TiL: Floaters are not always bad eggs

[RMDelete]

So I felt the need to post this here. A little backstory, my 2 sisters are allergic to CHICKEN eggs but not duck eggs. They'd been ordering fresh duck eggs for about 2 years and receiving floaters sometimes and I had told them the trick of if it sinks is good, if sinks but stands underwater is ok fully cooked by it floats toss it bc its rotten.

For years this is what I preached, until pre pandemic I had the genius idea that "rather than pay $40 x duck egg delivery let's buy ducks instead , I purchased and raised Golden 400s 9 hens and 1 drake, and they were consistently laying eggs on the daily, sooo many eggs. And to my surprise I too had a few floaters, I was baffled. So I figured maybe it was the drakes fault bc maybe he was fertilizing then and making them go bad, so I got rid of him and kept only females, months passed and I was STILL getting floaters so that's when I started wondering what was going on....

Turns out the only thing the float test tells you, is how FRESH the egg is... the air pocket as with all eggs increased over time as the egg ages, but it's no clear indication that the egg itself is rotten or not..and this makes sense... I've had even sinkers that are stinkers in both chicken and duck eggs, and during the winter my ducks don't lay as much, same as hens, sooo that said, nothing can tell you if an egg is spoiled besides checking the smell, color, with your physical nose and eyes.


I had my sister break open a bunch of the floaters duck eggs and all looked beautiful and smelled fresh and clean... sooo.. yeah weird.


Regardless I'd still recommend cooking floaters 100% of the way through to err on the side of caution... oh and I also found this article to back up my theory/ findings

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/tell-if-eggs-are-bad

 

[aart]

Yep, 'wives tale'.

Regardless I'd still recommend cooking floaters 100% of the way through to err on the side of caution

I'd recommend not floating eggs at all.

Floating an egg will only tell you how old it might be.
They float due to evaporation when older.
It will not tell you if an egg is 'good' or 'bad'.
Plus then you've wetted the egg so it should be thoroughly washed and refrigerated.

When in doubt....
Open eggs one at a time in a separate dish before adding to pan or recipe,
use your eyes, nose, and common sense to decide if egg is OK to eat.

 

[FactoryReject]

Yep, 'wives tale'.


I'd recommend not floating eggs at all.

Floating an egg will only tell you how old it might be.
They float due to evaporation when older.
It will not tell you if an egg is 'good' or 'bad'.
Plus then you've wetted the egg so it should be thoroughly washed and refrigerated.

When in doubt....
Open eggs one at a time in a separate dish before adding to pan or recipe,
use your eyes, nose, and common sense to decide if egg is OK to eat.

I've been doing that for about a month now because about a month ago I was making a HUGE breakfast for my fam. I had saved up chicken and duck eggs for about 3 weeks. Float tested, then (all sinkers) I popped about half of them an then... I popped a rotten egg into about 20 eggs.. Had to throw out all of it (obviously to my ducks and chickens)! I did not have enough eggs for breakfast so I had to get some from the store (which I HATE doing on account of the way factory chickens are treated, how they don't even have real shells, and aren't NEARLY as nutritious as my home layed ones)!

 

[Mellowmalt]

it is just an indication. Once an egg goes bad it starts to expel the air in the egg and so yes eggs that are about to explode would sink.

If an egg floats it still indicates that the egg is not fresh so it is a very useful tool.

I risked feeding an egg to my dog this week, did the float test, it bounced a bit so I didn't risk eating it. Gave him the shits confirming it wasn't good to eat...

 

[cassie]

I've been doing that for about a month now because about a month ago I was making a HUGE breakfast for my fam. I had saved up chicken and duck eggs for about 3 weeks. Float tested, then (all sinkers) I popped about half of them an then... I popped a rotten egg into about 20 eggs.. Had to throw out all of it (obviously to my ducks and chickens)! I did not have enough eggs for breakfast so I had to get some from the store (which I HATE doing on account of the way factory chickens are treated, how they don't even have real shells, and aren't NEARLY as nutritious as my home layed ones)!

My aunt broke every egg into a cup or other small dish before she added it to whatever she was cooking. That way if an egg was bad she could throw it out. She did that with every egg whether it was an egg from her own chickens or if it was store bought. A lot simpler and more accurate than float testing them.

 

[FactoryReject]

My aunt broke every egg into a cup or other small dish before she added it to whatever she was cooking. That way if an egg was bad she could throw it out. She did that with every egg whether it was an egg from her own chickens or if it was store bought. A lot simpler and more accurate than float testing them.

After I did that my mom was Iike " what did I tell you? Small bowl first!" When I'm almost 98% sure that she did not LOL

 

[rosemarythyme]

After I did that my mom was Iike " what did I tell you? Small bowl first!" When I'm almost 98% sure that she did not LOL

I always advise it but I admit I don't do it myself either. What I do instead is slowly crack the eggs open and peek inside, and if I see anything really off I don't add that egg.

 

[aart]

After I did that my mom was Iike " what did I tell you? Small bowl first!" When I'm almost 98% sure that she did not LOL

Listen to your mother!!

Especially with that many eggs!