Food researcher and Senior Food Editor for allrecipes.com, Carl Hanson, just shared some very good information recently. He answers an important question: Do you know when to toss your eggs? Studies show most of us don’t.

Let’s start with the carton date stamp. It's not actually an expiration date; eggs are usually good well past that date. In fact, if you've kept the eggs in their carton in a chilly refrigerator, they can be good for weeks beyond the stamped date. But if you don't go by that date, how can you be sure your eggs haven't gone bad?

There’s always the water test. Fill a bowl with water, place an egg on top. If the egg sinks like a stone, laying down on its side, it's still very fresh. If it sinks but doesn't lay flat—and instead it tends to stand up, wobbling—it’s OK and probably just right for hard-boiling. If it floats, that's an indication the egg is possibly past its prime. Floating doesn't necessarily mean it's gone bad, but better safe than sorry. When in doubt, throw it out.

And the carton date stamp brings up to another carton date, the SELL BY… date, accompanied by two sets of additional numbers: they're actually indicating 1.) the packing date for the eggs and 2.) the plant in which they were packaged—an important indicator in the event of a recall.

The packing date is a set of numbers running 1 through 365, which is (not coincidentally) the number of days in the year. So, if the number on the carton is 032, for example, you know that because there are 31 days in January, the eggs were packed on February 1, which is the 32nd day of the year. Eggs are generally packed very soon after they're laid.

If your eggs are beyond the "best by" date but they've passed the water test—meaning, they were packed a reasonable amount of time ago and they wobbled or sank onto their sides in water rather than floating on top—crack one open.

Obviously, bad smell is a clear indicator the egg is bad. But there are other subtle things to look for. Fresh eggs have a bright orange yolk and the whites will have spring to them. If the yolk is dull and yellowish and the whites run out lifelessly onto the plate, the egg is old. But again, an older egg isn't necessarily a bad egg. So, again, give it a sniff; your nose knows. Fresh eggs have a neutral smell. No funky odor? It's probably OK.

NOTE: Carl explains, “Don't assume simply boiling eggs will preserve them. Boiling, in fact, may speed up their demise. Once boiled, an egg stays fresh for about a week, meaning any boiled eggs could go bad well before the untouched raw eggs. The boiled eggs go bad faster because boiling removes a naturally occurring waxy covering that protects the raw eggs from bacteria. Without it, bacteria can sneak through the porous shells.” [I didn’t know this—did you?]

SO, the best way to test if your eggs are still good after boiling them is, again, the smell test. Whether raw or boiled, smell doesn’t lie. And BTW: you can smell a bad egg even without cracking it!

Finally, here’s what to do to stay on the egg-safe-side: refrigerate them in a carton at 40ºF or below. Freshly laid eggs shouldn’t be washed until you’re ready to use them. Don’t us cracked eggs—bacteria can sneak into cracks. Lastly, refrigerate hard-boiled eggs in their shells; peel when you’re ready to eat them.

I’ll close with a favorite recipe from www.delish.com, using eggs—an egg-in-the-hole recipe that’s good enough to be a weeknight supper!

Pesto Egg-In-a-Hole

Ingredients:

1 slice bread such as ciabatta or sourdough
1 tablespoon pesto store-bought or homemade
1 large egg
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Using a cup or paring knife, cut an egg-sized hole in the center of your bread.

2. In a small nonstick pan, heat pesto until lightly sizzling. Add bread and bread cut-out, then crack egg into the hole in the bread.

3. Cook for 3 minutes, flip, and cook 1 minute more for an over-easy egg. Transfer to a plate and season with salt and pepper.

Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.