Eggs -

As you buy eggs in a market setting, you may wonder how to be sure they are edible. Cracking open a rotten egg is a memorable experience that you will want to avoid! As you wash your eggs before putting them in the fridge, the simplest test is to put them in bowl of water to see if they float. Plain water always seemed to work for me, but today I read in an "Ask Martha" column that you should dissolve four teaspoons of salt into two cups of water. Perhaps this will show the difference more clearly. Old eggs will float and fresh ones will sink to the bottom. The article said that if one hovers somewhere in the middle it is not particularly fresh, but is edible.

Please note: I would still recommend cracking each egg into a small bowl to make sure it is a good one before adding it to other ingredients. If the recipe calls for several eggs, still break them one by one into a small bowl and then add to the other eggs. It is always possible for an egg to go bad after you checked them - or to forget one time to check them before putting them away. This precaution could save you from ruining other expensive or special ingredients.

*** After reading about how Avian Flu is spread through bird "droppings", it occured to me that care in the washing of your eggs is more important than ever. A solution of three tablespoons of bleach per one gallon of water should be used to soak the eggs and then they should be rinsed well. You should use gloves while washing the eggs.