Eggs

vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
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I've been buying pasture raised eggs and they are so worth the extra couple bucks. I didn't realize how much until I bought some regular cheapo eggs for my quiche and saw how pale and icky those yolks look, and how runny the whites were. Bougie eggs have deep orange-yellow yolks and thick whites.

Plus I feel like I'm supporting a family farm instead of a factory. I'm probably not, but it gives me feels anyway. But I do know the chickens have to be happier, and I'd rather eat eggs from happy chickens.

I just couldn't get over how gross the cheap eggs were, and I used to eat them all the time without even thinking about it. Ick.
 
frequentflier

frequentflier

happy to be living
rio said:
We started raising our own chickens about 10 years ago. I never thought there would be as much difference as there is in an egg.
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A friend has about 9 chickens and she said they don't lay in the winter months (shorter days?). So, I'm back to buying grocery store eggs- thicker shell, different flavor. And when I can get some from her, I know how the chickens are being raised and that they are being given good food.
 
R

rio

Well-Known Member
frequentflier said:
A friend has about 9 chickens and she said they don't lay in the winter months (shorter days?). So, I'm back to buying grocery store eggs- thicker shell, different flavor. And when I can get some from her, I know how the chickens are being raised and that they are being given good food.
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Our chickens slow down a lot for a month or so, but we never go more than a day or two without at least one egg. My neighbors love peak laying time when they get the overflow!
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
rio said:
Our chickens slow down a lot for a month or so, but we never go more than a day or two without at least one egg. My neighbors love peak laying time when they get the overflow!
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I have a stupid question, so don't laugh at me:

Do local farm eggs stay fresh as long as store bought farm eggs? Like, is there something the mass producers do to the eggs so they keep longer?

I'm thinking I'd like to buy local farm eggs, but I don't want to spend all that money and have them go to waste.
 
Homer J

Homer J

Power Chord
vraiblonde said:
I have a stupid question, so don't laugh at me:

Do local farm eggs stay fresh as long as store bought farm eggs? Like, is there something the mass producers do to the eggs so they keep longer?

I'm thinking I'd like to buy local farm eggs, but I don't want to spend all that money and have them go to waste.
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Not a stupid question at all.

Farm fresh eggs will keep longer if they are handled properly. Farm-fresh eggs from a local farm or farmers' market contain a protective protein film around the eggshell known as the egg bloom or cuticle. The protein film comes from the hen who lays the egg, and it keeps bacteria from infecting the inside of the eggs. You can store unwashed eggs at room temperature on the countertop.

When store bought eggs are processed, they are washed and cleaned so they look nice to the buying public. Doing so, washes away this protective coating and leaves the egg vulnerable to bacterial contamination.

So, if you do buy farm fresh eggs, ask the seller if they wash the shells.
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Homer J said:
Not a stupid question at all.

Farm fresh eggs will keep longer if they are handled properly. Farm-fresh eggs from a local farm or farmers' market contain a protective protein film around the eggshell known as the egg bloom or cuticle. The protein film comes from the hen who lays the egg, and it keeps bacteria from infecting the inside of the eggs. You can store unwashed eggs at room temperature on the countertop.

When store bought eggs are processed, they are washed and cleaned so they look nice to the buying public. Doing so, washes away this protective coating and leaves the egg vulnerable to bacterial contamination.

So, if you do buy farm fresh eggs, ask the seller if they wash the shells.
Click to expand...

Thank you!
 
stgislander

stgislander

Well-Known Member
PREMO Member
A friend at church has both chickens and ducks. She uses the duck eggs for baking. I kinda looked at her funny, and she said don't knock it until you try it. They give baked goods a richness that you don't get from chicken eggs.
 
Sneakers

Sneakers

Just sneakin' around....
frequentflier said:
A friend has about 9 chickens and she said they don't lay in the winter months (shorter days?). So, I'm back to buying grocery store eggs- thicker shell, different flavor. And when I can get some from her, I know how the chickens are being raised and that they are being given good food.
Click to expand...
When I had chickens, I used a light on a timer in the coop to "lengthen" the day, and that helped a lot. They would lay all winter, but not quite as many.
 
lucky_bee

lucky_bee

RBF expert
my egg supplier kind of stopped selling. I would love nothing more than to find another source that could give me a dozen just about every week - we go thru a lot of eggs. Sometimes more than a dozen, but sometimes less.

I had started to get the 18 count-2-packs at Walmart just about every other week. Last week when I went to grab it, I realized the price had nearly DOUBLED since the previous week. Holy crap they're expensive now. If I'm paying $14 for 36 eggs, I'd rather get the good kind. If anyone has a hook-up somewhere off of Rt 5 towards Southern St. Mary's let me know :frown:
 
RoseRed

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
lucky_bee said:
my egg supplier kind of stopped selling. I would love nothing more than to find another source that could give me a dozen just about every week - we go thru a lot of eggs. Sometimes more than a dozen, but sometimes less.

I had started to get the 18 count-2-packs at Walmart just about every other week. Last week when I went to grab it, I realized the price had nearly DOUBLED since the previous week. Holy crap they're expensive now. If I'm paying $14 for 36 eggs, I'd rather get the good kind. If anyone has a hook-up somewhere off of Rt 5 towards Southern St. Mary's let me know :frown:
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There's an Amish place that sells free range eggs on Friendship School Road, near Milts.
 
Monello

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
Sneakers said:
When I had chickens, I used a light on a timer in the coop to "lengthen" the day, and that helped a lot. They would lay all winter, but not quite as many.
Click to expand...
This is what they do in Alaska to keep the egg production line producing.
 
Merlin99

Merlin99

Visualize whirled peas
PREMO Member
What we did back on the farm was preserve eggs for the winter. You put very fresh eggs in a gallon of spring water with a 1/4 cup of pickling lime. You have to do this in a crock because the lime will destroy most pans. This will keep eggs edible for a year or two.
 
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