How to define boiled. How to know if an egg has gone bad. How to understand that the products are no longer suitable for consumption. How to check the freshness of eggs in water

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 cleaned worse than the 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.

Really fresh eggs look beautiful in a bowl after you break them. The yolks are perfectly rounded and the whites whip into a fluffy meringue! Cooked, they are tender and delicious!

Fresh eggs can be bought at a local farm, from those who keep chickens. In the city, getting a really fresh egg is a problem. Eggs good quality, collected just the day before, are sold in the markets quickly enough. But the egg industry uses tricks to keep eggs fresher, such as partial freezing and cold storage for several weeks before they hit your supermarket shelf.

Even if you buy organic eggs from a farm store, you may end up with old eggs. Old eggs not only don't taste as good, they make pastries of inferior quality, they don't beat as well.

Fresh farm eggs.

Do you suspect that your store fresh eggs aren't really that fresh? If yes, then here are two tips on how you can check their freshness!

The easiest way is to look at the date of packaging of eggs (stamp). See out of expiration date(it can be several weeks), namely packing date! If the eggs were packed a couple of weeks ago, they cannot be called fresh. But if it's just a couple of days - you're in luck.

If the egg lies on its side at the bottom of a bowl of water, it is very fresh.

An easy way to test the freshness of eggs is to carefully place the egg in a glass of water. Fresh eggs sink and lie lengthwise at the bottom of the cup. The older the egg, the more likely it is to fully swim. Semi-fresh eggs will stand on the bottom at one end instead of lying on the bottom (they can be eaten). This is because the air pocket in older eggs is getting bigger. If the egg floats, it is better to throw it away (you can break it and check it, focusing on the sense of smell).

But how to determine the freshness of an egg in a store?

Hold the egg to your ear and shake it, listening for the squelching sounds. During storage, moisture and carbon dioxide escape through the shell, the yolk and white begin to dry out and shrivel, and the air pocket in the egg becomes larger. The large air pocket gives more room to move inside the shell and creates a more noticeable squelching sound. Fresh eggs should practically not make such a sound.

Checking the quality of eggs

Fresh eggs are very difficult to peel when hard boiled. Eggs are easy to peel after about three weeks of storage.

By the way, washing eggs can reduce their shelf life. It removes the protective layer. If you washed the eggs, they can only be stored in the refrigerator after that.

Crack the egg onto a plate or large bowl and check the quality of the yolk and white. The integrity of eggs decreases as they age, so they won't stick together like a fresh chicken egg. Please note: if the eggs spread a long distance on the plate and seem watery, they are no longer very fresh. If the egg remains relatively compact, it is fresh.

The egg is very blurry, it is not very fresh.

If the yolk is flat and breaks easily, the egg is old.

If the yolk moves easily inside the egg, this means that the egg is old: fresh egg white is dense and thick, it holds the yolk, then the white weakens. This can be seen after cooking: in old eggs, the yolk may be on the very edge.

Look at the color of the protein. A cloudy white indicates a very fresh egg. Pure white means the egg is older.

How to determine the quality and freshness of eggs

Crack an egg and sniff it. This The best way find rotten egg. A bad egg has a sharp, bad smell. Sulphurous smell is felt as soon as the egg is cracked (and even before). Bad eggs will have such an unpleasant odor whether they are raw or boiled.

Crack an egg into a small bowl and check the color. The color of the yolk will change depending on the diet of the chicken, so a shade of yellow or orange does not say anything about freshness at all. Instead of this, examine the egg white. If it's pink, green, rainbow egg infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and is not safe to eat. If you see black or green spots inside the egg, it is infected with a fungus, it must be discarded.

If the yolk of a boiled egg is hard, with a bluish-green ring around it, this means that the eggs have been overcooked or boiled in water with high content gland. It is safe.

If the egg has blood or meat stains, it is still safe to eat, this does not mean that the egg is gone. A blood stain appears if a blood vessel ruptures while the egg is being formed. It's not about freshness at all.

Fresh unwashed farm eggs.

Throw away any eggs that have been stored in the refrigerator and then room temperature for two hours or more. After the eggs have cooled in the refrigerator, it is important to keep them at the same temperature. cold egg in warm room begins to sweat, which can stimulate the growth of bacteria on the outer shell of the egg. Because the eggshell is porous, it happens that bacteria from the shell pass into the egg. Such eggs can become dangerous.

