How to check the freshness of eggs at home. Checking the freshness of raw eggs in water at home

Checking the freshness of eggs at home is easy. To do this, just pour about ten centimeters of cold water into the container. Place the eggs in the container for a minute.

Bad, spoiled, rotten eggs will immediately float to the surface in water.. This is due to a violation of the density inside the shells of raw eggs.

This can also occur if storage conditions are violated: non-compliance with the temperature regime, allowing a sharp temperature change.

Eggs that have floated to the surface, but only the very tip is visible from the water, may still be quite edible, but they must be used before all others.

They tend to accumulate air between the shell and the outer shell of the protein. This is a necessary condition for gas exchange.

The layer, like a gateway, saturates the egg with the necessary oxygen for further development, and releases accumulated gases, including methane, through the shell. That is why they go out and lose such a smell.

Fresh ones remain on the bottom. The amount of oxygen in them is minimal; they were demolished quite recently.

note! A fresh egg always remains at the bottom. What is spoiled floats to the surface.

It is almost impossible to check the freshness of raw eggs in the store. It is important to monitor the integrity of the shell.

Bacteria can enter through the cracks and spoil the egg.. After which it will become unsuitable for consumption.

How to check a boiled egg for freshness

If the egg is already cooked, you can check it by peeling it:

  1. Good, young, hard to clean. The shell fits very tightly to the shell, and when peeled, part of the cooked protein comes off together.
  2. If it is not the freshest, it will be very easy to clean. She literally moves away from the protein along with the shell.
  3. If the egg is already rotten, a sharp unpleasant odor will immediately appear when cleaning it., which is impossible to confuse.

Important! A fresh boiled egg is difficult to peel. And which has already been stored for some time is easy to clean. An egg that has spoiled has a strong, unpleasant odor after cleaning.

Buyers in stores try to buy chicken eggs of the first category or selected ones, because they are larger. From the point of view of their benefits, this is not entirely true.

After all, the largest ones are laid by old chickens that are already outliving their usefulness. The young lay more eggs and more often, but they are noticeably smaller.

Eggs from young chickens are more beneficial: They contain more calcium, magnesium, protein and other beneficial microelements.

While large eggs of old laying hens contain more cholesterol, which is the main cause of heart and vascular diseases, and also leads to obesity.

Small eggs of the second and third categories are much cheaper.

When choosing eggs in a store, pay attention to:

  1. The surface of the shell should be smooth and without cracks.
  2. Choose eggs from young chickens - they are healthier.
  3. When you get home, use a glass of water to determine their freshness.

How to check the freshness of quail and other eggs?

Goose, duck, quail, and chicken eggs have limited shelf life, which largely depends on the temperature.

You can also check the freshness of quail eggs using water.. And also, looking at the surface of the shell, it should be even, smooth, without flaws or cracks.

The freshness of eggs depends entirely on the shelf life that must be observed. If they have been stored in stores for too long, they are sold at a low price.

They may not be rotten or spoiled, but they definitely have a completely different structure.

The processes that occur in the egg do not stop, but only slow down when they are placed in the cold.

Variety Storage temperature Shelf life
Chicken raw Room temperature In a refrigerator
Up to 14 days 30 days
Boiled chicken Room temperature In a refrigerator
Day Up to 5 days
Ostrich Room temperature In a refrigerator
5 days 17 days
Goose Room temperature In a refrigerator
10 days 15 days
Quail Room temperature In a refrigerator
Up to three weeks Up to 60 days
Duck Room temperature In a refrigerator
7 days Two to three weeks
Turkey Room temperature In a refrigerator
5 days Up to two weeks

Waterfowl eggs are rarely used as food. More often they are left for population reproduction.

The shelf life is determined by the storage conditions of the product. The cooler and more saturated with moisture the environment, the longer the eggs remain fresh.

Be sure to cover the top with a damp cloth or close the lid tightly. Opened eggs dry out quickly. The yolk in this form can be stored in the refrigerator for one to two days. Protein – up to four to five days.

Checking the quality of eggs with an ovoscope

The ovoscope is a device that has been used since ancient times and is still used today to check the quality of eggs. This simple device is a flashlight with a directed beam of light.

You can check eggs with an ovoscope at home. It is easy to make at home:

  • To do this, you will need a regular flashlight or lamp.
  • Place the flashlight in a light-proof box so that the light comes from above.
  • You need to make a hole in the top of the box that is smaller than the size of the egg.
  • Place the egg itself on this hole and examine it carefully.

A good quality young egg has a smooth surface and an even color without spots or blemishes.. Inside an egg whose storage conditions have been violated, you can sometimes even see a chick being born.

