How to Tell if Eggs are Still Good to Eat. Do you know how to tell if the eggs in your refrigerator are still fresh Image Credit Suzanne TSince eggs come in their own pretty little packaging that we cant see through its often hard to know if an egg is still good to eat How long to eggs really last How old is the egg when you buy it at the store and how much longer will it stay good in your refrigerator How about the difference between store bought eggs and home grown Which have to be refrigerated and whyEggs, the powerhouse breakfast food that provides protein in abundance, sometimes pose a problem when it comes to food preparation. This is because in most cases you. A lot of people rely on the date on the packaging to tell them when food has gone bad, even with eggs, but the sell by dates are often rather arbitrary, and do not. Should you wash eggs There are multiple ways to tell if an egg is still safe to eat, but the water buoyancy test is the easiest This video will explain what to look for when you place and egg into a glass of water to know if the egg is fresh, needs used quickly, or has gone bad and should be thrown away How to Tell if An Egg is Still Fresh. Should Eggs be Washed and Why Do Some Eggs Need to be Refrigerated When a hen lays an egg, the egg is coated with a thin protective film that quickly dries and seals the egg. Unwashed eggs can be stored on the counter top for a few weeks. Of course they can be stored much longer in the refrigerator. However, eggs you buy in the store have already been washed, meaning the protective coating has been removed and left the porous shell vulnerable. These eggs must be refrigerated. Get Your Own Copy of The Urban Chicken Purchase The Urban Chicken by Heather The Homesteading Hippy for just 3. Read our review of The Urban Chicken here. Do you buy eggs from the store or locally or do you have your own hensQuick Tip How to Tell if Eggs Are Good. It comes up in our house a lot. Im guessing it might in yours, too. It goes something like this one of us is holding up X ingredient to the other asking, do you think this is still good What follows is a delicate dance of sniffing, staring, scratching our heads and making a quick decision thats often more guess than certain knowledge. But with eggs, that decision can be much easier. Now if youve ever encountered a really bad egg, youd know. They do smell and its not pretty. But for that in between zone when youre just not too sure, food scientist Harold Mc. Gee suggests to put them in a bowl of water. In his book, On Food and Cooking, Mc. Gee states that The moment the egg leaves the hen, it begins to deteriorate in important ways. Yogurt Smoothie Recipes there. That being said, eggs last a pretty darn long time in the refrigerator, but there is one way in which he suggests to test them at home. Mc. Gee says that eggs lose moisture through their shell so the inside contents of the egg shrinks and the air cells expands. When this happens, an older egg is more likely to float. This doesnt necessarily tell you that the egg is so bad that it shouldnt be eaten, but it does tell you its been hanging out for a while. A few other tests you can do at home to determine the age of your eggs Is My Egg Fresh Look A fresh egg boasts a bright yellow yolk that should be round and perky. As the egg ages, the white becomes runny and the yolk becomes much more flat and slightly pale. Listen Take an egg from the refrigerator and hold it up to your ear. Shake it gently. If its fresh, it wont make a sound. If its on the older side, the egg will make a slight rattle. Peel Fresher eggs are harder to peel which is why many people let their eggs age for a while in the refrigerator before making deviled eggs. Related Kitchen Tip Testing Eggs for FreshnessImage choknitiShutterstock.