Chicken Eggs Some Float, Some Sink--mean Anything?

[cm-happy]

When I hard boil eggs some of them will sink to the bottom of the pan & other will float on the surface. Is there any difference between the two that I should be concerned about. Do the floaters know about archimedes principle of buoyancy. Sorry dumb joke.

[thaihedgehog]

I thought the floaters are older eggs and the sinkers are newer eggs!! true or false??

[LeungKen]

My Granny taught me to test eggs by immersing them in water, if they sank they were OK, if they floated then NOT OK and to be thrown away. But if after they have been boiled and they have risen from the bottom of the pan (during the boiling process) then it means that water has got in via a crack and should be OK.

[BambinA]

sink = fresh egg

float = old egg or spoiled egg

The reason of floating egg is there is a larger air cell in the old egg. For the spoiled egg, there is a gas formation in it.

[thaiflyer1]

Another "tip".............if you have 2 eggs in the fridge one hard boiled and one fresh but are not sure which is which, spin one of them on its side and touch it for a split second while its spinning...........if it starts spinning again when you remove your finger from it then its the fresh one and if it stays still its the hard boiled one.....

[thaihedgehog]

that should put your mind at ease now

[LeungKen]

'

What a mine of Useful and Useless information we have here at Thai Visa.

All Members please stand-up at your computers and take a bow....

[BambinA]

Egg shells may seem pretty solid, but they are in fact slightly porous. Old eggs float in fresh cold water because of a large air cell that forms as the egg cools after being laid. As the egg ages, air enters the egg and the air cell becomes larger and this acts as a buoyancy aid.

Generally, fresh eggs will lie on the bottom of the bowl of water. Eggs that tilt so that the large end is up are older, and eggs that float are rotten. The tilting is caused by air pockets in the eggs that increase in size over time as fluid evaporates through the porous shell and oxygen and gases filter in. The older an egg gets the more gas builds up inside it. More gas = more floating!

Carefully lower your eggs into fresh cold water (do not use salted water) using a spoon:

If the egg stay at the bottom - it is fresh.

If the egg is at an angle on the bottom - it is still fresh and good to eat.

If the egg stands on its pointed end at the bottom - it is still safe to eat but best used for baking and making hard-cooked eggs.

If the egg float - they're stale and best discarded.

The final test: To make sure the egg is not spoiled, break it into a clean bowl and check to make sure it doesn't have a bad odor or appearance.

From google cache

[cm-happy]

Thanks all or the replys.

The sinkers are keepers. floaters are destined for the garbage.

[beammeup]

Thats how my granny use to tell if the eggs were fertilized or not. I cant remember which floated and which sank. Or maybe it was that the fertile ones wiggled??

Edited November 13, 2007 by beammeup