This is noticeable by bloody clots inside the shell and specific outlines. A rotten egg, when examined with an ovoscope, will have an unpleasant cloudy tint.

Important! To keep eggs fresh longer, they do not need to be washed before storage, so as not to damage the protective layer of the shell.

Useful video

Eggs are a very important product for the human body, because they are a source of many nutrients and complete protein, so you need to especially carefully monitor its quality. Sometimes it happens that when we buy them in a store, we are sure of their freshness, but when we come home, the opposite often turns out to be the case.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to check freshness in a store, supermarket or market, but at home it is quite possible to do this. To avoid spoiling your health by eating spoiled foods, find out how to check eggs for freshness.

Checking eggs before purchasing

You can tell whether eggs are fresh or no longer suitable for consumption by their appearance. Remember: very recently laid eggs will always have a matte surface, and those that have been stored for a long time will have a slightly glossy surface. But you should understand that this method does not always allow you to accurately determine the freshness of the product, because sellers often wash and rub them.

It wouldn’t hurt to compare the entire dozen in the tray; if they are from the same batch, then they must be the same color. If they differ from each other, most likely the old ones were mixed with the new ones. Of course, if they are already rotten, then the smell will be audible even without additional research, but such a product is unlikely to be stored on shelves.

A frequently used method to check the freshness of raw eggs in the store is to shake them. This way you can easily identify “chatterboxes”, that is, unsuitable for consumption. During long-term storage, their contents begin to dry out, the inner shell separates from the shell and it begins to dangle.


Checking at home

Checking the freshness of a chicken egg at home is much easier, because you can use many more methods for this.

To conduct a study on the suitability of a product for consumption, you can use the following methods:

  • diving under water;
  • measuring shell surface temperature;
  • use of concentrated saline solution;
  • visual inspection of raw white and yolk;
  • determination of shell odor.

In addition to traditional methods of checking the freshness of chicken eggs, as well as quail eggs, having special equipment, this can also be done by using a scientific and technical method. To do this, you just need to shine them under ultraviolet rays: the fresh product inside will be bright red.

The older it is, the paler this color will be; when the product is unusable, it has an almost purple color. You can check this without ultraviolet light, just hold it up to the light and look: if there are visible dark spots inside, then you can’t eat such food.

Immersion in water

The most well-known way to find out whether a product is edible is to check the freshness of the egg in water. Just put it in a glass of water: the fresh one will sink, and the missing one will remain on the surface. You can use clean water or prepare a saline solution - take ½ teaspoon of salt for 0.5 liters of water, stir until all the crystals are completely dissolved.

This is the most reliable method, and it is based on the properties of the air chamber of the egg to increase in size with each day of storage, so they do not sink in water.

Studying the white and yolk

When you have already brought the eggs home and you have doubts about their freshness, break one of them and put it on a plate. In fresh eggs, the white will be fluffy and quite convex, and the white will be transparent and thick, reminiscent of jelly, with a more liquid layer on top.

Such a product, which cannot be called very fresh, but is still edible, has a flatter yolk, and the layers of white are almost indistinguishable.

Shell smell

The way the shells of chicken or quail eggs smell will help determine whether the product is fresh or not. Fresh eggs have a chalky smell, but the longer they are stored, the more odors from surrounding foods they absorb. Eggshells are very susceptible to various odors; by this sign you can easily determine the freshness of the product you are purchasing.

You can determine how old eggs are after they have been boiled: there is an opinion that it is much worse to remove the shell from a fresh product.

You can also try to measure the temperature of the shell; to do this, wash the egg with water at room temperature, wipe dry and touch the two ends with your tongue - sharp and blunt. In a fresh egg, the blunt end will always be warmer than the sharp end; age will be indicated by the same temperature in all parts of the product.

A sign of the quality of a chicken egg is its freshness. It is sometimes difficult to determine by appearance whether it has deteriorated. Knowing the simple secrets of determining the freshness of eggs will help you avoid making mistakes when purchasing.

The suitability of chicken eggs for consumption 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 purchasing

First of all, it is important to look at the surface of the eggs in the tray. Recently laid eggs have a matte surface, while old ones have a slightly glossy surface. 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, perhaps 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 a “chatterbox”, that is, a product unsuitable for consumption. During storage, the egg dries out, its inner shell separates from the shell and the contents “loose.”

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 that is warmer than a sharp one) or ultraviolet scanning (fresh eggs are bright red, old ones are lavender).

It is much easier to check the freshness of eggs at home. You just need to dip it in a concentrated solution of kitchen salt. If the egg lies at the bottom of the dish, then it is no more than a week old. 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 the solution, the egg has already been stored for about 2 weeks. And if it floats like a float, half sticking out of the water, it’s better to throw it away.

