Checking eggs in water. To keep eggs fresh: store and check correctly

Eggs are the basis for preparing various dishes, which every hostess knows about. In addition, they provide the body with many nutrients. But to get such an effect, you need to use only fresh products. Otherwise, you can cause serious harm to health. To protect yourself from negative consequences, you need to figure out how to check the freshness of eggs before buying and at home.

What are the dangers of stale and rotten eggs

The danger of such products lies in the likelihood of salmonella infection, which provokes food poisoning and the development of salmonellosis. This disease is quite dangerous and in the absence of timely treatment can lead to death. But this only applies to chicken eggs. Quails lay at a temperature of 40 ̊С, and in these conditions the bacteria that cause salmonellosis do not survive.

But the following danger is typical for both types of eggs, since, regardless of origin, they are a source of allergens. But if at the dietary stage (up to 7 days after demolition) the likelihood of an undesirable reaction of the body is minimal, then as the shelf life increases, it increases.

Important! Stale eggs often provoke allergic reactions.

How long does the product stay fresh?

Only fresh products can be useful for our body. To protect yourself from possible negative consequences, you should understand the optimal shelf life of eggs.

Table: terms and conditions for storing eggs at home

Checking freshness in the store

You can determine the degree of freshness of eggs in a store or market by visual signs, smell and sound. Start by inspecting the shell: in a fresh product, it has a rough and matte surface. This applies to both chicken and quail eggs. Spoiled ones will have a noticeable shine.

Important! The presence of cracks or other damage on the surface is unacceptable.

Next, take the egg in your hand and shake it. You should not hear any sounds while doing this. If the egg gurgles, you should refrain from acquiring it. The shell of a fresh product has an odor reminiscent of lime. If it is missing, it is likely that the eggs have been stored for quite a long time. Their shell intensively absorbs the odors of the surrounding products.

Important! If the smell of hydrogen sulfide emanates from the product, this indicates the process of protein decay, that is, the egg is already rotten.

If there is an electronic scale in the store, the suitability of the product for consumption can be determined by weight. The mass of fresh chicken eggs ranges from 35 to 75 g, depending on the category, quail eggs - 12 g. Lower weight indicators indicate their depravity.

Eggs that are too light in weight are spoiled

You can also check using a special device - an ovoscope, which is designed to translucent eggs. The location of the yolk in the center indicates the freshness of the product. If there are dark areas near the protein, this indicates that the egg has been lying for a week or two, but at the same time it is suitable for consumption. Spoiled products do not shine through at all.

Using an ovoscope will give the most accurate result.

Home methods for determining suitability

There are several ways to ensure the freshness of products at home. They are suitable for both quail and chicken eggs.

into the light

Hold the egg up to a 100 watt or more lamp and examine it. If you notice an air gap between the shell and the film located under it, then the product is not quite fresh. The allowable size of the pug (this is the name of this formation) is 9 mm and 4 mm (for chicken and quail eggs, respectively). If the layer is more than these indicators, they should not be used.
Note also the presence of drops of blood. Point and mobile formations are harmless, they occur when the chicken oviduct is damaged. But if you see a blood ring, which is the circulatory system of a dead fetus, you cannot use the product.
The multiplication of microorganisms leads to the formation of dark spots. They can also be detected by translucent eggs. The use of such products is permissible after heat treatment. But it is better not to risk and throw away these eggs.
If you have an ultraviolet lamp at home, try it in action. Enlighten the product and carefully examine the color of the contents. A fresh chicken and quail egg should have a rich red hue, while a spoiled one should have a lavender or gray tint.

We use water

To check with the following method, you will need a glass, which must be filled with water to a level of at least 10 cm. A deep bowl is also suitable. Dip the egg into the container and watch its position. If it sinks to the bottom, then the product is fresh, and if it floats, it is unusable.

Important! A fresh quail egg will sink to the bottom, while lying sideways.

A chicken egg with an expiration date will sink to the bottom with one end, and the other will be located on top. It must be consumed in the near future and only in boiled form or used for baking.

Important! Some housewives add salt to the water, being of the opinion that such a solution will provide a more accurate result. But this method is not very efficient.

