Eggs are the food that everyone consumes in large or small quantities in the kitchen. They can be used in a thousand recipes, to prepare delicious delicacies.
We often forget about eggs: they are stored in the refrigerator for a long time, possibly even throwing away the packaging and no longer knowing what the expiration date is.
What do you risk by consuming rotten eggs?
It may happen that you don’t know if the eggs in the pantry or refrigerator are still good to eat or if they should be thrown away. Consuming eggs without knowing their expiration date is risky since you can contract infections such as Escherichia coli or salmonella.
Spoiled eggs cause fever, vomiting or diarrhea . For this reason, it is recommended to avoid its consumption if you are not sure of its reliability.
How to know if they can still be consumed
There are a few little tricks to try before cracking the shell, which will help you know if they are still good to eat or if it is better to do without them. The easiest way to check if eggs are good is to immerse them in a glass of room temperature water.
A fresh egg or one that can still be consumed, once submerged, goes to the bottom of the glass and is positioned there. An egg that is no longer fresh, to be discarded, remains afloat after being submerged.
This happens because there is a membrane between the flavor and the content. When the egg is not fresh, the membrane detaches , creating an air chamber that allows the egg to rise to the surface.
How to know if eggs are still good after breaking the shell
However, if the egg is already cracked, when it is raw, you can tell if it is good by analyzing the yolk. If it is dense and compact and remains attached to the white, then it means that the egg is fresh . If the egg white is runny, it means the egg is old and should be discarded.
Obviously you can also trust your sense of smell. A sulfur smell indicates that the egg is no longer fresh or has not been stored properly. In any case, faced with an egg that is not in good condition, it is better not to risk it.
How long can eggs be consumed?
Eggs should be consumed within a maximum of 28 days after being laid, because the risk is of contracting dangerous infections . After 28 days the eggs are usually good, but they lose their properties. So to enjoy them 100% it is best to consume them within two weeks.
Obviously it can happen that they spoil even before 28 days, so when in doubt, especially if children eat them, it is better to do the acid test . Sometimes they spoil due to poor storage . There are those who keep them in the refrigerator and those on the kitchen shelves.
It is recommended to store them in the refrigerator where they maintain a constant temperature and leave them in the packaging, to always have the expiration date available . It is better to store them on the central shelves than in the egg cup. Both for a temperature issue and to avoid contaminating the refrigerator .
Then there are those who, for hygiene and cleanliness, choose to wash them before putting them in the refrigerator. It is a bad habit because in this way the protective cuticle of the shell is removed , favoring the penetration of microorganisms into the interior of the egg.
A clean shell allows you to store the egg as is. A dirty shell can be cleaned using a simple absorbent paper always moistened before use.
Whoever is forced to buy eggs should always choose category 0 eggs . These are eggs that come from organic farms , where the chickens remain outdoors and eat organic feed.