How to Tell if Your Eggs Are Bad, According to Food Experts
Eggs are one of the most versatile ingredients to keep stocked in your fridge. You can scramble them, fry them, boil them and use them in breakfast, lunch or dinner dishes. Plus, they’re incredibly nutritious and loaded with protein and vitamins. But eggs don’t last forever—and eating bad eggs can up your risk of coming into contact with bacteria such as salmonella, which can make you sick.
Not sure whether your eggs still have some life left in them? We went right to the culinary pros to learn exactly how to tell if eggs are bad. Keep reading for the scoop.
Related: 5 Egg Breakfasts to Kick Your Day Off Right
How to Tell if Eggs Are Bad
Luckily, there are a few simple ways to tell if those eggs should be tossed. Here are the top five warning signs you should watch out for.
1. There have been changes in color.
Just like you would when checking if raw chicken or beef has gone bad, the first thing you should do is look for any discoloration. “Even before you crack an egg, you might notice gray or blackish spots and rings through the shell,” says Lisa Steele, author of Fresh Eggs Daily, producer and host of Welcome to My Farm and fifth-generation chicken keeper. “That egg has gone bad. Bacteria has gotten inside it.”
If you crack an egg and notice that the color is a bit off inside, then that also means it’s spoiled. “The egg white may have a green or ‘off’ tinge thanks to unwanted bacterial growth,” says Melanie Marcus, RD, a culinary dietitian from the greater Charlotte, North Carolina, area. “It could also have an iridescent color.”
2. There’s a foul odor after cracking.
A foul odor post-cracking is another indicator that an egg is past its prime. “Good eggs have a neutral odor, while bad ones will smell sour or gassy,” says Marcus.
Adds Steele: “The first time you smell a rotten egg, you will know it. There is no mistaking an egg that has gone bad once you crack it open. If you smell a fishy or sulfur smell, you can bet that egg is no longer good to eat.”
Related: How Long Does Rotisserie Chicken Last in the Fridge?
3. The texture is extra slimy.
You can also tell if an egg is bad by paying attention to the texture after you crack it. It's easy to tell if mushrooms have gone bad because of that unmistakable slimy feel, but did you know eggs can also be too slimy? If the egg white or yolk appears to be very slimy, then that means it’s time to toss that egg, says Norah Clark, a pastry chef and food blogger.
4. The egg floats in a glass of water.
You don’t always have to crack an egg first to tell if it’s seen better days. “The float test is a great way to tell how old an egg is before cracking it,” says Steele. “It doesn't necessarily indicate that an egg is rotten—eggs actually will last for weeks and weeks (and even months) when stored correctly in the refrigerator—but the chances of an older egg having more salmonella inside them is greater than in a fresh egg.”
To do the float test, fill a clear glass with water, then carefully drop your egg in, explains Steele. “A very fresh egg will sink to the bottom and sit there,” she says. “As the egg ages, air starts to seep in through the pores in the eggshell, causing the egg to start to rise off the bottom of the glass.”
After a few weeks, an egg will become more buoyant and eventually be standing up straight in the glass. But “as long as the bottom of the egg is still touching the bottom of the glass, I would consider it still fairly fresh and okay to eat,” says Steele.
If the egg floats when you drop it into a glass of water, then you shouldn’t eat the egg just to be on the safe side, says Steele.
Related: 10 Foods With More Protein Than an Egg
5. There’s sloshing when you shake the egg.
Get ready to shake, shake, shake! “One way to tell if an egg is fresh or not is to hold it up to your ear and shake it,” says Steele. “If you hear—or feel—the insides sloshing around inside, that means the egg isn't terribly fresh.”
What the sloshing means is that time has elapsed since the egg was laid, allowing air into the egg and the moisture inside to escape, forming an air sac that allows the remaining egg contents to move around freely inside the shell, explains Steele.
How to Tell if Eggs Are Bad After Cracking
“Generally, you need to crack an egg to tell if it has technically gone bad,” says Marcus—and when you crack a spoiled egg, it’s pretty obvious. A green or iridescent egg white, sour or gassy odor and super slimy texture are all signs a cracked egg has got to go.
Related: 100 of Our Best Egg Recipes for Morning, Noon or Night
How to Tell if Hard-Boiled Eggs Are Bad
“Hard-boiled eggs that have been stored in their shell beyond seven days should be tossed,” says Marcus. “If they’ve been peeled, you generally only have five days to eat them.”
To tell if a hard-boiled egg is bad, peel the egg and check for discoloration or unpleasant odor, suggests Clark. “A fresh hard-boiled egg should have a yellow yolk and a firm white,” she says. “If the egg is discolored or has a greenish ring around the yolk, it's likely gone bad.” A rotten boiled egg may also have a sulfuric smell, adds Marcus.
The bottom line on hard-boiled eggs: “If the egg is slimy, mushy or smells bad, toss it,” says Steele.
How to Tell if Eggs Are Bad in Water
Wondering how to tell if eggs are bad in water? It’s time to do the float test. Simply drop your egg into a clear glass of water and see if it sinks or floats, says Steele. An egg that sinks to the bottom is still fresh and good to eat, while an egg that floats to the top is old and should be tossed just to be safe since older eggs are more likely to contain bacteria.
How to Properly Store Eggs
Knowing how to properly store eggs is key to keeping them fresh for as long as possible (which you'll want to do given how crazy expensive eggs have gotten these days, right?).
The good news? “Eggs typically last up to five weeks in the refrigerator when stored properly,” says Clark. To store eggs properly, Clark recommends keeping them in their original carton and placing them in the coldest part of the refrigerator, such as the back of the fridge. (The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services advises you to keep eggs refrigerated at 40 degrees or colder.) And always check the expiration date on the carton before consuming the eggs, adds Clark.
Up Next: How Long Do Eggs Last, and How Can You Keep Eggs Fresher Longer? Let's Crack to It
Sources
Lisa Steele, author of Fresh Eggs Daily, producer and host of Welcome to My Farm and fifth-generation chicken keeper
Melanie Marcus, RD, a culinary dietitian from the greater Charlotte, NC area
Norah Clark, a pastry chef and food blogger
