Oh, I just thought of something you and other folks might not know but could find useful. It’s about eggs, and it’s a factoid that has been a big grocery help for me since I learned it.

Eggs, esp. if you’ve kept them refridgerated, are good long after the date on the carton. (Also, this is good thing to know if you have a source of free/cheap farm eggs. For example, I take care of a friend’s animals whenever her family travels and get to keep any of the eggs I gather from her chickens. Over days, that adds up to more eggs than my son and I can healthily eat anytime soon.)

Here’s how to tell if an egg’s gone bad if you have some “old” eggs you are feeling dodgy about:

Fill up a pot or bowl deep enough with water that the egg will be covered. Carefully drop the egg into the water. If the egg sinks fully and lays all along the bottom, it’s relatively fresh and is good. If the egg sinks and one end stays on the bottom but it stands up with the other end pointing toward the surface, the egg is still good but is getting old. Eat that one soon before it goes bad. If the whole egg floats, throw it out or add it to the compost. It’s gone bad.

I can’t remember where I learned the above, but since learning it, I’ve seen it again and again in other sources.

Think about this the next time eggs are on sale really good or you’re offered a big basket of farm eggs and think, “I can’t eat all these before that date!” Also, as I mentioned in an earlier comment, eggs can be frozen. Crack the eggs. The ratio is 1 tsp of salt to 1 cup of egg goo stored in an airtight freezer container. When you go to thaw and use the mixture, I’ve found it helps to had a hint of water to the goo when stirring it up. I learned the freezing eggs trick from the 3rd book in the Tightwad Gazette series by Amy Dacyczyn.