eggs and best before date

wexpat girl

hi,
how long beyond best before date is reasonable to cook eggs? i think there's more lee way with baking but what about even boiled eggs? hate throwing out food but don't want food poisoning particularly either! :rolleyes:

noby

Firstly, use your own discression, and your nose.
Pop the egg into a jug of water - if it lies horizontal in the bottom it's ok. If it sits vertically it's not as fresh, but possibly usable. If it floats chuck it.

I would imagine there's less leeway with baking, and a slightly out of date egg would be more suitable for scrambling or omelette making.

rubadub

Never saw dates on eggs growing up. If they are in the fridge they will last way longer than the date, since when they come up with these dates they have to take into account bad conditions, i.e. hot & direct sunlight.

You can crack them into a bowl and examine and smell them, then add to your bowl and do it one by one.

olaola

I usually shake mine - if there is a wobble inside then I'm a bit iffy about it.
The air pocket at the top of the egg gets larger as it gets older, hence it floats.
OR you could put it in front of a bright light and you should be able to see if the air pocket is small or what.

rockbeer

Personally I'd never put eggs in the fridge. They keep forever, but very quickly lose any egg-like qualities they may have had; things like flavour and texture.

Bottom line with an egg: ignore the date. if it stinks, it's off. Otherwise, eat it. If you're boiling it, do the floating trick as suggested above.