“You pay FIVE DOLLARS for a dozen eggs?” my culinary class asks in disbelief. “I pay two dollars at the grocery store, how can you pay that much more for eggs?” they pressed.
“Here’s what I want you to do,” my response begins, “I want you to take this little tiny chicken, raise it for 3 months, feed it, house it, clean up after it, gather its eggs, wash them, package them, drive to the market at 5am, sit there and sell them all day, and I’ll pay you $1.99.”
Nobody wants to take that deal because they are used to eggs just APPEARING in the supermarket. They’re willing to pay less and know less about their food. However, there ARE hidden costs in buying commercially produced eggs, and they prevent you from the freshest cooking.
Massive scale egg producers regularly make the news for inhumane treatment of chickens and unsanitary conditions. It’s no mystery why diseases then take hold in henneries. Massive numbers of chickens in deplorable living conditions become stressed, then become sick and contaminated, spreading illness up the food chain. And the next step up the food chain is YOU.
There is something you can do right now to improve your own health and the lives of these animals; you can buy your eggs from farmers who raise happy, healthy chickens the natural way because the real facts about eggs say it’s the perfect food.
Buy your eggs from the hand that pulled them from under the chicken. Fresh eggs are a gateway drug, after you taste ONE, you’ll think you’ve never eaten a REAL egg before. Then, inspired by the tremendous difference in something as common as an egg, you’ll be curious about other better-tasting products at the farmers market and you’ll be hooked.
Eggs from hens raised on pasture and allowed to freely forage outdoors produce a healthier product with more vitamins and higher levels of protein. Fresher eggs are obvious if you do what I did during The Great Egg Test.
Fresh eggs make fluffier omelets, stiffer custards, and baked goods with greater leavening resulting in higher, more tender muffins, cookies, brownies and quick breads.
Start with fresh eggs and you’ll be “Jones-ing” for the other items at your farmers market that look better, taste better, make you feel better, and you’ll be helping your community as well.
Starting TODAY, you can cook healthier, better tasting food and STILL save money.
My housemate buys three dozen at a time and they sit in a basket on our counter. Unwashed eggs do not have to be refrigerated, thus making space for other items. And you are so right Chef… there is no comparison to store bought eggs…. the colors of the yokes are vivid as are the textures. We have white, brown, green, beige….all with their own distinct qualities.
Hey Ed!
There is just no comparison between factory production eggs and local farm fresh eggs in appearance, texture, flavor and nutrition.
I don’t recommend leaving eggs on the counter at room temperature. Eggs are a potentially hazardous food, and should be treated with time and temperature rules. The eggs should be stored below 40F/4.5C and cooked to 165F/74C to keep bacteria to safe levels. The shell of the egg has the most potential for harboring bacteria because it’s porous, and it comes in direct contact with the….um, insides of the chicken. Especially if they’re “unwashed” as you said, I would not let the shell come in contact with uncooked foods.
That is why we must support those that do it the right way !! Not only for our health but for the animals as well.
Hey Wayne!
Yes! There are many reasons to support local farmers and eat the best food. Treatment of animals is one of the important ones.