Tuesday, October 30, 2012

White, brown, Omega-3 added, or organic?

 I am talking about eggs. So many choices of eggs and it is very confusing.
My Japanese friend buys organic eggs delivered to her house weekly. She thought organic eggs and eggs from free range chickens are the same.  I like taste of free range chicken eggs. The yolk from free range chicken is often orange while yolk of regular chicken is  lemon yellow color.  Color of yolk depends on what hen eats.  According to Georgia egg commission website , most consumers of US prefer yolk to be yellow or gold. I heard on radio that there is egg shortage in  Mexico but Mexican people don’t like buying American eggs because yolk is light yellow.
Egg’s shells vary in color and size. Brown eggs are better than white eggs?   According to USDA fact about shell egg product,color of egg shell  is determined by the breed of hen and the both eggs contain about the same nutritional value. 

When you buy eggs, you look at the surface of eggs. The fresh egg shells are rough while old egg shells are smooth and shiny. Freshness of eggs are also tested by looking at cracked fresh egg on plate. If yolk is round and domed out, the egg is fresh. If the yolk is flat, it is not as fresh.  Older eggs are easy to peel when they are boiled.
Here is how I cook perfect boiled eggs.
In a  deep pot, add cold water and eggs which is at least 3 days old. Close the lid on the pot.
Cook the egg in the water over medium heat to boil. Turn off the heat, and leave the egg in closed pot for 7 minutes for medium and 10-14 minutes(depends on the size of the eggs) for hard cooked eggs.
Drain the water and run cold water over eggs to cook them to prevent over cooking,
Over cooking will cause green coloring around the yolk.


Photo of eggs in shells are my favorite eggs of free range chicken and yellow yolk of brown egg and orange from free range.

Lastly, I found quite interesting and informative website about eggs and chicken.
  • Detailed chicken breeds and eggs color, Henderson’s Chicken handy Dandy Chicken chart
           http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

  • Recipes and technique how to cook eggs
            http://whatscookingamerica.net/eggs.htm

  • "Are some eggs safer than others?"
           http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/egg-types-benefits-facts?page=2
  • "Cage free VS battery cage eggs" 
            http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/cage-free_vs_battery-cage.html

  • A guide to choose eggs from Ontario farmers 


Which eggs will you buy after reading this?




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