The Eco-Eats blog shares its environmentally conscious attitude with its parent magazine, Plenty, and a recent post urges readers to avoid kitchen waste. Using up everything in the fridge or freezer before it goes bad is a good thing, but here’s where this blogger seems to be taking the “waste not, want not” mantra one step too far:
It’s crazy to think how we now judge the worth of food by the printed date on its container rather [than] by the smell, or look, or feel of it. … How many people just throw out milk or eggs when the expiry date comes along, without even trying to see whether they might still be useful?
OK, it’s one thing to give your milk a sniff a day past the expiration date and—if it isn’t offensive—dump it into your coffee. But eggs? Well, the Egg Safety Center FAQ shares some interesting info:
Egg cartons with the USDA grademark must display a ‘Julian date’, the date the eggs were packed. Although not required, they may also carry an expiration date beyond which the eggs should not be sold, but are still safe to eat. … Fresh shell eggs can be stored in their cartons in the refrigerator for four to five weeks beyond the … Julian date with minor loss of quality.
The Egg Safety Center also suggests storing your eggs on the middle or lower shelf of the refrigerator—not on the door—to maintain maximum freshness.
On the submarine SSBN619, in the 60’s before it became ginsu knives, we would load up with eggs at the tender and go to sea for
50+ days. We would have “fresh” eggs for weeks. The cooks always
cracked them into a bowl first before adding them. Considering the time from hen to eating and the casual sub storage they were still better than the replacement dried reconstituted stuff.
My bro called me up once to ask how old is too old for eggs? His were over 6 months past expiry. My first response, “not a big egg eater are you? I then said, “Throw those out”
He still thinks he could’ve ate them. He has a hard time wasting any food
Wow, sweet, just saved me from tossing a dozen. Thanks!
you can always perform the “floating” test to see if the eggs are still good. uncooked eggs that are still edible will at least touch the bottom of a container that has a water level higher that the egg. Eggs that float should be tossed.