How to Know if Eggs Are Bad: Eggs float or sink? 5 Tests

How do you know if eggs are bad or not? Do rotten eggs float or sink? let’s find out!

I guess, you are another lover in the world of eggs and can eat them at any time of the day without hesitation. Then, Your hands are on the right article to know all about your egg’s life. We will provide you with easy techniques to test, plan to protect, and methods to use your soon-to-be ‘expired’ eggs well.

It is impossible to remember every single detail in our busy lives. A lot of things slips from our mind to look back on. One such is a mere egg error. An egg seems to be quite a small topic to recognize. Although, its significance is understood when we dig deeper into its essence. 

As a health expert, I went through some interesting facts about the food items and got my eyes on the egg’s life. When I generally asked my housemates or friends about the same, I realized their peak unawareness in them. 

So, Wished to educate you about the same – must known characteristics of your eggs. We will also go through some funny investigations to carry on with the same excitement.

How do you know if an egg is bad? Easy bad egg test

The easy-peasy test is to know your egg is ‘an egg-water test.’ Here comes a fun part – Take out your transparent glass of drink. Fill it with the icy-cold water.

Leave the egg in the chilling water glass. Look at the egg and note whether it will sink or not. The sinking off is a good sign for an egg to be perfectly well consumed.

An unfortunate sign of a floating egg will show its bygone nutritious value to ingest furthermore. We would suggest you throw it away rather than using.

How to know if eggs are bad? 5 ways!

There are 5easy ways to know whether an egg is good or bad. You must have assurance before using them to avoid any illness.

1) Appearance

The primary test needs our vision for careful inspection of an egg. The old saying, “Appearance tells a lot about the personality.” The same goes for the quality of food too.

Look if there are any cracks or powder-like impressions on the outer shell of the egg. The cracks open the pores for the dirt and bacteria to enter and a slimy part to exist, thus making it worse. Whereas; the powdery appearance is the indication of mole present in your egg.

A good egg needs to be sort of dry and clean to glance. There is no sign of discoloration or mark on a healthy egg.  

2) Snuffle to figure out

This test requires another sense organ just underneath your visionary one. Yes, it’s your nose that is required to sniff at the egg to tell about its condition.

An egg has no smell to release until it’s good rather than an old one has. When you feel any sensation in your nostrils due to the unmistakable smell from your kitchen, Check out your egg tray.

Your eggs must be smelling hard and awful. It is similar to that of an irritable sulphuric acid one. The eatable one has no odor when you smell it.

3) Use before date

The cartons or trays in which eggs come in; have an ‘expiration date’ already mentioned. You need to check it on the top or side corner of the carton. If the eggs are within the ‘best before date.’ Then it is fresh to consume. But if not, then you should not eat them.

If there is no expiry date found- the ‘packed on’ date will work too. Eggs last for 6weeks to be taken in by your body after packaging.

The unknown fact is that the manufacturing date is not written in a similar order as the other dates mentioned. It portrays January 1 as the first day of the year and December 31 as the last day. In simple words, January 1; is printed as 001 and December 31 as 365.  

4) Sink or float test

It is not a myth but a scientific method to make us aware of the state of an egg. As mentioned earlier, you can rely on this anytime when your mind is in doubt.

Sometimes, you feel half of the eggs are rotten but; when you look at the other side of the tray. The other half seems perfectly fine. So, to discard your doubt. Fill up a bucket of cold tap water.

Let your eggs drown deep into the water and you will find 3 reactions:

• a) The eggs sinking at the bottom corner of the bucket – Are very fresh.
• b) The eggs sinking at the middle bottom of the container- Are fresh too.
• c) The eggs that are floating on the top – are old to ingest.

We suggest you clear out the floating ones first. Later, move on to use the fresh ones.

5) Candling

This process is conducted in industrial firms to check the standard quality of an egg. To perform this trail at home, all you need is a candle or a torch, a dark room, or a table to place the setup.

Switch off the lights and stand a lit-up candle on the table. Hold the one end of the egg on the candle. If you are doing it for the first time, you will be surprised to see the outcome. It will make visible all the contents inside the egg.

If you slide it from left to right and discover a larger space to be empty. It will show that the egg has gone bland as gaseous space indicates its non-nutritional value. No such consequence arises when the egg is healthy to eat.

Rotten eggs float or sink?

The sink or float will not tell you about the quality of the egg to be rotten or not. It will notify you whether your egg is fresh or not.

It simply requires a bowl filled with cold water. Place your egg in it and observe the changes.

If the egg will float- It is a sign that your egg is fresh and a recent one.

But if an egg floats – It will indicate the old age of the egg.

