Jeni Wright, Eric Treuille, Le Cordon Bleu

How to Test for Freshness

Appears in
top 1000Le Cordon Bleu Complete Cooking Techniques
Le Cordon Bleu Complete Cooking Techniques

By Jeni Wright, Eric Treuille and Le Cordon Bleu

Published 1996

  • About

Clockwise, from bottom left: duck egg (off-white); duck egg (blue); hen’s egg (white); pullet’s egg (small brown); hen’s egg (brown); quail’s egg (small and speckled).

First check the “best before” date (see Safety First box). If there is no date, test the freshness by immersing the egg in water as shown here. As the egg gets older it loses water through the shell, making the air pocket larger - so the older the egg the lighter it will be.

A fresh egg is heavy due to its high water content. It will settle horizontally on the bottom of the glass.