelettes and boil;
• if the egg is frozen in an upright position, then it has been stored for more than 2 weeks, so it is better to use it as an ingredient in the preparation of dishes, which are then subjected to heat treatment;
• if the eggs remain "floating" on the surface of the water, then they are old and stored for more than 25 days. It is not recommended to use this product in cooking.

For the purity of the experiment, you can take not water, but a saline solution (1 teaspoon of salt per 1 liter of water).

The study of the contents of the egg by transillumination

For the experience you will need a table lamp or a powerful flashlight. With the help of these improvised means, you can enlighten the shell and examine the internal structure of the egg. In a fresh copy, the content will be uniform, clear, without blackouts and obscure blotches.

Examining a Broken Egg

If you break the purchased egg and pour the contents onto a flat plate, this will help determine the age of the product:

• fresh has a thick, bright convex yolk and a transparent, viscous and thick protein. The consistency resembles a homogeneous jelly;
• the yolk of the old one is flatter, has a muted yellow tint, and the protein is liquid, watery.
• Shell aroma research

If you break an egg and sniff the inside of the shell, the smell is most often associated with the scent of lime. This indicates that the product is fresh, since the shell of the old egg has already “absorbed” a lot of third-party odors and smells of everything that is possible, but not lime.

Spoiled eggs can cause food poisoning, while fresh ones will only benefit the body. By learning how to determine the degree of freshness of chicken, quail and duck eggs using the methods proposed by YummyBook, you can always be sure of the quality of the product.

Have you ever had such a situation when you were preparing a dish, and already in the process of cooking you noticed that the eggs had expired? Or are the eggs stored in a container with no expiration date so you're not sure if they're safe to use or should be thrown away? Fortunately, determining that an egg is spoiled is not difficult at all. From this article, you will learn not only how to identify a spoiled egg, but also how to find out the degree of its freshness.

Steps

Freshness test

Place the egg you want to test for freshness in a bowl or wide glass of cold water and see if it floats. There is a small air chamber inside the egg, which gets larger over time as more air enters the inside of the egg through the pores of the shell. The more air enters the egg, the larger the air chamber becomes, and the egg becomes buoyant.

Hold the egg to your ear, shake it, and listen for a squelching sound. Over time, liquid and carbon dioxide evaporate from the egg shell, the yolk and protein begin to dry out and shrink, and the air chambers in the egg increase. Large air cavities create free space for the egg inside the shell, which is why the squelching sound occurs.

Crack an egg over a plate or bowl and check the whites and yolks. The purity and integrity of an egg declines over time, so an old egg will not be as complete as a fresh one. Pay attention to whether the egg spreads on the plate, or remains compact. A runny or watery-looking egg with apparently runny whites is far from pristine freshness.

Definition of a bad egg

Expiry date check

1. Check the expiration date on the packaging. The packaging may show an expiration date for the eggs, such as "Sell By", usually 30 days from the date of packaging. Eggs with intact shells that are stored in the refrigerator can be eaten within a month after the expiration date. In Russia and the CIS countries, such marking is not found.

   Check the "Expiration Date" on the package. On the packaging you can find words such as "Best before", "Use by". Usually it is 45 days from the date of packing. Try to consume eggs no later than two weeks after this expiration date.

   In the US, eggs are marked with a 3-digit code that indicates the date the eggs were packed. Marking a sell-by date is not required by federal law (some states require it, others do not), but all eggs must be stamped with the packaging date. The date is indicated by three digits according to the Julian calendar. For example, an egg packed on January 1st is labeled 001, an egg packed on October 15th is labeled 288, and an egg packed on December 3rd is labeled 365.

   Throw away eggs that were first stored in the refrigerator and then left at room temperature for more than two hours. If the egg has been refrigerated and cooled to a certain temperature, it is important to maintain that temperature further. A chilled egg in a warmer environment can become sweaty, and this will encourage the growth of bacteria on the outside. Due to the fact that the egg shell has a porous structure, bacteria from the outside can penetrate inside the egg and multiply there.

   If you have your own laying hens, learn how you can keep these eggs fresh. For long-term storage, it is recommended to select only fresh, recently collected unfertilized eggs with a strong shell without cracks. Collected eggs must be signed with a simple pencil. You don't need to wash the eggs. Domestic eggs are covered with a natural protective layer, so they can be stored for 4 or more months at a temperature of 10-15 degrees, and in the refrigerator - up to 9 months.

   • If you have doubts about the freshness of the eggs or think they are more than two months old, remember the signs of spoiled or old eggs that will help you determine if the existing eggs can be used in a recipe.

Warnings

• If the eggs are intended for consumption by people at risk (the elderly or children), choose the freshest eggs. Even though eggs can be eaten up to a few weeks past their expiration date, it's good to take extra precautions. In order not to harm the health of those whose immune system is weak or underdeveloped, it is necessary to minimize the risk of disease.

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A sign of the quality of a chicken egg is its freshness. In appearance, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether it has deteriorated. Knowing the simple secrets of determining the freshness of eggs will help you not to make a mistake when buying.

The suitability for eating chicken eggs depends on their age and storage conditions. In the hot season, this product deteriorates much faster. How to determine the freshness of chicken eggs?

Checking eggs for freshness when buying

First of all, it is important to look at the surface of the eggs in the tray. Newly laid eggs have a matte surface, while older ones have a slightly glossy finish. This method does not always work - sellers sometimes wash their goods, and this affects the appearance. It is useful to compare all the eggs in the tray: they are from the same batch and should be the same color. If they differ, it is possible that older ones were added to the fresh ones.

Another way is to shake the egg. With such a simple experiment, it is easy to determine the "talker", that is, a product worthless for consumption. During storage, the egg dries out, its inner shell separates from the shell and the contents “dangle”.

Checking eggs for freshness at home

We will not dwell on complex experiments to determine freshness, such as measuring the temperature of an egg in different parts (a fresh one has a blunt end warmer than a sharp one) or transillumination with ultraviolet light (fresh eggs are bright red, old ones are lavender).

Checking the freshness of eggs at home can be much easier. You just need to lower it into a concentrated solution of kitchen salt. If the egg lies at the bottom of the dish, then its age is not more than a week. If the blunt end rises up, but is still sharp at the bottom, then the egg is about 10 days old. If it floats in solution, the egg is already stored for about 2 weeks. And if it floats like a float, half out of the water, it is better to throw it away.

Having broken an egg into, you can say with a high degree of certainty whether it is fresh or not quite. This is not the case when the stench will tell you that the product is spoiled. An egg may be usable, but not suitable for storage, if its protein immediately spreads over. In fresh - the protein is denser and more viscous.

The white of a fresh egg is transparent, the yolk is elastic, its shell is dense. If the yolk of a broken egg immediately spreads and mixes with the protein, its freshness is doubtful.

A boiled fresh egg is cleaned much worse, a thin film between the shell and the protein is held tightly.

The color of the yolk does not indicate freshness, but depends on the diet of the chicken. Rich yellow-orange yolks are found in village chickens that feed on grain, grass and worms, as well as in birds in poultry farms, which are fed specially formulated compound feeds with additives for color.