KitchenSavvy

How to Tell if Eggs are Fresh

I have a carton of eggs without a best-before date on it.  I think I have had the eggs for about two or three weeks.  Is there any way to tell if they are fresh?

--Lin

There are two ways to tell how fresh your eggs are, but you need to remember that these are rough guidelines and that they don't necessarily tell you if the eggs are safe to eat.

The first method is to fill a container with cold water.  If your egg is fairly fresh, it will sink to the bottom of the bowl and lay on its side, maybe tilted a little toward the rounder end up.  As the egg gets older, it loses moisture and the air sac inside the rounder end enlarges.  A somewhat older egg may still sink to the bottom of the bowl, but will rest on the pointy end.  If the egg floats with the round end slightly above water, then it is old and should be discarded.

The container needs to be deep enough that you can clearly see if the egg is submerged, touching the bottom, or floating.  A four cup (one liter) glass measuring cup is ideal for this test.

If you were planning to crack the egg anyway, you can also tell the freshness by emptying the egg onto a flat dish, such as a side plate.  If the egg is completely fresh, the white will stay together and mound up noticeably around the yolk so that it clearly can be seen to have two levels.  The yolk will be rounded and well domed.  As the egg get older, the white becomes more runny, spreads more on the plate and doesn't rise around the yolk.  The yolk also becomes flatter.  If the white is watery and shows little or no rise in level around the yolk, then the egg is quite old.

As I said above though, these are tests only of the age of an egg and don't tell you about the safety.  improperly stored eggs can be contaminated and still pass these tests.  For safety, always try to be sure and buy eggs in a carton with a clear date, keep them in the carton, and don't move eggs from one partly used carton into another.  Always use eggs before the best-before date.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com



Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Out of Date Cake Mixes

I have several out of date cake mixes, probably about two years old.  I assume they would not rise properly as the baking powder in them has lost its potency.  Would they work if I added fresh baking powder?  What would be the proper amount, if so?   Thank you, although I suspect the answer will be, "try it and see."

--Geri

You are likely right that the potency of the baking powder will have lessened during the time the cake mixes have been sitting on the shelf.  How much potency has been lost depends on a number of factors, so it would be hard to estimate how much fresh baking powder would be needed to bring things back to where they should be.

But that may not be the only reason that the cake mixes are no longer good.

Pretty much all cake mixes contain fats that will go rancid with time.  It goes rancid through the oxidation of fat molecules.  This happens easiest in unsaturated fats.  Saturated and trans fats are less prone to oxidation but can undergo chemical changes that break the fat down into simpler molecules that can then oxidize.  Rancid fats have an unpleasant flavor and a sharp stinging odor that ruin the taste of foods, and may not be healthy to eat.

Another problem is that the flavor compounds such as vanilla, lemon, chocolate and so on, that are used in the cake mixes lose their potency over time.  An old cake mix may well taste more bland than a fresh one.

So, this time I wouldn't recommend a "try it and see" approach.  For food safety reasons, the motto "when in doubt, throw it out" comes more to mind in this case.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com



Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Keeping Easter Eggs

How long can you keep boiled easter eggs without refrigeration?  How long can you keep boiled eggs in the fridge?  Please, we need this answer A.S.A.P.

--Ed

I assume when you ask how long can you keep boiled Easter eggs without refrigeration, you mean ones that you intend to eat afterwards.  If so, then the general food safety rule holds.  Cooked food should be kept no more than two hours at room temperature.   You may think that the shell will provide some extra safety, and therefore more time, but when it comes to food safety and the health of family and friends, it is always better to err on the conservative side, so stick with just two hours.

According to the American Egg Board, hard cooked eggs still in their shells will keep in the fridge for up to one week.  If they are peeled, they should be kept in the fridge for no more than three days.

If you store hard boiled eggs in the fridge, you may notice an odor from the outgassing of hydrogen sulfide formed during the cooking.  The odor will dissipate in a few hours and does not necessarily mean that the eggs were bad, assuming they were not past their "best before" date.

In any case, if you are dyeing the eggs first and then plan to eat them, be sure to use only food safe dyes.  Regular food coloring works well for dyeing eggs.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com



Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Cleaning Cutting Boards

I recently received a plastic and a wooden cutting board.  Unfortunately neither came with cleaning instructions.   I use the plastic type for the meats, and the wooden for vegetables, fruits and breads.  How do I make sure I am not having any bacteria or other bad things pass on to other foods?  In other words, how do I clean my cutting boards?  Thanks

--Gordon

It may surprise you to hear this, but tests of bacteria counts on well maintained cutting boards actually show that wood may actually be as safe as, or safer than, plastic!  The grooves cut into the plastic board during regular use are a great harbor for nasties.

