How to recognize fresh eggs

If you should lose track of how long your eggs have already been in the fridge, these simple tests will tell you whether they are still fresh.

If, on shaking the egg, you hear a sloshing sound this indicates that the air-cell is already quite big and the albumen watery. The yolk tumbles around in the egg if it is no longer quite fresh.

Break the egg on to a plate. Fresh eggs are recognizable by their domed yolks, which are held together by a ring of albumen. If the yolk is flat and the albumen runny, the egg has been around for a while and needs to be thoroughly cooked.

Place the egg in a tall glass filled with water. Very fresh eggs sit on the bottom. Eggs aged about seven days start to stand up, with the rounded end upwards. If your egg floats to the surface it is at least 21 days old. Its air-cell is already big enough to make the egg buoyant.

Hold the egg in question in front of a strong light. Fresh, raw eggs are translucent. However you turn the egg, the yolk stays in the middle. In older examples, the yolk starts to travel.