Fresh Eggs
Okay, this isn't an "Amish thing" as much as it is a "farm thing". Lovina gave me two dozen fresh eggs from her hens yesterday. Most of the time my taste buds are quite unsophisicated: mayonnaise, Miracle Whip....generic...brand name...they all taste the same to me. But I do have to agree with Joe Eicher's assessment that fast-food eggs taste rubbery and bland compared to freshly laid eggs. This morning I fixed an egg sandwich with some of Lovina's eggs. Look above at the rich, bright orange color of the yolks. You won't see that same color in store-bought, factory farm eggs. Two yolks came out of the large cracked egg you see to the right. So, three cheers for farm fresh eggs! Most Amish cooks have their own hens, so store-bought eggs are a rarity in their kitchens.
Also, thanks to the Boone County, Kentucky agricultural extension office for inviting me to speak tonight in Burlington, Kentucky. I think we all had a good time and the audience asked great questions. And nice to see a couple of site visitors there, including our uber-regular, BKCronin!
Re: Fresh Eggs
I used to have chicken & fresh eggs - just because we bought some hens to butcher & then I had the baby & didn't get it done. Then by the time I did get to it, I couldn't do it - so I gave them to my parents to butcher.
My aunt used to raise chickens as well as other animals & she had some of the ones that layed colored eggs as well. Didn't mind any of them as much as the pigs! Didn't even mind them until they decided to charge me as we were loading them in the pickup to take to the butcher - I ended up on the roof of the cab!
Cindy/KS
Re: Fresh Eggs
I would like to point out that the colour of the yolk does not necessarily tell about quality. Chicken feed made for commercial egg producers can be ordered in several "colours", not of the feed, but of the yolks in the eggs those hens will lay. Some mass producers even adjust the colour of yolk according to the preferences/customer expectations in the country where they want to export their eggs! While the used colourants are mostly harmless, it is still a deception of the customers.
Of course that does not apply to small scale producers, where orange yolk often really means that the hens have had good, varied food.
Re: Fresh Eggs
Boy am I going to have some words with my big brother.
That is what he told me when I was a little girl and we had chickens.
Re: Fresh Eggs
Hey, don't worry about it. I've had several people assume that was the case but rest assured it can happen even when there's no rooster around. There are so many misconceptions about chickens it's not even funny........the main one being that you won't get eggs if you don't have a rooster.
Re: Fresh Eggs
Oh, what the heck...I wasn't going to gross out this discussion...But some of you may remember, I lived in Saudi Arabia as a child...The international division of my father's employer transferred us there and I spent many of my younger years living overseas. It was an exotic experience, but I remember one particular incident with eggs vividly...My Mom was using eggs in a cookie recipe and she cracked one open and out came a grayish, gooey, smelly mess that she surmised was a half-formed chick.....ugh...At least at the time, the agricultural/food safety standards there were definitely lagging behind those in the US. That was enough to make us all swear off eggs for awhile!
Re: Fresh Eggs
That's pretty nasty. It may have just been a really old egg. I was incubating eggs once and had one EXPLODE in the incubator. It happened overnight so I woke up to a house that smelled absolutely AWFUL and an incubator covered in dried grayish slime (much like you described) and eggshell. The eggs weren't my own. I was incubating for a friend of mine who had ordered the eggs from a lady. Surprise, surprise.......NONE of those eggs hatched.
Re: Fresh Eggs
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift... that's why they call it the present."
Ah, incubators! My grampa used to hatch eggs, from turkeys to quail. How fun was that :-) My fav were the quail babies because they were SOOOO tiny! I try to make it a point to take the kids to Farm & Home Supply when they get their baby poultry in (I think it usually coincides with Easter??), so we can look and play.
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The quail are very, very tiny when hatched. I have coturnix for meat. Very easy to raise and they mature quickly. Great for the backyard!
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I also wanted to add that I've gotten many double yolkers. It's very cool and more often than not it is an immature layer doing it. We got a monster egg once that was 3 inches tall, weighed 2.9 oz and was a double yolker. It came from one of our girls who had only been laying about a week.
Re: Fresh Eggs
I have a backyard full of chickens. KJuneBug, the bloodspots will happen once in a while. They are more common in brown egg layers for some reason. As opposed to what wesleyba said (and no offense, really) it's NOT a fertilized egg. How do I know that for sure? I had eggs with blood spots when I was keeping only females. The reason you don't get blood spots in store bought eggs is because for one thing they candle them. Eggs with spots get thrown out. Also, if they happen to miss one, the spot will fade with time. Those eggs that you get at the store are already about a month old. That is why when you crack them they spread out so much. Crack open a fresh egg and you will see that the white stays together and the yolk stands high.
Re: Fresh Eggs
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift... that's why they call it the present."
I would love to have a few chickens! Maybe someday, if I am ever NOT in town. I want those ones with the "furry" feet, or the ones that Martha has that lays greenish-blue eggs. The name is on the tip of my tongue, but I cannot remember the breed!
Re: Fresh Eggs
Maybe you should check out your town/city's ordinances. You may only have a rule that you can't keep roosters and they must be "caged" (that is, they can't roam freely). There are a lot more places that are becoming chicken friendly. I live in a city and there is a limit on the number of chickens you can have and how far away their coop must be from your home, but you can have roosters. There are several feather legged breeds. I have one called a cochin and her name is Mama Fuzzy Pants. There is also the Brahma which is beautiful. The blue egg layers are called araucanas. When you breed them with something else you get an ameraucana or easter egger and they can lay anything from a blue-green or green egg, pink egg or just plain brown or white egg. It's all in the genetics I guess. Mine is an easter egger and she lays a green egg.
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Thanks for all the great information. Store eggs that are a month old, even the organic, free range type or just the plain white eggs? We normally buy organic, free range, brown eggs; this payday, though we bought a carton of white eggs because they were on sale. I'll be glad when they are used up, I don't know why the color of the shell matters to me but it does!!
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Titus 2:5
Re: Fresh Eggs
Well, I was being pretty broad with my description of them being a month old or so by the time they get to the store. This would vary greatly from company to company I'm sure. If the yolk is really pale and the white spreads out a lot when you crack the egg open, they're more than likely over a month old. I've seen some store bought organic eggs that look much better. I can tell you that my eggs have an orangey yolk with very nice whites. Mine come straight from my backyard though. As for the egg shell color....nutritionally there's no difference. Heck, I even have some green shelled eggs and people are scared to death of them! They're exactly the same as brown or white eggs though. They come from a chicken called an Easter Egger. Her name is Evil Toe Biter (yes, all of my chickens have names).
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"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift... that's why they call it the present."
It is really cool to get a "double yolker". Although this has never happened to me, I think it would be an even bigger surprise to crack open a boiled egg to find two yolks. Would make for an interesting deviled egg! LOL
Re: Fresh Eggs
The eggs with blood spots in them come from hens that have a roosters lurking in the background. In other words they are fertilized.
And good eating.
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I have to agree with you,100%! We have friends with laying hens, the eggs are definately different. It's always a surprise when you get a two for one deal - (I should know since I have twins!!) And it is just nice to know where your food came from.
Does Lovina's eggs have blood spots in the yolk? We find that the farm fresh eggs have more, however, the organic, free range eggs do too?
My daughter and I where talking about her Bible Camp experiences one day, she was part of the kitchen help some weeks, I was asking about eggs, how did the camp deal with them as far as freshness was concerned. She said they don't use whole eggs, they use the liquid egg beater type of eggs, and that it was measured out per a recipes requirements.
Enjoy those farm fresh eggs, Kevin, you've been given a treat!!
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Titus 2:5
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