Video: water test master class

Visual inspection of content

Crack the egg onto a flat plate. Without fear, you can use a product with a convex round yolk and protein that retains its shape. A spoiled egg begins to spread.

If the yolk has acquired a bright orange color, blood has got into it at the formation stage. Do not refuse such eggs: after heat treatment, they become safe. They are used to make pancakes, pancakes, cutlets.

Important! In a spoiled egg, the protein becomes liquid, and the yolk becomes flat.

On the left is a fresh egg (thick protein and convex yolk), and on the right is a stale one (because it has no shape and spreads)

Alternative ways

Pay attention to the labeling. If the eggs contain the date of its application, they are classified as dietary, that is, they were laid no more than 7 days ago. The absence of this information indicates that the product belongs to the table type. These are eggs that are already stored for 7-25 days.

Important! Another way is to check by determining the temperature of the egg using the tongue. The product is applied alternately with a sharp and blunt end. The spoilage of the egg is indicated by the same temperature at both ends. In a fresh product, the sharp edge is colder than the dull one. But this method cannot be called reliably effective.

What to do if already welded

Determining how fresh a boiled egg is is also quite simple:

It needs to be cleaned first . The shell is removed from a fresh egg with difficulty, it is easily separated from a stale product.
Then cut it. The presence of dark blue or green spots on the yolk is a sign that the egg is stale.
Also here you can apply the method that is used for raw eggs and smell them. If there is a smell of hydrogen sulfide, the use of such a product in food must be discarded.

Video: how to avoid buying a spoiled quail egg

Compliance with simple recommendations will help to avoid using a stale product. To eliminate the possibility of harmful bacteria in food, be sure to wash the egg before using it. This advice is especially relevant if there are remains of blood, feathers or droppings on the surface of the shell. And in the process of preparing the dish, first break the product into a plate and make sure that there are no impurities and unwanted odors.

If you want to make an egg dish, it's a good idea to make sure it's fresh.

Checking methods:

1. First of all, it is water. ?

The egg must be lowered into a deep bowl.
Fresh will be at the bottom, as the air chamber in it is small.
Over time, there is more air in the egg, so in the water it begins to float with its sharp end down, strictly vertically. This product can still be eaten.
A spoiled egg remains on the surface of the water.

The second way to determine freshness is to break an egg.

The yolk of a fresh egg has a neat appearance, located in the middle of the egg.
In a stale product, the yolk spills, can easily burst, the protein is quite thin, spreads throughout the dishes.

The third way is to enlighten the egg. Fresh transparent, bad has blackouts in the form of clots.

Housewives check the freshness of boiled eggs. Recently demolished ones are difficult to clean, but stale ones can be removed without problems.

Learning to check freshness at home

It is much easier to check eggs bought at home than in a store. There are more ways and means to do this, among the main ones are the following:

Check by immersion in water;
Immersion in saline solution;
Shell temperature measurement;
Determination of freshness by the appearance of protein and yolk;
Smell detection.

Except folk remedies there are instrumental and laboratory tests to determine freshness. If you shine it with ultraviolet light, it begins to glow bright red. Such a glow speaks of its freshness.

If the color turns purple, this indicates that it has been demolished for a very long time.

However, it is not necessary to use ultraviolet light. Can be illuminated with an ordinary lamp. Fresh on the shell will never have dark spots, and in the case when there are such spots, that is, they are not worth it.

Water to help or how to check freshness without leaving home?

Very well proven method of immersion in water. Fresh will sink, and not fresh will float. The fact is that over time, under the shell, the air chamber increases, which makes it possible to determine the timing of the laid egg.

If salt is dissolved in water, this will make the solution denser and help to more accurately identify freshness, since eggs will float better in such a solution.

When the egg lies on the bottom - it was laid two or three days ago, if it balances between the surface of the water and the bottom - the period is about a week. If one end is immersed, and the other is directed upwards and fluctuates when the water container is stirred, this means that its freshness is about 10-15 days.

Visual determination of freshness by internal content

If you are not sure about the freshness of the purchased eggs, take one from the batch and break it. The white of a fresh egg is homogeneous and transparent. The yolk should have a natural convex shape. If it is stale, the yolk will be flat, and the protein is characterized by a heterogeneous structure and may have cloudy areas.

