How To Tell If Your Eggs Have Gone Bad

By: Joe McGauley

Credit: iStock

There's really nothing worse than trying to nurse a Sunday morning hangover with an omelet, only to discover you've got a fridge full of expired eggs. This poses the question: Are they still safe to eat? Eggs stay fairly fresh well beyond the expiration printed on their cartons, but how can you tell when they've officially gone bad?

Here are five easy tips to keep you from scarfing down something rotten.

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1. Shake it up
Generally, if you can hear the liquid swishing around inside the egg when you shake it, it's gone bad. The sound usually indicates a watery old yolk. Similarly, if you're trying to determine whether it's hard-boiled or not, spin it on its side on a table and try to stop it by quickly tapping it with your finger. If it continues to rotate, it's uncooked.

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2. Watch the whites
Once an egg's cracked there's an easy way to judge how fresh it is before you start cooking. A fresh egg will have a white that's taut and raised around the yolk, while a less-fresh (though still edible) egg will have a white that's more spread out.

Credit: iStock

3. Sniff it out
Though only the most well-trained nose will be able to detect if an egg's turned while it's still in the shell, a rotten one will make itself known to anyone in its vicinity once it's cracked. The pungent sulphuric smell means they're seriously rotten.

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