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This morning I decided to make some eggs. I cracked open the first egg and it just all sort of splashed out onto the pan, the yolk already liquefied and the whites with this yellowish-greenish hue.

Picture of it

I cracked open a second egg to see if the whole carton was like that, and it came out just fine, with white whites and an intact yolk. I still threw it out because that does not look safe to eat.

The carton shows a Best By October 2020, so it's a little out of date but not by much.

What happened here?

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    It means you're living a Dr. Seuss story.
    – GdD
    Jan 5, 2021 at 13:48
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    I've never been a strict adherent to 'best before' dates, always using a bit of judgement as to how long I will keep something, but even I would consider 2 months past best before to be pushing it for eggs, even if refrigerated.
    – Tetsujin
    Jan 5, 2021 at 15:07
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    I'd rather repeat this exercise, even if the eggs were fresh...
    – Vickel
    Jan 5, 2021 at 21:42
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    @Tetsujin Pushing it, sure - but eggs do actually keep a long time and the currently only answer is absolutely right in stating that if the eggs smell ok, then they are ok to eat when properly cooked.
    – Nobody
    Jan 6, 2021 at 1:41
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    Two months out of date is not much for canned foods; it's significantly more for fresh foods.
    – RonJohn
    Jan 6, 2021 at 18:10

1 Answer 1

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From The Splendid Table:

Older eggs (which are still safe to eat) tend to be more alkaline, which encourages a green reaction similar to that green ring you can get around a hard-cooked egg yolk. The green is harmless, but pretty much inevitable in older eggs.

From Quora:

If the yolk is breaking easily then the eggs are either older eggs or lower grade eggs. The highest grade eggs is AA which not only looks at shell quality, but also the yolk quality. AA eggs should have a tall firm yolk. Over time the yolk becomes less firm and resilient causing breaking when it's cracked. Just because the yolk is breaking doesn't mean the egg is no good, just lower quality.

Conclusion:

As long as the egg doesn't smell, it should be safe to eat, making sure to cook it thoroughly instead of leaving some parts liquid.

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    Older eggs becoming more alkine is the result of a natural ammoniac fermentation (which in turn is due to the nitrogen content of the proteins in the egg). The ammoniac fermentation itself is completely harmless and doesn't render the egg inedible.
    – András Hummer
    Jan 6, 2021 at 14:13

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