Zero waste in food, in cooking is extremely important and we must not forget that the relevant part is knowing how to recognize if a food is fresh, is still good, is edible or we have to throw it away (possibly in the compost).
One of the ingredients that leave us so uncertain are eggs.
When we buy eggs at the supermarket they have the expiration date on the carton but then if we throw away the carton?
When we receive some eggs as a gift from the neighbor, how fresh are they?
Nowadays eggs in Italy have a stamp on the shell to tell the expiring date (our chickens are very well organized) but most of the time the date is too limited.How can we know how fresh the eggs are
Very simple, let’s do the water test
For the egg water test, simply fill a glass or bowl with cold water and submerge the egg.
If the egg sinks to the bottom and lay flat on its side, it’s still fresh.
If it sinks, but stands on one end at the bottom of the glass or bowl, it’s not as fresh but still edible.
If the egg floats to the top, it shouldn’t be eaten
A last a quick note: if you’re visiting Italy or other European countries and shopping at the supermarket you don’t find the eggs refrigerate, don’t worry. Our eggs are used to stay out of the refrigerator as they have been treated differently when release . So, don’t be surprised if you see eggs on the shelves and we forget to say “ room temperature “eggs in recipes.
Toscana Mia Blog 