If we closely look at this experiment, you will notice the latest one to sink and the oldest one to float upwards at the top of the bowl. In this state, We can also consider the old one to go bad sooner. Therefore, we can say that the rotten one will float instead of sinking.

What does a bad egg look like?

A bad egg look-alike a faded one. The crack or spots can be found on such eggs. But we cannot blindly accept the circumstances by looking at them.

To disclose the condition, I will advise you to check what’s inside the opaque shell. Break your egg and pour the yolk and transparent part into the bowl.

A fit egg has a bright orange or yellow-colored yolk. The white or transparent layer of an all-right egg is thick and will sit evenly around the yolk.

On the other hand, The unwholesome egg will represent its yolk to be flatter; with the blue or green pigmentation on it. Moreover, the transparent portion will be thinner and; un-proportionately spread near the yolk contrasted to the good one.

What does a rotten egg smell like?

A rotten egg has a smell of sulphuric acid. Many a time, We presume the pungent smell to fade away after being cooked.

 But after cooking, it will not change a bit and make your food unpalatable to serve. You can’t do anything but throw away the unpleasant food.

So, it is better not to ignore the smell. Otherwise, your whole dish will be rotten to fall into the trash.

What happens if I eat a spoiled egg?

Eating a spoilt or rotten egg will cause food poisoning. It has a higher chance of causing food-borne diseases such as Salmonella in humans.

Salmonella is a common bacteria found in chickens and their eggs. Normally, it does not affect our body due to the already done processing or grading while packaging. But when an egg goes off and is swallowed in bulk. It will result in an upset stomach and illness from contaminated food.

The other consequences will show the symptoms of fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and cramps in the abdominal part of the body.

Follow these pro-tips for fresh eggs for a longer period.

To keep your eggs fresh for a prolonged, follow the given steps:

• a) The first step for an aware consumer is to check the ‘expiry date’ date before purchase. Look at the ‘packed on’ label and scan the carton. So, it’s not damaged from any side.
• b) Try to store your egg in its packaged material till the end. The cartons are developed to ensure the prevention of bacteria and dust. This is done for the protection and avoidance of microbes.
• c) Do not leave the purchased tray in the car or at room temperature. Make sure to transfer it into the refrigerator as soon as possible.
• d) Place them in the coldest spot of your fridge. People generally place the eggs on the side of the refrigerator doors. But I suggest you do not. The regular opening and closing of the door create an inappropriate temperature for the eggs. Preferably storing them at the back is a good option.
• e) By refrigerating your eggs, we do not mean to freeze them. The chilling frozen egg will become mushy after coming in contact with room temperature. The moisture over the period will also cause micro-organisms to develop.

With a little care, you can make a big difference!

Egg recipes: To use leftover eggs

1) Hard boiling

Hard boiling is the way to increase the time-span of eggs to consume. For this; Take a steel pan or container. Raise the water level until the eggs are fully absorbed in it.

Place the pan on the stove at a high-medium flame. Switch off the gas after 8 minutes. Do not sprinkle any salt or pepper. Store it in the freezer within the next 2 hours.

This will expand the consumption period to 5 days  if the eggs

are peeled and to 7 days if the outer coating is not peeled.

2) Egg pie

If you have plenty of eggs left in the fridge and you want to make the best use out of them. Then go for the mouth-watering egg pie. To make this dessert.

We need:

• 7 Eggs;
• 1 Cup all-purpose flour;
• 250 G of butter(shredded into the cubes);
• 1 Kg of heavy cream milk;
• 1 Cup sugar;
• Vanilla extract.

Make a dough by blending the butter, sugar, and 2 egg yolk with the flour. Save the egg whites for later. Use ice-cold water, if the dough is thickened.  Wrap it in an air-tight container or plastic paper and let it sit for an hour.

Now prepare the filling by adding the 5eggs into the boiled heavy cream milk. Gradually beat the mixture and add a spoonful of vanilla extract too. Whip the earlier left egg whites separately and combine them with the filling. Mingle the fill until it comes all together as perfect for filling.

Pour a mixture into the pan with dough. Bake it in the oven at 170°C for 15 minutes. Reduce it to 160°C for another 35 minutes. Cooldown the baked pie into the refrigerator and enjoy your yummy dessert for the night.

Final Words

On the footnote, I will expect success in upskilling your knowledge and clearing your doubts about the “Bad egg queries.” Remember to conduct the necessary tests to clear out the confusion. Keep in mind not to consume an egg if it fails in any 2revealed tests.

We aim to pass on every detail in our knowledge to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle. Feel free to ask out any queries in the comments below. Our health experts are happy to help you 24X7.

How to know if eggs are really bad? Do rotten eggs float or sink? If you still have any question, feel free to leave your comments below!

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