How to check if raw chicken eggs are fresh. How to determine the freshness of an egg

Like any other product, eggs must be fresh. But sometimes we don’t know how long they’ve been in our refrigerator, and even more so, we can’t guess how long they were on the counter in the store before we bought them, and the conditions for their storage are also little known to us. And this is also an important criterion that affects the quality of the product.
So, to dispel all doubts about the freshness of eggs, there are several ways to find out.

Method one: before buying.

Before you buy eggs, you should pay attention to their appearance.
Those that the chicken has recently demolished have a matte surface, while those that have already lain down for some time become glossy.

After an external inspection of the goods, try shaking the egg. If the contents “dangle” inside, then the egg is stale. Since the egg tends to dry out during storage, as a result of which the inner shell is separated from the shell and the contents are separated.

Method two: checking eggs for freshness at home.

To do this, lower it into a concentrated solution of kitchen salt. If the egg lies at the bottom of the dish, then its age is not more than a week. If the blunt end rises up, but is still sharp at the bottom, then the egg is about 10 days old. If it floats in the solution, the egg is already stored for about 2 weeks. And if it swims, half leaning out of the water, it is better not to eat it.

Method three: determination of freshness during the cooking process.

Of course, this situation does not mean the case when the egg emits a fetid odor. With this, everything is clear.

How fresh the egg will be shown to us the following signs:

• If, after breaking an egg into a pan, the protein spreads, then the egg is no longer fresh enough, it is suitable for use, but it is no longer worth storing it. In fresh - the protein is denser and more viscous.
• The same with the yolk. If the yolk of a broken egg immediately spreads, its freshness is doubtful.
• At a boiled fresh egg the shell is cleaned much worse than the one that has lain down for more than one week.

You can’t look inside the egg, and no one wants to run into a rotten one, especially in those cases when they take a large batch for future use. But people have long come up with many ways to check the freshness of eggs without breaking the shells. Our grandmothers knew how to do it, so we will learn too.

visual inspection

By weight

You need to take the egg in your hand, feel its weight and think if it is too light. A fresh egg is completely filled with protein, so its weight is noticeable. The longer the egg is stored, the more it dries out. As a result of moisture loss, the weight of the contents decreases, the air chamber (at the blunt end, this is the so-called "puga") increases, the egg becomes lighter and lighter.

By sound

Taking an egg in your hand, you will probably shake it involuntarily. And you will do it right! This method is also very good when you are thinking about how to determine the freshness of eggs. At good egg there will be no sounds or vibrations inside. If the contents, when shaken, obviously dangle and beat against the walls, throw away such an egg without hesitation, it is definitely rotten!

By type of shell

If the egg was laid recently, literally a day or two ago, its shell is matte. If it is demolished many days ago, the shell will be shiny. If the egg looks too clean, as if “washed”, it will not be stored for a long time, because during the “water procedures” it has lost its protective film. Such eggs remain fresh for no more than 10-12 days, and “unwashed” eggs can be stored in the refrigerator for at least a whole month.

into the light

There is a special device - "ovoscope", where the eggs shine through with a directed beam. At home, you can simply hold the egg up to a bright lamp and see if there are any dark spots inside.

Buoyancy test

The most reliable test for egg freshness is the salt water immersion test. If the egg has sunk, it is definitely fresh. The longer the egg is stored, the more it dries out and becomes lighter. So if it floats in a salt solution, does not sink, but does not float up, this indicates that it is, of course, not the first freshness, but it is quite suitable for food. If the egg joyfully emerges to the surface, this is a sure sign of its absolute unsuitability for eating.

Salts for this experiment usually take an incomplete tablespoon, designed for half a liter of water, but the concentration of the solution is not so important here, because a spoiled egg will float even in clean water.

An egg is an important, extremely diverse food product from a culinary point of view, since in addition to the actual egg dishes, egg components (yolk and protein) are used in the preparation of many other dishes: for example, egg yolk season soups and sauces, and whipped proteins are often necessary to stabilize, for example, soufflés. The nutritional and biological properties of eggs are due mainly to biologically valuable proteins - one egg covers 15% of a person's daily protein needs. In terms of nutrient content, protein and yolk differ significantly from each other: the former consists mainly of water and about 11% protein, while the yolk is rich in protein-phosphorus compounds, fat, minerals and vitamins. Along with fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E, it contains calcium, phosphorus and iron. The protein contains water-soluble vitamins, sodium, potassium and chlorine. The nutrients of eggs can be absorbed by a person almost completely, namely up to 95%. And, nevertheless, you should not eat too many eggs (more than 3 pieces per day) because of the high cholesterol content in the yolk.

The decisive influence on the quality of eggs is exerted by proper storage. Eggs are sensitive to environment, as odors and bacteria can penetrate through their porous shell. They should always be stored at a cool temperature (8 to 10 C) and high humidity. Best of all - in a special compartment of the refrigerator, away from strong-smelling products. In such conditions, eggs in the shell are stored for 3-4 weeks. broken eggs stored for 2 days, the yolk covered with water, also 2 days, and protein - up to 14 days. Frozen egg mass, no matter in what composition, is stored for about 4 months.

How to determine the freshness of an egg? By appearance it is almost impossible to tell if an egg is fresh or not. But there is simple ways checks:.

- If you shake a fresh egg it will not make any sound
- There is also a rule - the older the egg, the more moisture evaporated from it through the porous shell. Due to this, the air chamber increases and the egg becomes lighter.
- Buoyancy test. If an egg in a glass of 10% sodium chloride solution (10 g of salt per 100 ml of water) sinks to the bottom, then it is fresh. An approximately 7-day-old egg has a larger air chamber. The egg rises with the blunt end up. If the egg floats completely on the surface, then its air chamber is even larger, it may already be several months old.
- Test by breaking an egg. In a very fresh egg, the yolk is strong, well convex, beautifully rounded and surrounded by two rings of albumen: an inner compact one and a thinner outer one.
- Cooking eggs. The easiest way to cook eggs is by boiling in the shell. It may be recommended to lightly pierce the blunt end of the egg with a thin needle to remove air. Then the shell will not crack during cooking. If you need to hard-boil several eggs, then it is better to put them in boiling water in a sieve. Cooking time is counted from the moment when the water boils again. But this can only serve as a guideline, since the cooking time depends on the place - the higher above sea level, the longer the process of boiling the eggs, as well as the temperature of the eggs before they were put into boiling water. They don't need to be boiled too long, though, or the protein will release the hydrogen sulfide, and then the eggs will smell bad. After cooking, it is recommended to rinse the eggs well. cold water to make them easier to clean.

Boiling time:
4-5 minutes: protein is solid only on the outside, the yolk is still liquid and dark yellow.
5-6 minutes: the protein is solid, the yolk is still liquid inside, the outer edge has already hardened a little.
6-8 minutes: the whole protein is hard, the yolk is a little soft in the middle, the rest is soft.
7-9 minutes: protein and yolk are solid; the yolk in the middle is slightly creamy, its color becomes lighter.
10-12 minutes: protein and yolk can be cut, the yolk is already pale in color. 15 minutes: The yolk loses its color even more, becomes dry and crumbles when cut.

Enjoy your meal!