To prevent temperature fluctuations, store eggs in the coldest part of your refrigerator, and not on the door. The temperature on the door will likely fluctuate as it opens and closes, which can cause the egg to "sweat".

If you receive your eggs from the farm unwashed and store them at room temperature, you should never refrigerate them. In many countries it is customary to store eggs at room temperature. It is safe because eggs are laid by chickens with protection, they are able to restrain the growth of bacteria.

Why fresh eggs are important

Like any food products Here, the fresher the better. Better tasting and healthier to eat.

Who wants to buy eggs that have been pre-cooked, frozen, kept cold for weeks before you break them into your own scrambled eggs? Of course it's not very a good option especially if you are poaching a soft-boiled egg for baby food.

Fresh eggs are also better for baking. A good, strong fresh egg yolk can be easily separated by hand, without a single drop of protein that can ruin your macaroons!

Finally, fresh eggs are much easier to beat. Fresh eggs have tighter proteins, yolks retain their shape better. So if eggs Benedict is your favorite dish, then the eggs should be as fresh as possible.

Checking the freshness of eggs at home is easy. To do this, it is enough to pour into a container cold water about ten centimeters. Dip the eggs in the bowl for a minute.

Bad, spoiled, rotten eggs will immediately float in water. This is due to a violation of the density inside the shells of raw eggs.

This can also occur if storage conditions are violated: non-compliance with the temperature regime, the assumption of a sharp temperature drop.

Eggs that have floated to the surface, but only the very tip is visible from the water, may still be quite suitable for food, but they must be used before all others.

They tend to accumulate air between the shell and the outer shell of the protein. This necessary condition for gas exchange.

The layer, like a gateway, saturates the egg with the necessary oxygen for further development, and releases accumulated gases through the shell, including methane. That is why they go out and deplete such a smell.

Fresh ones stay at the bottom. The amount of oxygen in them is minimal, they were demolished quite recently.

note! A fresh egg always stays at the bottom. The spoiled floats to the surface.

It is almost impossible to check the freshness of raw eggs in the store. It is important to monitor the integrity of the shell.

Bacteria can enter through the cracks and spoil the egg.. After that, it will become unfit for consumption.

How to check a boiled egg for freshness

If the egg is already cooked, then you can check it by cleaning it:

1. Good, young hard to clean. The shell is very tight to the shell, and when peeling, part of the cooked protein leaves together.
2. If it is not the freshest, it will be very easy to clean.. She literally moves away from the protein along with the shell.
3. If the egg is already rotten, then a sharp unpleasant odor will immediately arise when cleaning., which is impossible to confuse.

Important! A fresh boiled egg is difficult to peel. And what has been stored for some time is easy to clean. An egg that has gone bad after cleaning has a sharp unpleasant odor.

Shoppers try to take chicken eggs the first category or selective, because they are larger. From the point of view of their usefulness, this is not entirely true.

After all, the largest ones carry old chickens, which are already becoming obsolete. Young growth lays eggs more and more often, but they are noticeably smaller.

Eggs of young chickens are more useful: they have more calcium, magnesium, protein and other useful trace elements.

While large eggs of old laying hens contain more cholesterol, which is main reason with diseases of the heart and blood vessels, and also leads to obesity.

Eggs small sizes the second and third categories are much cheaper.

When choosing eggs in a store, pay attention to:

1. The surface of the shell should be smooth and without cracks.
2. Choose the eggs of young chickens - they are more useful.
3. When you get home, use a glass of water to check for freshness.

How to check the freshness of quail and other eggs?

Goose, duck, quail, chicken eggs have a limited shelf life, which largely depends on the temperature regime.

You can also check the freshness of quail eggs with water.. And also, considering the surface of the shell - it should be even, smooth, without flaws and cracks.

The freshness of eggs depends entirely on the storage periods that must be observed. If they have been stored in stores for too long, they are sold at a low price.

They may not be rotten or spoiled, but they already definitely have a completely different structure.

The processes that take place in the egg do not stop, but only slow down when they are placed in the cold.

Waterfowl eggs are rarely used as food. More often they are left for the reproduction of numbers.