Determination of shell odor

By this parameter, you can determine how long ago the egg was laid. The thing is that the shell is able to absorb various odors. The shell of freshly laid eggs smells like lime. The longer it is stored, the more varied the smells can be. Freshness can also be determined after cooking. It is believed that fresh is very difficult to clean. The older his age, the better the shell departs from the boiled protein.

Determination of freshness by shell temperature

This method requires some experience. Its essence is as follows: you need to wash the purchased egg, shake it, and then touch the blunt and sharp end with the tip of your tongue.

If fresh, then the blunt end will be a little warmer than the pointed one. If this temperature is the same, then it is old.

You should also carefully study the date indicated on the package. Often, due to inattention, we buy stale products, so you should be vigilant.

Egg freshness determined by twisting

This method of determination will be useful to those who have already seen how a spoiled egg rotates. The fact is that the fresh one practically does not rotate or rotates no more than a few times around its axis, the spoiled one will rotate a little longer.

Shelf life of eggs

Depending on the age of the laid eggs, they are divided into two categories: dietary and dining. If the freshness is less than 7 days after demolition, it is considered dietary. From the 8th day it goes into the category of canteens. You need to store no more than 25 days, it is best to store in the refrigerator. However, even at room temperature, they are quite well preserved. If it is not possible to store in the cold, then you need to place them in a dark place.

Those purchased at the bazaar should be stored for no more than three weeks, since there is no way to know the exact date of their demolition.

Egg white can be stored in the refrigerator for about 2-4 days, the yolk is stored for no more than 2 days.

Determination of the freshness of quail eggs

Quail eggs are valuable because they are a source of protein and are able to restore the body's immunity. They contain much more minerals and vitamins than chicken. Methods for determining the freshness of quail eggs are the same as for determining chicken.

However, there is one interesting method that allows you to more accurately determine the freshness of a quail egg. To do this, you need an electronic scale. When weighed, it should weigh about 12 grams, stale will weigh exactly half as much (About 4-6 g). This difference can be felt if you hold a fresh egg and a spoiled one in different hands.

How long does a boiled egg keep?

It is recommended to store no more than 1-3 days. The most optimal storage time is 24 hours. For better preservation, they should be wrapped in paper. The shelf life depends on how much they were cooked and under what conditions they are stored.

In the refrigerator, hard-boiled eggs can be stored for about 7 days, peeled, hard-boiled eggs are stored for 5 days.

spoiled boiled egg can be checked by the smell and consistency of the protein. If there is an unpleasant musty smell, then you should not eat it. Stale cooked protein loses its elastic structure, becomes layered and, when rubbed with a finger, can remain on the hands.

Remember, only fresh products make your diet richer and healthier. Don't neglect your health. Even long boiling does not always kill pathogenic bacteria that develop in stale eggs.

The video tells how not to become a victim of rotten eggs.

To determine the freshness of eggs, there are many folk ways.

1. Examine the egg shell: a fresh egg has a hard shell. If the shell is soft, the egg is definitely rotten.

2. A fresh egg shines through in the sun, that is, you can see the yolk inside it.

This phenomenon is based on the operation of a special device for translucent eggs - an ovoscope. It consists of a chamber and a lamp built into it. The chamber has oval holes in the shape of eggs. In a fresh egg, when viewed with an ovoscope, the contents are not dark, almost transparent, and the yolk is less noticeable than in the old one. Even through the ovoscope, the air chamber at the blunt end of the egg is clearly visible: during long-term storage, it increases in size.

3. Shake the egg well in your hand. If you feel that the yolk is shifting from side to side, then it is better to throw out such an egg.

4. Dip the egg into the water. A fresh egg will stay at the bottom, an old one will float.

5. Boiled fresh eggs don't peel as well as old ones. And from stale shells lag behind easily.

6. Place the egg on a flat surface on the table and spin it hard. A fresh egg will not spin at all. But a stale egg spins freely.

7. A fresh egg is heavier than a stale one. But not everyone is able to determine the freshness of eggs by weight ...

And did you know that...

The shelf life of table eggs is 25 days.
According to freshness, eggs are divided into dietary and table eggs. If the egg was laid by a chicken no later than seven days ago - the egg is dietary, a week after its appearance, the egg goes into the category of canteens.

What is the difference between store-bought and domestic eggs. How to check for freshness when buying and at home in various ways. The degree of their freshness, as well as the rules for selection and storage.

The content of the article:

The freshness of eggs is the most important factor to pay attention to when buying them. This is a very popular product, because they are easy to prepare, very nutritious, contain many components valuable for the body. But all this applies only to fresh, rotten ones are not suitable for food and can harm health. Checking eggs for freshness is quite simple and directly at the time of purchase and at home.

What is the difference between store and domestic eggs

Stores usually sell eggs obtained from poultry farms. Eggs from a bird kept by a private trader are called domestic. Both the first and the second are a natural product, and both can be dietary and table.

The difference is as follows:

Taste qualities. Due to differences in the diet and the characteristics of keeping domestic and factory poultry, the taste of the eggs they produce also differs. Domestic chickens are daily in the fresh air under the rays of the sun, closely communicate with the rooster, eat natural food: grain, worms, grass. Factory birds constantly live in special chambers without access to individuals of the opposite sex, receive special balanced food and vitamins. Therefore, domestic eggs are usually fertilized, and their taste is richer.
Nutrition. Both those and other eggs contain many enzymes, proteins, amino acids and vitamins that are beneficial to the human body.
Harmlessness. The health and hygiene of birds at the factory is strictly monitored, vaccinated against diseases. The health and hygiene of poultry is entirely on the conscience of its owner. So those who want to buy homemade eggs should take care of finding a conscientious seller who can be trusted. On the other hand, it is not known exactly what additives and antibiotics were fed to factory chickens and how this will affect the consumer who ate their products. It is expensive for a private trader to buy "chemistry", so homemade eggs are safer in this regard, especially for allergy sufferers.
Shell color. White or brown eggs can be found in both domestic and factory birds. But since the products are usually sorted in large-scale production, factory eggs can be distinguished by the uniformity of the shell color. In domestic eggs, on the same tray, all shades from cream to coffee brown can be present.
Size. Private owners keep birds on the farm different ages. And since the young ones lay small eggs, and the old ones - large ones, then the owner's tray is usually inconsistent. But factory products are calibrated by special machines in size.
Yolk color. It is believed that the yolks of domestic products are bright yellow, bright orange, and the color of the yolks of eggs from factory poultry is less saturated. But recently, a factory-made product can also boast of such a yolk color - due to special additives in bird feed.
Smell. Just as the smell of a hospital's medicinal smell differs from the homely cozy aroma of a muffin, the smell of factory eggs is also different from the smell of homemade ones. In the first - sterility and emptiness, in the latter, depth and richness are felt.
Price. It is customary to pay more for exclusiveness and quality. Therefore, store-bought ones are cheaper than homemade ones. Moreover, due to the fact that egg-laying in poultry occurs mainly in the warm season, domestic eggs become much more expensive during the cold period.

This is interesting! Why do stores sell only chicken and quail eggs? Because it is these birds that rush most often, 10 times more often than, for example, geese and ducks. But the latter, by the way, are 5 times more likely to suffer from salmonellosis. The safest in this regard are quail. They, the smallest, and even ostrich, the largest that you can buy, are the most nutritious, they contain 5 times more phosphorus, potassium and iron than chicken ones. An omelette made from a kilogram ostrich egg can feed the whole family!

Egg freshness levels

According to the degree of freshness, dietary and table eggs are distinguished. Here are their differences:

Diet eggs. This is the freshest product. The bird took it down no more than one week ago. In stores, such eggs are marked with the letter “D” in red, but it is difficult to find them on sale. Usually such products are obtained from domestic chickens or bought in the market or on a small farm. They are the most delicious. And the best are those that were demolished 3-4 days ago and ripened in a dark place at room temperature. All enzymes of such eggs are in excellent condition and are easily absorbed by the body. Protein and yolk are elastic, thick, do not spread over the pan, but lie compactly on it. Diet eggs have only one drawback: boiled, they are disgustingly peeled, the protein sticks to the shell and falls off in pieces.
table eggs. Diet ones become canteens as soon as 8 days have passed since the bird laid them down. These are mostly sold in stores. They are marked with a blue letter "C". The shelf life of table eggs is 25 days. They are wonderful boiled for salads, as they are easy to peel. They spread well in a pan, and the older, the larger the diameter.

