Tips for Tuesday Let's Talk About Eggs

Eggs, eggs, EGGS.

We farmy/freshy types really like our farm fresh eggs.

Vendors can not bring enough to satisfy the desires of the farmers' market-goers.  Can't. Get. Enough.

Me neither. The thing I miss most about the farm is my chickens. Plenty of folks hate chickens. I just don't get it. They are easy and prolific. They more than earn their keep. They eat any.darned. thing.

They made music of my mornings. Even my friend, Kristin, the beauty and brains behind the fun and fabulous Mad Betty, misses my chickens. We agreed. Best eggs we ever had.

Some surveys and blind studies indicate that those eggs were no different in taste, texture, or nutrition, than battery-collected, mass produced eggs.

I don't care. If it's all in my head as they suggest, then it's just in there for good. Possibly it's an opinion nourished by a distaste for the mass production process. Perhaps. Doesn't matter. My brain likes the farm fresh egg. Better.

Farm fresh eggs often sport naturally-occurring flaws. There is A LOT OF FEAR surrounding naturally-occurring flaws.

Frequently Asked and Asserted.......

Ewe! What's that WHITE STRINGY THING?!? 

The white "stringy thing" you often see attached to fresh eggs is chalazae. It anchors the yolk to the egg. As an egg matures, the chalazae dissolve, so the absence of chalazae correlates to a loss of freshness. Remove it for cosmetic sake in custards or dressings, if you wish. Otherwise, it will dissolve as it cooks, and has no effect on flavor.

Is it a baby?!? Is it on it's way to becoming a baby?!?  Ewe, ewe EWE!

Nope, it's not a baby. See above. And while on that subject...

You have a ROOSTER!  I can't eat FERTILIZED EGGS!  OMG!

Well, you could. Fertilized eggs are fine to eat--in fact some people consider them to be healthier than unfertilized eggs. It is impossible to taste the difference, and improbable that you'll see the difference between a fertilized and non-fertilized egg with the naked eye. Eggs will only develop and hatch if incubated, either by a hen or in a man-made incubator. If eggs are gathered regularly, they will never develop.

What's that BLOOD ON MY YOLK?!?

Contrary to popular concern, these tiny spots do not indicate a fertilized egg. Rather, they are caused by the rupture of a blood vessel on the yolk surface during formation. As an egg ages, the yolk takes up water from the albumen to dilute the blood spot so, in reality, a blood spot indicates that the egg is fresh, and safe to eat.

Why is there POOP ON MY EGGS?!?

Likely not poop. More likely it's mud, from being tracked over by the ladies of the coop. And there is actual benefit to not washing. Washing eggs removes the cuticle, or 'bloom', which protects the interior contents from the entrance of bacteria. By blocking the pores, the cuticle helps to preserve freshness and prevent bacterial contamination of the contents. Wipe if you must, but be forewarned; it's best to leave eggs in their carton, washing each egg, well, just prior to use.

I want BROWN EGGS. They are BETTER!

Chalk one up to psychology, there, my friend. I prefer the colored shells for the sake of pretty, but shell color has no effect on nutrition or flavor. It's like hair color in humans. Really makes very little difference in personality. (Well, except for you crazy-wild redheads. :} )

I think these eggs are bad.  THE YOLKS ARE DEEP GOLD! And kinda THICK!

The color of an egg's yolk is directly related to the diet of mama. Chickens who free-range, that pasture on dark greens and bugs and such, along with those fed a diet rich in corn, alfalfa meal, or foods with high yellow-orange pigments, will produce eggs with yolks deep golden in color. I think they taste best, but science says that's all in my head.

I can be a little hard-headed.

READ MORE

Busy Cooks: Testing Eggs
Hobby Farms: Getting Good Eggs
Food Lab: Do 'Better' Eggs Really Taste Better?