The shelf life is determined by the storage conditions of the product. The cooler and more saturated with moisture the environment, the longer the eggs remain fresh.

Be sure to cover the top with a damp cloth or tightly close the lid. Opened eggs dry out quickly. The yolk in this form can be stored in the refrigerator for one to two days. Protein - up to four to five days.

Checking egg quality with an ovoscope

An ovoscope is a device that has been used since ancient times, and is still used today to check the quality of eggs. This simple device is a flashlight with a directional beam of light.

You can check the eggs with an ovoscope at home. It is easy to make at home:

• To do this, you need a regular flashlight or lamp.
• Place the flashlight in a light-tight box so that the light comes from above.
• At the top of the box, you need to make a hole that will be smaller than the size of the egg.
• Put the egg itself on this hole and carefully examine it.

Good quality young egg has smooth surface and even color without spots and flaws. Inside the egg, which has been violated storage conditions, sometimes you can even see how a chicken is born.

This is noticeable by bloody clots inside the shell and specific outlines. A rotten egg, when translucent with an ovoscope, will have an unpleasant cloudy tint.

Important! To keep eggs fresh longer, they do not need to be washed before storage, so as not to break the protective layer of the shell.

Useful video

The maximum benefits of eggs can only be discussed if they are fresh. After lying in the refrigerator for a month, they lose their nutritional value and become hazardous to health. Once in the body, an expired product causes serious intoxication, which can be fatal. Therefore, it is important to be able to independently determine the degree of freshness of such a product and understand the acceptable terms of its suitability. Further in the article, we will describe in detail what to look for when buying chicken and quail eggs, how long they can be stored and where to do it better.

How to understand if an egg is fresh: chicken and quail

The unique structure of the eggshell allows the inside to retain its original properties for a long time. beneficial features. But for this, certain storage conditions are important. Otherwise, the inside of the product will begin to dry out, and a foul-smelling talker unsuitable for further use will form.

There are many ways to check the freshness of an egg at home. And for this it is not at all necessary to drag a microscope and the rarest chemical reagents into the kitchen. You can judge the degree of suitability of these products even in the store. Let's get into the details.

Did you know? Today, the world's largest producer of eggs is China. People's Republic. About 160 million pieces of this product are produced there annually. Many experts attribute this to the fact that chicken first appeared in this country. And it happened somewhere in 1400 BC.

At the time of buying

Experts advise against making "blind" purchases. In their opinion, the visual evaluation of the product is important. Therefore, going to the supermarket or the market for eggs, examine them carefully. Recently demolished specimens will compare favorably with the matte surface of the shell. But those that have already lain for several days will be characterized by a specific glossy sheen. But focusing only on this method of verification is not at all worth it. Experts warn that savvy sellers are resorting to various tricks in order to successfully sell products. One of these is rubbing or washing each instance.
In order for the purchase not to disappoint with an unpleasantly smelling substance, when choosing an egg tray, compare it with the rest of the range. Ideally, the entire ten should have the same shell color and degree of sheen. If you have a diverse set in front of you, most likely, the seller mixed old and fresh eggs. Smell them. Strongly expired boxes will have a strong unpleasant odor.

Important! The shell of a fresh egg has a specific smell, which is very similar to lime.

It also does not hurt to shake a raw egg. If a distinct chattering is heard inside, the purchase should be abandoned. After all, talkers are not suitable for consumption.

Do not ignore what is written on the product expiration date. By informing you about this, the manufacturer guarantees the freshness of the product, provided that it is stored correctly. Always choose only fresh products and try to use them before the expiration date indicated on the package.

When cooking

Many consumers are not serious about stamps on egg trays and continue to eat expired goods. According to experts, in reality, it retains its suitability for a short time. But before use, its freshness must be double-checked.

This is done in the following ways:

Important! Eggs are a source of salmonellosis, so they need to be boiled for at least 5 minutes in boiling water. Keep in mind that Salmonella bacteria lose their viability at a temperature of +70 °C.

Video: checking eggs for freshness with water

At autopsy

Break the shell and visually assess the condition of the inside. Newly laid specimens will have whites that are viscous and tightly collected, while the yolk will be bulbous. If the testicle lay for a long time, then you will see a liquid spreading protein and a flat yolk.

