age:I've heard that an eggs from a supermarket can be laid up to 40 days before you buy it! i'd guess the big brown eggs from Bates' Rhode Island Reds were maybe a week old?
purity: i'm sure bates' eggs are organic, but i have no idea what could have been fed to the other hens.
size: the farm eggs are bigger than the white store eggs.
awesome chopstick basket made by Jamie Kertay.
( the left eggs is from the farm, if you can't tell from my clues.)
yolk: the farm eggs is darker. backyard chickens get more greens, and thus more beta carotene, than factory chickens (who are usually fed corn and soy). the extra nutrients result in a deeper, orangey yolk color, and are better for you.
viscosity: older egg whites tend to become more runny. this is why the store egg spread out in the pan more, even though the egg shell itself was smaller. in the newer egg, the white just "holds together" more. the proteins are stronger. the white stays thick and even the yolk stands up a little higher.
fyi: the only time you might prefer older eggs is if you are hard boiling them. if they are older, they will be easier to peel. something about the inner membrane letting go of the egg white easier.
taste: the farm eggs yolk has flavor! it's hard to describe, but it's just the flavor of real eggs.
cost: of course, eggs from big companies cost less, but it's really a trade off in quality. small egg producers have to charge more to cover their costs because they don't have thousands of chickens stacked on top of eachother in a barn.
If i hadn't mentioned it before, i really want to have pet chickens of my own. i've wanted chickens for about two years (somewhat to the chagrin of my boyfriend who is tired of hearing about them.)
It may be years before i am settled in a place and have enough yard and money to make my chicken dream come true. *le sigh*. someday this raw blog may be overrun by picture and post about chickens, but until then...
a few days ago i found a link to a hen cam in Massachusetts, so know i can watch some hens, and their goat and bunny friends. so at least i have that to curb, or intensify? , my poultry longings. because of the time difference, the chickens go to bed at 3pm my time.
http://www.hencam.com/
oh yeah, i have a little anecdote to mention. back in highschool,. i think around the time they had us do the PSAT, we took career placement test things. you answer specific questions about your skills and what you enjoy doing. and you follow the charts to find what the test believes is your ideal career. and i was informed that my destiny was "chicken co-op designer". at the time i thought it was a bizarrely specific job area, and took it to mean "design, animals, architecture".. which is all good. and then i forgot about it for several years, recalling it very occaisionally. but now since falling in love with chickens. and now i think back to that test result and marvel "Oh god! they were right!" i had no idea at the time, but this destiny will come to pass. :)
We need to get you some national attention. This side by side comparison was so expertly done. As always, more fantastic pictures. I'm glad you pointed out the hard boiled exception so there were merits to both.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember for the life of me about my outcome to that test, though I distinctly remember taking it.
i declare! someday when i have pet chickens you will come to my house and meet them and have some eggs :D
ReplyDeleteMine told me to be an interior designer or dancer or something. At least it knew I was gay. ;)
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