2008.05.20
Go lay a record-setting egg
News of the weird from the BBC: an unidentified chicken in Cornwall, England has laid an egg that is four times the size of a normal chicken egg.
The egg, which was found at Julie and David Hewitt's farm, weighs 8 ounces and measures 8 inches in circumference.
If this is for real, then one of the Hewitts' 30,000 chickens has been working overtime. The couple told the BBC that they aren't sure which one of their chickens actually laid the egg. No comment on how one would go about determining that....is one chicken walking funny?
Oh wait, I said NO COMMENT. Sorry.
This does make me think, however, about my recent infatuation with farm fresh eggs. I'm pretty sure that as long as I can get my hands on country eggs, I'll never buy grocery store eggs again.
When you buy farm eggs, you can't be as sure about what you're going to get. But that's the fun part.
The last dozen I bought came from a Botetourt County farm. They were brown and still had a few chicken feathers stuck to them. Sometimes farm eggs have double or triple yolks, which I believe is much more common on the farm than in a grocery store.
Mostly, though, I live the dark yellowish-orange color of farm egg yolks. They are just much richer and more flavorful than storebought eggs, in my opinion.
The only drawback that I can see is some of my country eggs have had such large yolks that there hardly seems to be any white. If a recipe called for separating out the yolk, I'm just not sure there'd be enough white left over to cook with.
How about you guys? Do you ever buy farm eggs? Where do you get them and why do you like them?
We will buy eggs from the Homestead Creamery delivery man. They don't come from the creamery, but from another local farm.
You can read about this delivery service here: http://www.roanoke.com/smithmountainlake/living/wb/150780 in a column I wrote a couple of months ago.
During the winter months I get picky with my eggs as I bake with them. Without the larger or fresher eggs your favorite desserts don't have much of a chance. I never noticed the yolk color being different or bigger than usual, but I never really looked that closely either.
I remember one day, as a child, when I visited my grandmother in Florida. She took her store-bought eggs out of the fridge to make breakfast and found five of them were double yolks. As recipients of these eggs, we all felt as if we had won the lottery!
Comment by Amy Hanek — May 20, 2008 @ 1:34 pm
I order a dozen farm eggs every other week with my Homestead Milk Delivery. They are awesome!
Comment by Amy — May 20, 2008 @ 2:42 pm
I've gotten farm eggs from the Roanoke Co-op, and can occasionally get them from a cousin when I can get out to his house. I agree with you that the flavor of farm fresh eggs is much richer, and the yolks are creamier and whites fluffier.
A friend got a dozen from a co-worker and was making some scrambled eggs last night with corned beef hash. I wish I had my camera with me to take a photo of those eggs for you. The yolk was large and a lovely dark yellow. When she offered to get some of those eggs for me, I jumped at it!
Comment by Lori — May 20, 2008 @ 3:18 pm
I get them from a coworker who owns hens. They are SO much better than those from a grocery store.
Have you tried duck or goose eggs? They're even richer and more awesome.
Comment by Tori — May 20, 2008 @ 3:39 pm
I buy my eggs for personal use from the Co-op. I prefer the eggs from Malu Aina Farm, located in Ferrum, VA. I believe that when you use farm fresh eggs for custards like creme brulee, you get the most beautiful color. I made eggs benedict at home this past Sunday for me and my sweetie and the taste was wonderful! I only worry about the different sizes of the farm fresh eggs if I am baking a cake.One trick I have learned is to measure your egg yolks and egg whites by volume. Then if you are lucky enough to have plenty of fresh eggs to use, your cake recipe should work.
Comment by Mark Crim — May 20, 2008 @ 4:14 pm
Hubby used to go to Lexington a lot, and would stop at Layne's country store to get country ham and he always had double-yolked eggs. They were just so much richer-tasting than store-bought. The eggs we get once in a while from his cousin are really good, too.
Comment by Kathy — May 20, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
I got spoiled on farm fresh eggs from a coworker. I loved the color variations of the shells and the eggs just looked so much better. She moved though and I started buying the Naturally Preferred eggs at Kroger.
Recently though I have been buying fresh eggs on the market, from an elderly man from Floyd County.
Comment by Debbie — May 20, 2008 @ 4:59 pm
I love jumbo fresh brown eggs (in Maine, that's what I was used to) and get them from Franklin Mini Mart in Rocky Mount. They have more white than yolk, which I find a healthy balance; they often DO have double yolks though. They're delivered to them from NC, so they aren't quite local. Since I'm close to the Creamery, maybe I'll check out their eggs. I like to buy local as much as possible.
Comment by Marion — May 20, 2008 @ 5:49 pm
I was wondering when Homestead Creamery would expand their delivery area. Do you know if they hit City of Bedford yet?
Comment by James — May 20, 2008 @ 11:32 pm
We raise our own eggs!! We have 11 hens laying now, but 37 more 10-wk old chicks in a separate area. They will start laying in early Aug. We eat all we want and sell the rest. The nice thing about free-range organic eggs is that they are not just tastier, but also healthier. Higher in good cholesterol, lower in bad, higher in protein and Omega 3 fatty acids, and no hormones or steroids. We have one hen that occasionally lays a 1/4 lb. egg!
Comment by Julie — May 21, 2008 @ 8:16 am