Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Farm-Fresh Eggs But Didn’t Know Who To Ask
Q: Why do farm eggs look so different than store-bought eggs?
A: Most commercial egg producers offer only perfectly shaped and evenly colored eggs for sale. Eggs with uneven or mottled color, freckles, bumps on the shell, etc., are just as delicious and every bit as safe to eat as the pretty, perfect eggs.
In addition, all eggs have a natural protective coating called bloom, which helps preserve freshness by reducing evaporation, and prevents bacteria from being drawn through the egg’s 6000-plus pores. The bloom often gives eggs a mottled, dusty appearance. Commercial egg producers wash their eggs vigorously, which dissolves the bloom and reveals the true color of the shell. To replace natural bloom, commercial producers spray shells with a thin film of mineral oil, which is why store-bought eggs sometimes look shiny.
Because [my business name] chickens are free range, they occasionally enter the nests with dirty feet, so eggs may become soiled. [my business name] eggs are collected three times a day to avoid excessive soiling. When necessary, soiled eggs are gently washed in warm water, then dipped in a solution of water and bleach to sanitize and protect them from bacteria. We try to leave as much of the bloom on our eggs as possible, but you can always wash it off with a scrubby sponge and warm water, if you wish.
Q: How long can I store my eggs?
A: Believe it or not, with the proper conditions (30 degrees/85% humidity), eggs can safely be stored up to nine months without any loss of flavor or health benefits! In a standard household refrigerator, where foods tend to dry out, eggs can be safely stored for two months at temperatures up to 55 degrees, where the relative humidity is close to 75%. Clean eggs stored at 45 degrees and 75% humidity will keep well for at least three months. To increase humidity in your refrigerator, fill a plastic milk jug or 2-liter soda bottle with water and store it in the refrigerator with the cap off. To prevent unnecessary moisture loss, always keep your eggs in the carton.
Q: Why are the whites of my farm eggs so thick and solid?
A: This is a sign of a healthy, happy, well-fed bird. Egg farm/store-bought eggs usually have whites that are thinner and runnier than free-range farm eggs. Farm eggs often have thicker shells, as well, because free-range farm birds are usually fed a wide variety of fresh whole foods in addition to chicken feed.
Q: Can I eat an egg with a blood spot in it?
A: Absolutely! Blood spots occur when blood or a bit of tissue is released along with a yolk. Each developing yolk in a hen’s ovary is enclosed inside a sac containing blood vessels that supply yolk-building nutrients. When the yolk is mature, it is normally released from a small area of the yolk sac that is free of blood vessels. Occasionally the yolk sac ruptures at some other point, causing vessels to break and blood to appear on the yolk or in the white. This is perfectly normal and is not a sign of a ‘bad egg.’ As an egg ages, the blood spot becomes paler, so a bright blood spot is a sign that the egg is fresh.
Q: I got an egg with two yolks! How does this happen?
A: Double-yolkers appear when ovulation occurs too rapidly, or when one yolk somehow gets lost in the chicken's egg-producing system, and is joined by the next yolk. Double-yolkers may be laid by a pullet whose production cycle is not yet well synchronized, or by large-breed hens, often as an inherited trait.
Q: Why do [my business name] eggs come in so many different colors?
A: Just like robins, Araucana hens naturally produce colored eggs. Araucana chickens raised by the Arauca Indians of Northern Chile have been reported as early as the mid-sixteenth century, and were introduced into the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. True Araucanas are rumpless (no coccyx bone) and feature exuberant tufts of feathers on either side of their faces. Mixed breed Araucanas, known as Easter Eggs Birds, have normal tails and no cheek tufts (but often have “beards” or “whiskers”), and retain the colored-egg gene. Araucana hens produce a wide range of egg colors: brown, tan, cream, iridescent white, olive, pale green, pale blue, almost pink, nearly lavender, and every shade in between. [my business name]’s producing chickens are Easter Egg Birds; we are also raising a few pure-bred bantam Araucanas.
|
