This easy method to tell if eggs are fresh will mean you’re not throwing good eggs away because the date on the box has passed, or you’ve got eggs where you’ve no date on them.

We’re currently going through an eggs shortage – so it’s important to know whether your eggs are still good enough to cook with and eat.

It makes no sense to waste precious eggs just because you’re not sure, or you can’t tell how old they are. The date on the box is an indicator of when they should be eaten by – it’s not an exact science. I tend to buy eggs in boxes of 10 or 15, fully intending to get through them all, then I find I’m cooking different food, or fewer eggs – and it’s close to, on, or after the date on the box before I get round to them!

Test Eggs in Water to See if They are Fresh

The simple way to test eggs is to put them into regular tap water and perform the Egg Float Test. Eggs that float are less fresh; they float more the older they get.

As eggs age, air builds up on the inside of the shell – this trapped air will make the eggs float as they start to go out of date. A fresh egg will lie horizontally on the bottom of your dish, the next stage is for the eggs to be vertical – and then they float! This is how to test if eggs are fresh and it’s so easy anybody can do it.

The photo above shows four eggs in a jug of water – using a see through jug or bowl means you can really see and decide if an egg’s floating or not.

The eggs that float at the top are fully floating, so not good enough to eat. The one at the bottom, that’s vertical but still touching the bottom, was fine and I ate that one 🙂

The higher the egg floats, the less fresh it is. If you’re desperate to use these eggs and you have no others, then break each egg, individually, into a small pot – the smell will tell you if it’s edible or not, you will smell whiffy eggs if it’s no good at all.

Can You Freeze Eggs?

If you want to make sure you have enough eggs when you need them, or if you don’t use eggs very often, you can freeze eggs. Also, if you find you have too many eggs and have just done the test to see if your eggs are fresh you might still not be wanting to cook them today!

The best way to freeze eggs is to gently whisk them and freeze as whisked or scrambled eggs, raw.

It’s best to freeze eggs in this way based on how many you will be wanting to use them. If you usually use two eggs at a time, it makes no sense to whisk and freeze a whole box in one batch. Find some small pots and freeze the eggs as a one, or two.

How to Use Frozen Eggs

You really need to defrost the eggs before you add them to your recipe, or before you cook them (e.g. as an omelette or scrambled eggs).

Your frozen eggs will need to be fully thawed before you use them, then eaten in cooked dishes (not raw egg!). Do not cook eggs from frozen, thaw them first.

To defrost frozen eggs, place the egg from the freezer in the refrigerator and leave them overnight to thaw in a covered dish.

Save Money Buying Reduced Eggs

If you spot boxes of eggs in the shops that are reduced as they’re getting close to their Best Before date. The date on a box of labels is 28 days after the egg was laid. They can’t be sold to you later than 21 days after they were laid, leaving a full 7 days before the Best Before date when you might get lucky.

Example: Laid on 1st of the month; Best Before date will be 29th of the month. You might spot boxes of eggs dated Best Before 29th that have been reduced in price on 21-22nd of the month!

If you’re lucky enough to spot Yellow Sticker Eggs, grab them knowing you can just freeze them – ideal to make a quiche in the future maybe!

As a rule of thumb, I’ve rarely seen any eggs reduced in price – and, with the current eggs shortage it’s even more unlikely… but you never know when an opportunity will present itself, so keep your eyes peeled.

How Long After the Best Before Date Are Eggs Safe?

Using the eggs that float test above you can see if the eggs are still fresh and safe for eating.

But what does that actually mean? As I’m updating this post we’re going through an “eggs shortage” and I’ve been loathe to use the ones I’ve got for fear of being in want of an egg later! Eggs are in short supply + the prices have become ridiculous.

Real Life Example of How Long Eggs Last:

My real life example is this: It is the 23 February 2023 as I’m writing this. The cheap supermarket eggs I bought (before Xmas 2022?) have a sticker on the box “Display Until 2 January 2022” and “Best Before 5 January 2023”

I have just used three of these eggs for scrambled eggs on toast! That’s SEVEN WEEKS past the “Best Before” date on the box of eggs. SEVEN WEEKS.

I did the eggs that float test, they didn’t float. I cooked and ate them, they tasted fine 🙂

I still have another four eggs in the box to use up! They’ll be fine (I’ll do the egg float test just to check).

Another Eggs That Float Test:

The box of cheap supermarket eggs said the BBE date was 2 October 2023 – on 10 December 2023 the last four eggs in this box were float tested; they all sat upright on the bottom of the water jug, but were not floating – I ate them as scrambled eggs on toast and all were fine – nearly 10 WEEKS AFTER THE BBE DATE!