How to check eggs for freshness when buying

In an ideal store, an ovoscope will be brought to your request to check the freshness of the eggs for sale. With this device, you can see what the size of the air chamber is inside the product, and understand whether it is of high quality. But you can do without an ovoscope. Use the following methods to check if an egg is rotten or not.

visual inspection

Even only in appearance, an attentive buyer can determine the freshness of eggs.

A suitable product can be distinguished from an unsuitable one by:

By shell. If it is rough, dull and hard, the egg is fresh. A soft shell with dark spots (traces of microbial growth) means that it is rotten. A smooth, glossy shell with a blue tint indicates that it is old and may be spoiled. True, it happens that sellers wash and even rub the surface of the eggs to give them a marketable appearance. But it’s better not to take risks, such “wetted” products will be stored worse. By the way, make sure that the shells of all the eggs in the tray are uniform. But if matte is interspersed with glossy, this indicates that the seller put an older product on the fresh one and it cannot be called conscientious.
By smell. It is unlikely that eggs emitting a stink will be put up for sale, but, nevertheless, one cannot fail to mention this sign. Fresh product does not smell like rotten meat. Its shell gives off the smell of lime. The older the egg, the more it absorbs odors environment and loses lime aroma.
into the light. You can check the egg with a bright lamp (at least 100 watts) or a powerful flashlight. This method is also called candling (from the English “candle”), because in the old days the product was shone through with their help. The eggs at the blunt end have a so-called pug, an air chamber. The larger this chamber, the older the product. For dietary eggs, such a scare should be up to 4 mm in size, and for table eggs - no more than 9 mm. The yolk of a fresh product is in the center or slightly offset if it is at the edge of the shell or blurred so much that it is difficult to determine the location - you have spoiled products in front of you. The presence of an embryo or a clot formed into a ring is unacceptable. Dark spots signal multiplication of microbes, it is with such eggs that you can be poisoned. A pink tint in the protein and a red-orange tint in the yolk occur when it enters the blood chamber, this is not a product that is unhealthy, but its benefits are minimal.

Remember! Do not break all the eggs in one dish or in a common bowl with any other ingredients of the dish, if you are not sure of their freshness, so as not to spoil good products rotten. It is better to double-check one at a time in a separate cup.

shaking

Unsuitable eggs can be identified simply by picking them up, shaking or twisting them. Namely like this:

weighing. If there is a scale nearby, weigh the egg. Instances heavier than 75 g belong to the highest category. The shell can be marked with the letter "B". Selected eggs (marked "O") weigh from 65 to 75 g. Eggs of the first category weigh from 55 to 65 g, the second - from 45 to 55 g, and the third - from 35 to 45 g (marked with the numbers "1", "2 ” and “3”, respectively). By weighing the product, you can understand whether the weight corresponds to the marking. If, for example, a selected egg weighs less than it should, this indicates that you are facing a marriage: it has become lighter because it has dried up, water has evaporated from it. After knowing the weight of the egg, you can also decide what is better to buy - a large one from an old chicken, which has more water, but less nutrients, or small from young - these are the most nutritious. It is believed that category 1 eggs have the best and most balanced composition.
Shaking. This is how you can easily define a "talker". If you feel the contents of the egg dangling inside, it means that you have a rotten product in your hands. This happens when the egg shrunk during storage, and the inner shell separated from the shell.
spinning. To recognize the freshness of eggs in this way, you need to be able to scroll a rotten egg on a flat surface at least once. So you can compare: rotten will make more turns, i.e., it spins longer than fresh.

Please note! Sometimes in stores there are eggs with different markings. If the label says "Premium", it means that the content of the chickens was strictly controlled and was almost perfect. If they have been raised as a home, free-roaming and eating natural food, their eggs are labeled "Organic" or "Bio-egg". "Fortified" means that the product has more useful substances such as selenium or iodine. It is impossible to verify the accuracy of this information. Therefore, it is better not to flatter yourself, it is highly likely that all this is a marketing trick.

