Free Range Eggs

[Stargazer]

I have about three "lots" of eggs (in twos and threes) that have no date on them and I believe that some may be as old as 22nd December or at least 27th December. Is there an accurate way to tell if any of these can still be used in either cooking or as scrambled egg? The trouble is that I alsways go for the latest bought and then wish I had used them in order of purchase.

[Flyhalf]

Fill a bowl with water, and gently ease them in. If they float, chuck'em.
However, given your uncertainty over their age, I'd sling the lot.

[friedgreentomato]

Gently drop the egg into the bowl of water. If it:

sinks to the bottom and stays there, it is about three to six days old.
Sinks, but floats at an angle, it's more than a week old.
Sinks, but then stands on end, it's about two weeks old.
Floats, it's too old and should be discarded.
For a test just to see if the eggs are all right to use, dissolve 2 tablespoons salt in 2 cups cold water, then put the egg in the water. If it sinks, it's good; if it floats, it's too old.

Eggs act this way in water because of the air sac present in all eggs. As the egg ages, the air sac gets larger because the egg shell is a semi-permeable membrane. The air sac, when large enough, makes the egg float. Eggs are generally good for about three weeks after you buy them.

And how do you see if an egg is hard cooked? Spin it on a flat surface. If the egg wobbles, it's fresh because the insides are moving around. If the egg spins smoothly, it's cooked.

[maggiebee]

I don't worry too much about sell by dates for eggs. If you aren't sure, break them into a saucer before using - obviously not if you want to hard boil them lol

[Stephen_G]

I've always gone for the spin it method - put one on a counter top and try to spin it. If it carries on spinning then it's gone bad. Stops almost immediately and it's a good 'un.

[Stargazer]

Judge Nutmeg. I can't help wondering how many spin off the worktop and are rendered useless anyway.

[Mamyalynne]

spin them on the floor

[Stephen_G]

I've never lost an egg yet!

[Stargazer]

Friefgreentomato. I have no idea how much water is "a cup" as nowadays there is no uniform size as I always use large china mugs for tea and coffee. It is years since cups were a uniform size. Is there still a corresponding measure in mls or fl oz that I can go by please?

[Mamyalynne]

Imperial cup
The imperial cup, unofficially defined as half an imperial pint, is rarely found today. It may still appear on older kitchen utensils and in older recipe books.
1 imperial cup = 0.5 imperial pints
= 2 imperial gills
= 10 imperial fluid ounces
= 284 millilitres
≈ 19 international tablespoons[4][5]
≈ 14.25 Australian tablespoons[6]
≈ 1.20 U.S. customary cups
≈ 9.61 U.S. customary fluid ounces

[ummmm]

Just put it in water, in a jug, a cup, a pint glass....whatever.

[friedgreentomato]

as ummmm says any vessel that holds water will be fine

[LyndaB]

What a load of faffing about! If the eggs look and smell fine when you crack them, they WILL be fine for scrambling or baking. I buy my eggs from my butcher every 4 weeks, and do eat them in the order in I which I bought them if I have any left over.

[Mamyalynne]

Why make things simple Lynda ? :-)

[Stargazer]

You missed my point Friedgreentomato. I was asking in order to know if the strength of the salty water was important to this method of checking.

[pastafreak]

A piece of basic kit for any kitchen is a heat proof measuring cup . This is usually marked in cup(8 oz) and 1/2 pint increments. This is your tradtional cup measurement. If you haven't got one...you should ;-))
If I want to check eggs without the risk of stinking up my kitchen with 'off' eggs-then the floating in a bowl of water method is most practical.

[boxtops]

I wouldn't worry, we'd eat them anyway.

[freeranger]

If they float in a pan of water, throw them away. Alternatively just crack them into a cup. If they look OK you can use them.

[McMouse]

The Chinese consider 100 year old eggs to be a delicacy. Given there are over a billion Chinese there doesn't appear to be a problem with stale eggs.

[Barmaid]

I assume you mean 22 December 2012? In which case they will be absolutely fine. I've got eggs far far older than that. I just crack em. If they smell don't use them.

Indeed, older eggs are better for baking since you need slightly more air.