Housewives use eggs to prepare various healthy and delicious dishes. A stale egg can not only spoil food, but also significantly harm health. How not to waste your money and determine in the store whether the egg is fresh or not?
When buying eggs in a store
Before you buy eggs, carefully inspect the packaging. It should be free of dents, tears and wet spots. Pay attention to the expiration date of the product. If it comes to an end, the eggs inside, most likely, are no longer fresh and it is better to refuse the purchase.
Open the egg carton. Fresh product has a smooth surface and little sheen. It's good when each egg is marked. If there are broken or cracked ones inside, do not take them.
Better to buy eggs in a carton of ten pieces. You can open them and examine the presence or absence of damage. Eggs in cells of thirty, packed in polyethylene on top, are much more difficult to see.
Rotten eggs are especially common in promotional products. It is profitable for the store to sell the leftovers faster, and buyers often do not pay attention to the quality, being tempted by the tempting price tag.
Homemade ways to check the freshness of eggs
If the eggs have been in your refrigerator for a long time and you doubt their freshness, try to determine it using simple home methods. The easiest is to gently shake the egg. The rotten contents easily overflow inside, making a characteristic squelching sound. A fresh egg is firm, practically does not move when shaken.
Another common way to identify a rotten egg is by using cold water. Pour it into a saucepan and dip the eggs into it. The rotten will float to the surface due to the presence of air bubbles inside. The fresh egg will sink to the bottom. The closer the product is to the surface of the water, the shorter its shelf life.
If the above methods don't work, try looking at the egg through a bright light bulb. In fresh product, the yolk is clearly visible in the light. A rotten egg is absolutely not translucent. If the shelf life of the product is already coming to an end, black dots will be clearly visible around the yolk.
Remember: if you bought eggs in the store, and they turned out to be rotten, you have every right to take them back. According to article 18 of the Consumer Protection Law, you will be refunded your money even without a cashier's check. This does not mean that you have the right to wait two weeks and only then carry rotten eggs to the store. Get rid of the dangerous product right away, even if there are only small doubts about its quality.
Be careful when buying eggs from a store or farm. Always eat them cooked, boiled or well done. Rotten eggs and foods cooked with them can cause severe food poisoning, intestinal upset, or even salmonellosis.