What is the danger

The stereotype about the exceptional benefits of chicken and quail eggs is clearly rooted in society. But if the rules for their storage were violated, then there is no need to talk about the nutritional value of this protein food and the saturation of the body with vital substances. In this case, as evidenced by medical statistics, we will talk about poisoning and its consequences.

In addition, improper cooking of eggs, the use of dirty dishes, as well as infected kitchen utensils, threatens the development salmonellosis. The bacteria that cause this disease live in the egg white, yolk and on the shell. Their source is the laying hen. And according to outward signs even experts will not be able to recognize infected specimens. Neither the color of the shell, nor the smell, nor other visual features of the product will give this away.

Did you know? The Chinese dye their eggs red every time a newborn is born into the family. According to folk legends, such a ritual guarantees the baby a long and happy life..

When eating expired or contaminated eggs are hazardous to health: homemade mayonnaise, raw sugar-egg mixture (protein or yolk), as well as all dishes that have undergone insufficient heat treatment. It can be fried eggs, poached eggs and even traditional scrambled eggs. Therefore, doctors strongly recommend that you strictly monitor the expiration date of such products and cook them at high temperatures.
Signs of egg intoxication become apparent during the first day after taking poor-quality food.

The eater has:

• vomit;
• nausea,
• weakness;
• pain in the abdomen;
• gastroenteritis developing against the background of the disease (when inflammation of the mucous membranes of the small intestine occurs);
• diarrhea (as a rule, stools are very liquid, resemble rice water in consistency and are characterized by dark green or yellow color);
• increase in body temperature up to 39-40 °;
• bloating;
• signs of colitis resulting from inflammatory processes in the large intestine;
• spasms;
• loss of appetite;
• dysfunction of the central nervous system(manifested with severe poisoning and is expressed by headaches, dizziness, insomnia, lethargy);
• malfunctions of the cardiovascular system (pressure decreases, pulse rate and cardiac rhythm change);
• bacterial infection and sepsis (with such symptoms, the outcome is fatal).

Important! To extend the shelf life of eggs at home, grease their shells with pork fat, vegetable oil or vaseline and put in a cold room where the temperature is below +10 ° C. As alternative you can wrap each piece with plain paper and fold the sharp ends down, covering with burlap.

The manifestation of the listed symptoms largely depends on the immunity of the victim. But with any degree of egg poisoning, it is important to protect the body from dehydration.
For this purpose, it is recommended:

• solution of "Rehydron" or "Oralita";
• any sorbents (activated carbon, "Smekta", "Polifepan");
• immunomodulatory drugs (multivitamin complexes, "Methyluracil");
• antibiotics prescribed by a doctor on an individual basis;
• restriction of the use of dairy products, raw vegetables and smoked meats (it is desirable to provide the patient with a sparing diet during this period).

If after a day the disease continues to progress, it is necessary, without wasting time, to seek medical help.

Egg shelf life

What time is chicken and quail eggs will be fresh, largely depends on their origin and storage conditions:

• when it comes to industrial production, then the shelf life of such products is limited to 28-30 days;
• but homemade products can retain their nutritional value throughout the quarter;
• if all the requirements for temperature regime and the degree of humidity in the room, then fresh goods will not deteriorate even after a month (this applies to cellars and refrigerators);


• boiled eggs are suitable for 2 weeks (provided that they are hard-boiled and stored in the refrigerator);
• when the boiled product is at room temperature, after 48 hours it can no longer be consumed;
• even in the refrigerator, eggs after soft-boiling deteriorate after 2 days;


• under no circumstances should specimens with a broken shell be stored for a long time (they are recommended to be used on the same day);


• if the shell cracked during the cooking process, such an instance can lie in the refrigerator for 4 days;
• in the case when you have prepared shelled eggs for some purpose, they should be used 3 days after storage in the refrigerator;


• Easter eggs will not deteriorate for 15 days, provided that only natural dyes were used for them;


• but Easter eggs that were stained with chemical reagents can be suitable for no more than 17 days;


• Easter specimens in thermal film must be eaten within 3 days.

Did you know? If you hold an ordinary fresh egg for several days in 9% table vinegar, its shell will harden so much that it will not break even from hard hit about gender.

