Rasita

Eggs

How to tell if an egg is bad

When in the shell, you can test an egg for age by letting it float in water. How you do this is cover an egg, in a bowl, with water and see if it floats. The higher it floats in water the older it is.

Why does this happen?

It happens because an eggs shell is porous and it looses moisture the older it gets. Also, it starts to form gases from the egg which is breaking down and these two factors lighten the egg, thus allowing it to float.

I know that some egg farmers used to (don't quote me on this) put a thin waxy coating over the egg to reduce moisture loss and to help give it a more attractive gleam to the shell.

To tell how old an egg is when it is cracked, you look at the white (of course if it smells like 'rotten eggs' it is definitely off). The white should be firm and clear. The older the egg the runnier the white. This is due to protein breakdown in the white.



If anyone knows any other ways to tell if an egg is bad, or if I have even got some of these facts wrong, then please comment.