How to check eggs for freshness at home

At home, more informative methods for checking the freshness of the product are available, and all manipulations take a little time. So, let's look at how to check eggs at home.

Simple Ways

To prevent poisoning and spoil the taste of dishes, it is recommended that you always check the eggs before using them, even if you are basically sure that you bought a fresh product.

It can be done:

Breaking an egg. Before adding a raw egg to any other food, break it into a separate bowl and inspect. Fresh will have a fluffy, slightly spreading jelly-like protein with a thin, moist and more liquid surface layer. The yolk will rise above the white. If the layers of the protein do not differ, and the yolk is flat, this means that the product is of low freshness. But you can eat such an egg. An unpleasant smell from an egg is a sign of microbial reproduction, this should not be eaten even after heat treatment, you can get poisoned.
Having boiled an egg. A quickly and smoothly peeling hard-boiled egg with a dent on the side (the place where there was air between the shell and the membrane) signals that the product is tableware and has been stored for some time. The freshest boiled egg is disgustingly peeled, much more difficult than a stale one, the place of the air sac is not noticeable. Ease of cleaning will not give even his "bathing" in cold water after boiling.
With the help of water. A very reliable way to accurately determine the freshness of the product. Before checking the eggs in the water, it is worth remembering that the older it is, the more fright in it, that is, the more air, and the better it will swim. Pour water into the container (at least 10 cm) and lower the raw specimen there. Fresh dietary product will remain horizontal. If the egg came off the bottom with a blunt end, this means that the bird laid it more than a week ago and you have a table product in front of you. A product that has surfaced for at least a month is spoiled.

Sometimes experienced housewives, giving recommendations to young people on how to check the freshness of eggs in water, mistakenly advise adding salt, ordinary or sea, to the liquid - 0.5 tsp. for 0.5 liters of water. In fact, there is no difference whether it will be in the water or not. The egg floats due to the increasing scare and microorganisms that have got inside, triggering putrefactive processes, as a result of which gases are released, which contributes to an increase in the “buoyancy” of the specimen.

Complex Methods

You can check chicken eggs in more complex ways. For example, like this:

By measuring the temperature of the shell. Wash the egg well, preferably with soap. Rinse and dry until completely dry. Then touch the tip of the tongue to the sharp and blunt end alternately. If a blunt one seems to you unequivocally warmer than a sharp one, this is good, then you are dealing with a fresh product. But if you do not feel the difference and the temperature of the shell seems to be exactly the same from either end, then the egg has a solid age.
With the help of ultraviolet. Enlighten the copy under ultraviolet rays. The bright red color of the insides will indicate that it is fresh. The paler the color, the older the product. An unfit egg under ultraviolet rays will appear purple inside, and may also have dark spots.

Attention! Do not forget to look at the expiration date indicated on the package or marked on the egg itself. If you have a choice, try to buy copies stamped on the shell, because the sticker on the package can be re-glued.

Egg storage rules

Always wash eggs before use and hands after touching this product. If you are making a dish using raw eggs, take only fresh ones, preferably quail ones. You need to cook them for at least 5 minutes after boiling water.

Storage temperature. It is best to store them in a dark, cool place. The most suitable option is a refrigerator. The fact is that at temperatures below 6 ° C, Salmonella bacteria do not multiply. But at room temperature, this process accelerates, and subsequent cooling will not correct the situation.
Shelf life. Table eggs are stored for no more than 25 days, provided that there is no damage to the shell. A product with a cracked shell should be used immediately.
Storage Features. To keep the egg fresh for a long time, it is necessary to store it with a blunt end up. It is also necessary to ensure the integrity of the natural protective layer on the shell, which prevents air from penetrating inside. That is why it is not recommended to wash the product if you are going to store it for a long time, because water washes away the protection. It is also required to ensure a constant temperature during storage of eggs, its differences will shorten the shelf life.

Please note! Eggs boiled for Easter in large numbers, can be stored in the refrigerator for a week, and at room temperature - no longer than four days. Preservation will improve if you brush their shells with sunflower oil. This will close the pores and prevent air from entering the product.

How to check eggs for freshness - look at the video:

By adhering to the above tips and carefully checking eggs for freshness when buying and immediately before use, you can protect yourself and your family from food poisoning.