Here's how to tell if your eggs are fresh

It can be hard to remember how long that carton of eggs has been sitting in your fridge, and expiration dates can be misleading.

Luckily, there's a foolproof way to find out how fresh your eggs really are, and all it involves is a bowl of water.

Place the egg into the water and it'll do one of three things. Here's what each means:

If your egg floats to the top of the bowl:

Do not use this egg. Floating means the egg has gone bad and is no longer good to use in any way.

If your egg sinks to the bottom of the bowl, and stands upright:

This means your egg is not fresh, but it's only a few days old, and still good to use. This is the ideal egg for hard boiling.

If your egg sinks to the bottom of the bowl, and lays on its side:

This is a very fresh egg. It's too fresh for hard boiling, but great to use for almost any other method of preparation.