Cutting boards are made from several materials, including wood, various plastics, glass and bamboo.  Wooden boards may be solid block, glued up pieces, laminates or wood composite particle boards.  Dealing with the first issue, if you have a glass cutting board, throw it out.  Glass dulls knives.

Generally, wooden boards that are either solid or glued up from boards or blocks need to be hand washed.  Washing them in a dishwasher or leaving them to soak will leech out natural oils and eventually cause the wood to check or split.  Use a clean dishrag to scrub them well in hot soapy water.  After cutting poultry, it is a good idea to either clean them first in a weak bleach solution (1 tablespoon of chlorine bleach to 1 gallon of hot water) or have a spray bottle with the chlorine solution to spray them down with.  Rinse and then wash as above. Rinse again to remove any soap left on the surface.

Some people like to occasionally wipe their wooden cutting boards with a cloth moistened with mineral oil.  This helps restore the surface appearance and may help prevent food odors from getting into the pores of the wood.  If you do that, allow it to sit for a minute and then buff with a paper towel to remove any excess oil.

If your wooden board starts to get deep cuts or chunks missing from the surface, or if it develops an off odor, then either replace it or it may be possible to have it resurfaced by planing off the top of the board.  Plastic or laminate boards that are badly marred or become smelly should be thrown out.

Plastic cutting boards can usually be washed in your dishwasher, assuming you have one, but should not be run through a sterilize or heat dry cycle as these may permanently damage the board.  The hot water and dishwasher soap should be enough to sterilize the board, but you may still want to give them a bleach treatment after cutting up poultry before putting them in the dishwasher.  If you don't have a dishwasher, then wash them as above for wooden boards.  Plastic boards can be left to soak.

Some laminate and bamboo boards will tolerate  the dishwasher, but follow manufacturers'  instructions.  If you aren't sure, then hand wash.

Personally, I almost exclusively use rigid white plastic cutting boards because of their convenience.  I look for ones that are not so smooth as to slide around or have the knife or food slide on them.

One final comment on the issue of cross contamination from your cutting board, always cut meat or poultry last.  If you can't do that, use a second board or wash your cutting board well, as described above, before cutting anything else.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Holding Hot Foods

At what temperature can I keep roast chicken or turkey in the oven to keep it warm and safe if we are having a very long dinner party?

--Susan

Hot food should be held at a temperature above 140°F (60°C) if it is not being served immediately.   Unfortunately, most home ovens are not built to operate reliably at that low of a temperature.  Typical home ovens will only operate as low as 200°F (93 °C) although some may go down to 170°F (77°C).  You could turn the oven to its lowest reliable setting, but at those temperatures, quality will be lost.  If you think that you can run your oven at close to 140°F, I would recommend checking this with an oven thermometer just to be sure.  The built in thermostats on ovens are unreliable, particularly at such low temperatures.

The good news, however, is that if your poultry is properly cooked in the first place, it can safely keep for up to two hours at temperatures below 140°F, which should be plenty of time, even for a long dinner party (see How Long Can Cooked Food Be Left Out).

Start by making your best guess on when the bird will be served, and work backwards from there to when it should go into the oven.   Don't forget to allow for 15 to 20 minutes resting time before it is carved.

When it is done, take the bird out of the oven, cover it with foil and drape a few clean towels over it to keep in the heat.  It should hold safely like this for at least an hour without much loss of quality, which means that if your guess was off by 3/4 of an hour, you should still be alright.  If necessary, return the bird to a hot oven for a short while to reheat it.

All poultry must be cooked to a minimum of 165°F(74°C) throughout for food safety.  Some sources recommend 180°F (82°C), but at this temperature the lighter breast meat starts to dry out and lose quality.  Dark meat is actually better when cooked to this higher temperature.  See Roast Turkey Temperature.

If you are planning to cook and carve the bird before guests arrive and then hold it in a warm oven for a long time, then you are likely going to have some loss of quality, no matter what you do.

To learn more about how long food can be left out before refrigeration and the danger zone, read How Long Can Cooked Food Be Left Out.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward