EGGS - A QUEST FOR THE BEST!

[chief38]

A decade or so ago our choice of eggs were small, medium, large, extra large and jumbo. Now there are brown eggs, blue eggs, organic eggs, vegetarian eggs, small farm eggs, free range eggs, blah blah blah.

Recently my wife and I have been on an egg tasting comparison project. Since we go through at least 2 dozen a week (more if we have guests staying here) so far the best tasting eggs are Nelly's Organic Brown Eggs. The runner up are the Blue Eggs from Costco. All the other brown eggs taste pretty much like white eggs but may be a bit healthier for you as they are free range eggs.

The yokes on the Nelly's and Blue eggs are not yellow, but a deep orange. Seems a bit strange at first but they actually taste better and we are getting used to that.

The"designer eggs" do get a bit pricey but we are having fun experimenting. Hope we don't wind up with egg on our faces - LOL!

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

I raised my own free range chickens before I retired.

Younger hens will drop small and medium eggs. As hens get older they drop large and extra large eggs. One hen will lay six eggs a week so I usually kept four to six hens.

Hens that eat a diet based on wheat or barley produce lighter-colored yolks, while hens that eat a diet based on white cornmeal produce nearly white yolks. Darker yolks can indicate that the hen was fed a healthy, varied diet and had more space to roam.

 

[ExcitableBoy]

Once upon a time, around 45 years ago, I was renting a beat-up old farmhouse and barn out in the sticks. The girlfriend of the time wanted somewhere to keep horses, and I wanted somewhere to hunt and shoot at a whim. I refurbed/scabbed a wreck of an old barn and put in two stalls on one side and put in a hay mow and chicken coop on the other.

Two horses were installed on their side and hay and fifty Giant Cornish chicks from the local feedmill went on their side. Three months later I was butchering a mess of absolutely gigantic plump and delicious chickens, saving a dozen hens to mature as layers. It wasn't much later and I was hauling in the most delicous eggs I had ever tasted. They were about the size of domestic duck eggs (huge!) and the yolks were as orange as could be. The chickens were free-range ... but ... they also got healthy helpings of cracked corn, which is the real reason for the heavenly flavor and consistency.

Surprisingly, I never had problems with varmints going after the poultry. Of course, I think that having two Dobermans, a Lab/German Shorthair mix and a Beagle may have had a bit to do with that.

Unfortunately, on the property that I own now, I am swamped with racoons, 'possums, foxes and coyotes. Trying to raise chickens now would just be futile, although I do have a little sport dispatching vermin on a regular basis.

I sure do miss those eggs, though.

So... the best eggs to be found, nowadays, are farm eggs from corn-fed chickens.

And good luck finding them.

 

[Skeet 028]

We have 8 hens at present. They ARE free range. We had 22 but with time and critters we are at 8. They are pets for the most part. Only critters we have to worry about these days are coyotes owls and hawks/eagles. Free range chickens egg yolks are usually the orange color...because of the varied diet. we feed them poultry pellet feed whole corn a bit of sweet feed in the winter and whatever we have left over as scraps etc. They are truly cannibals and will eat almost anything. Right now they are starting to molt and their egg production is down. about 3 a day..usual was 5-6 a day. BTw yolk color wiiii usually ligten in winter as they don't eat as many bugs etc. Ours will catch and kil mice.... They like and will really look for scraps of meat with fat. Good for 'em esp in winter. I'm having soff boiled eggs scrapple fried taters and onions in the morning. We give eggs all our friends that want them. We don't wash the eggs... some people don't like that

 

[Vtgw938]

Fresh eggs are the best and they last longer if not washed. We had a neighbor that would drop them off each week but they moved. We are lucky that they are readily available at farm stands and some small stores and of course the self-service coolers along the road.

 

[STCM(SW)]

scrapple ? In Wyoming? Only people from PA know about scrapple.
I still have 2 pounds + here for breakfast with eggs & maple syrup....

 

[Empe]

Scrapple is pretty popular here in Pennsylvania . When I first moved here a number of years ago I had to give it a try along with Cheesesteaks and pretzels with mustard .
I cant say that I care much for scrapple . I tried it one time and that was enough for me especially once I found out the ingredients !
The same thing with the pretzels . I do enjoy an occasional Philadelphia Cheesesteak from time to time though.
As far as eggs are concerned , my wife buys organic or free range eggs when available .
She says she notices a big difference...they still taste like eggs to me.

 

[bgrafsr]

We have 2 1/2 acres and the Wife raises chickens and we get about 6 or 7 eggs a day. The eggs don't get washed and can set on the counter for several weeks. If by chance they get washed, they go into the refrigerator. We give the eggs away to family and of course we eat them also. The yolks are usually a nice dark orange and the eggs taste much better than store bought. We also give the chickens the table scraps, and they devour them.



I like my eggs poached with sausage and home fries.


Sometimes the wife will let the chickens out of the coop and they roam the yard, but they raise havoc with flower and vegetable gardens.


We are now also raising meat chickens, and have about a dozen in the freezer.

 

[SMSgt]

Scrapple is pretty popular here in Pennsylvania . When I first moved here a number of years ago I had to give it a try along with Cheesesteaks and pretzels with mustard .
I cant say that I care much for scrapple . I tried it one time and that was enough for me especially once I found out the ingredients !
The same thing with the pretzels . I do enjoy an occasional Philadelphia Cheesesteak from time to time though.
As far as eggs are concerned , my wife buys organic or free range eggs when available .
She says she notices a big difference...they still taste like eggs to me.

I tried scrapple once. Wasn't impressed at all. I'll stick with livermush. It's great with grape jelly.

As for brown eggs versus white eggs, the only difference is the color of the shell.

 

[steelslaver]

I currently has 10 hens and as I got the variety pack I have a variety of eggs, but have no idea as to which chicken lays which eggs. One of them is laying huge eggs that always have 2 yolks. I give away eggs. Want to cut down to about 6 hens for the winter as they will be spending more time in the coop, I have to keep their water inside the coop and thawed. Way more coop clean up. You would think giving away 4 laying hens would be easy. It isn't. Having already butchered hundreds of them I am done butchering chickens

 

[TXBryan]

Interesting factoid about "farm eggs" vs. "store eggs" and it's relative to the yolk color generally. We don't raise laying hens; we don't need to as so many of our generous friends do and seemingly have excess eggs. Regardless of their source, eggs represent the most digestible and efficient source of protein on the planet.

The "farm eggs" from free range chickens are usually far superior in flavor/taste than eggs from the store. Generally, the darker the yolk the better the flavor. Orange yolks come from eating plant pigments - primarily beta carotene, which after chlorophyll, is one of the most abundant pigments found in green plants.

Interestingly there is zero nutritional difference between eggs with light yellow yolks and dark orange. Usually a big difference in taste though!

Bryan

 

[Skeet 028]

Daughter brought me 6 pounds from the Eastern Shore of Md. We used to make our own. I'm the only one that eats it except I have to hide it when my Gdaughter comes down from Montana. Very little nutritional difference with yolk color but a lot of taste...Organic eggs are just a way to make more money. No matter what they eat. Ours are out in the yard every day. Our coop is an old horse trailer that we close up every evening...We raised meat chickens. Pita.. esp if you have to do the butchering. The last we did a few years ago we breasted out kegs and thighs. We very seldom eat a whole baked chicken less'n it comes from Sam's or Costco. I found about 6 thighs and a couple packs of breasts from our last batch...making chicken soup. After we make the soup...no noodles or rice we freeze it in quart containers...thaw it add noodles rice or boil the juice off a bit...make chicken and dumplings. Steelslayer if we were a lot closer my wife would probably take 'em... We had someone wanted us to take some guineas a couple weeks ago Their eggs are strong though

 

[Onomea]

.. I'll stick with livermush. It's great with grape jelly...

Whoa! Bet that'll put hair on your chest!

 

[URIT]

Nothing is better than a farm-fresh egg!

By law, an egg can be sold for up to 30 days after the date it was put in the carton. And farmers have up to 30 days to go from when the egg is laid to the carton. That means those supermarket eggs can be two months old by the time you buy them.

I checked the carton I have in the frig with a Best By 10/20/24 and coded 250. The 250 is the date (Sep 6th) the eggs were placed in the carton.

Not to worry. they've been refrigerated and they're just fine to eat.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

One of the older guys at my club subsidizes his retirement with his chickens, usually brings a couple dozen per day for whoever wants them. $5 a dozen, and we always know exactly what we are getting.

Most of us bring back the cartons and leave them for him to use again.

Wife and I usually have eggs only once per week (I make pretty good omelets, she makes a nice quiche) but still use more for baking needs.

 

[Mule Packer]

We've always had chickens, and like everyone has said, farm raised eggs are definitely the best.

Now, when it comes to the particular color of the egg, i.e. white, brown, blue, etc....it's only pigment. Yep. That's the last thing that goes on the egg before it comes out of the hen. Brown eggs aren't any healthier than white eggs. All it means is that they're from a different breed of hen. For example, your white leghorns lay white eggs. Your Rhode Island reds lay brown eggs. Your Aracaunas lay green and blue eggs. Your Coco Morans lay a deep chocolate colored egg and so forth. Don't ask me why that happens. It just does.

 

[sjmjax]

I’m no expert on the subject.

But, I believe that the egg shell color is mostly controlled by the breed of chicken laying the eggs.

Egg yolk color more complex and determined by breed, diet and stress levels.

 

[coltle6920]

Ain't an egg laid that a couple slices of bacon cant make taste good.

Until some chicken is able to lay a square egg to prevent it from rolling off the counter I'll stick with buying eggs by price.

 

[kamloops67]

We always had chickens growing up
I learned that when grass hoppers are plentiful you’d best keep your chickens in the pen
Some of those eggs were so bitter they were almost inedible .

 

[wproct]

The wife always buys brown eggs and we always buy cage free eggs. They may not be better but they make me feel better.