Where and how best to store eggs

To store such products, most consumers prefer a compartment in the refrigerator door. But experts on this occasion express their indignation, which is associated with a sharp drop in temperature. Under such conditions, eggs quickly lose their nutritional value and do not represent any gastronomic value.

Experienced housewives advise choosing a place where it is always cold for this kind of product. Under no circumstances should you put the tray in the freezer.

In a refrigerator

Be sure each piece must be fixed in a stable position with the sharp end down. It is important that the eggs do not touch. It is better to leave them in a special stand or tray, spreading them out into cells. Do not forget to close the container, because the eggshell is very sensitive to neighboring odors. From the refrigerator, she will absorb everything nearby.
Make sure that the temperature in the chamber is at the level +2...+4 °С. Never wash shells before storing. Such manipulations shorten the shelf life.

Have you ever had such a situation when you were preparing a dish, and already in the process of cooking you noticed that the eggs had expired? Or are the eggs stored in a container with no expiration date so you're not sure if they're safe to use or should be thrown away? Fortunately, determining that an egg is spoiled is not difficult at all. From this article, you will learn not only how to identify a spoiled egg, but also how to find out the degree of its freshness.

Steps

Freshness test

Place the egg whose freshness you want to determine in a bowl or wide glass with cold water and see if it floats. There is a small air chamber inside the egg, which gets larger over time as more air enters the inside of the egg through the pores of the shell. The more air enters the egg, the larger the air chamber becomes, and the egg becomes buoyant.

Hold the egg to your ear, shake it, and listen for a squelching sound. Over time, liquid and carbon dioxide evaporate from the egg shell, the yolk and protein begin to dry out and shrink, and the air chambers in the egg increase. Large air cavities create free space for the egg inside the shell, which is why the squelching sound occurs.

Crack an egg over a plate or bowl and check the whites and yolks. The purity and integrity of an egg declines over time, so an old egg will not be as complete as a fresh one. Pay attention to whether the egg spreads on the plate, or remains compact. A runny or watery-looking egg with apparently runny whites is far from pristine freshness.

Definition of a bad egg

Expiry date check

1. Check the expiration date on the packaging. The packaging may show an expiration date for the eggs, such as "Sell By", usually 30 days from the date of packaging. Eggs with intact shells that are stored in the refrigerator can be eaten within a month after the expiration date. In Russia and the CIS countries, such marking is not found.

   Check the "Expiration Date" on the package. On the packaging you can find words such as "Best before", "Use by". Usually it is 45 days from the date of packing. Try to consume eggs no later than two weeks after this expiration date.

   In the US, eggs are marked with a 3-digit code that indicates the date the eggs were packed. No expiration date required federal laws(some states require this, others do not), but all eggs must be stamped with the packing date. The date is indicated by three digits according to the Julian calendar. For example, an egg packed on January 1st is labeled 001, an egg packed on October 15th is labeled 288, and an egg packed on December 3rd is labeled 365.

   Throw away eggs that were first stored in the refrigerator and then left at room temperature for more than two hours. If the egg has been refrigerated and cooled to a certain temperature, it is important to maintain that temperature further. A chilled egg in a warmer environment can become sweaty, and this will encourage the growth of bacteria on the outside. Due to the fact that the egg shell has a porous structure, bacteria from the outside can penetrate inside the egg and multiply there.

   If you have your own laying hens, learn how you can keep these eggs fresh. For long-term storage, it is recommended to select only fresh, recently collected unfertilized eggs with a strong shell without cracks. Collected eggs must be signed with a simple pencil. You don't need to wash the eggs. Domestic eggs are covered with a natural protective layer, so they can be stored for 4 or more months at a temperature of 10-15 degrees, and in the refrigerator - up to 9 months.

   • If you have doubts about the freshness of the eggs or think they are more than two months old, remember the signs of spoiled or old eggs that will help you determine if the existing eggs can be used in a recipe.

Warnings

• If the eggs are intended for consumption by people at risk (the elderly or children), choose the freshest eggs. Even though eggs can be eaten even within a few weeks of their expiration date, it doesn't hurt to take additional measures precautions. In order not to harm the health of those whose immune system is weak or underdeveloped, it is necessary to minimize the risk of disease.

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