By breaking an egg, you can tell with a high degree of certainty whether it is fresh or not quite fresh. This does not mean that the stench will indicate that the product is spoiled. An egg may be suitable for use, but not suitable for storage, if its white immediately spreads over. Fresh ones have denser and more viscous protein.

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

A freshly boiled egg is much worse to clean; the thin film between the shell and the white stays tightly.

The color of the yolk does not indicate freshness, but depends on the chicken's diet. Yolks of a rich yellow-orange color are found in country chickens that eat grain, grass and worms, as well as in poultry farm birds that are fed specially formulated feed with additives for color.

Every week you bring home huge bags with a variety of products presented on the shelves of markets and supermarkets. On the one hand, this makes your life much easier, but on the other hand, it complicates it, because not everyone can constantly keep in mind the expiration date of all this gastronomic diversity. Remember how often you opened the refrigerator door and wondered: “How long have these foods been sitting here?” We are sure that this problem is familiar to many first-hand. This is especially true for eggs. Despite the fact that this is a very delicate product, its appearance does not change over time, and therefore it is almost impossible to determine the freshness of an egg by eye. Of course, it’s no secret that you can break an egg and try to determine its freshness by smell, but there are other ways. Here are some ways to check the freshness of eggs:

1. Submerge the eggs in water

Place the eggs in a deep container with cold water. If they remain lying on the bottom in a horizontal position, then they are very fresh. Eggs, slightly raised at an obtuse angle upward, are no longer fresh, but can still be used in preparing hot dishes. Eggs that float to the surface are spoiled and cannot be eaten! We recommend that you get rid of them as soon as possible.


Eggs float to the surface because over time, the moisture inside evaporates through the shell and the resulting “free” space is replaced by air. The more air inside the egg, the higher it floats. And, of course, the older it is.

2. Check the white and yolk

Break one of the eggs and pay attention to the condition of the yolk and white. If the yolk is convex and the white is viscous and tightly gathered around the yolk, the egg is very fresh. However, if the yolk is flat and the white is runny, this is a sign of a stale egg.


Cause: Over time, the protein chains (different substances connected to each other) fall apart, and therefore, in an old egg, the yolk and white are loosely bonded together.

3. Shake the egg

If you don’t hear any extraneous sounds when shaking, then you can safely eat the egg - it’s fresh. If splashes or squelching sounds are heard, it means that air has entered the egg and expanded the natural air bubble. You can no longer eat such an egg.

4. Pay attention to the expiration date


The packaging of eggs always contains information about the expiration date, which you should pay close attention to. The supplier guarantees that, subject to storage rules, the product will remain fresh. In general, eggs can be eaten for some time after the expiration date, but before doing so, it is strongly recommended to check their freshness using the methods described above.

When eating eggs, special attention must be paid to hygiene. Please note the following recommendations:

  • Buy only fresh eggs and use them before the expiration date.
  • Store eggs in the refrigerator - salmonella bacteria do not multiply at temperatures below 6°C. At room temperature their number increases. Please note that subsequent cooling will not help the situation.
  • When preparing dishes using raw eggs, use only very fresh eggs.
  • Cook the eggs for at least 5 minutes in boiling water.
  • If eggs have expired, they can still be eaten for some time, but only if thoroughly cooked. Salmonella bacteria are killed at a temperature of 70°C.
  • If the shell of an egg is damaged, it must be cooked immediately. This product can no longer be stored.

Where is the best place to store eggs in a Liebherr refrigerator?

Eggs can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 15 days. In the freshness zone

When purchasing eggs, the buyer runs the risk of purchasing a stale product. Poultry farms may not comply with the necessary storage conditions, thereby reducing shelf life. Also, the stamps may not correspond to reality, and in the case of domestic eggs, the reference point is completely lost. In such cases, it is necessary to be aware of various tricky techniques. One of them will be described in this article.

At home, you can use a quick method that requires plain or salted water. Popularity of this method This is due to the fact that you won’t have to break anything, and everything will remain safe and sound for further use. Let's list what is required to check eggs for freshness:

  1. An ordinary glass of water with a capacity of a quarter liter, filled with cold water from the tap;
  2. The product itself that needs to be tested;
  3. Information on how to check the freshness of eggs in water.

Having lowered the product into a container of water, it will fall to the bottom and acquire a horizontal position. Does this determine whether it is fresh or rotten? Worth remembering forever - fresh!

When checking, you wonder how this method determines whether an egg is spoiled? The fact is that its shell fits tightly to the membrane, and if the product is fresh, it is characterized by the absence of air inside.