by Mitch Samples

Eggs are nature’s treasure chest; but there is more gold in some than others.  Have you ever closely compared a farm fresh egg (FFE) to a commercial egg (CE) such as you purchase in the super market?  Truly that is to say, have you ever been eggsperienced? Well I have. Here is what I found.

Appearance wise, from the outside anyway while they look quite similar, a quick crack will reveal a world of difference.  Firstly, the shell of an FFE will be quite a bit thicker. In fact, because of this thickness the FFE will crack as opposed to crush lessening the likelihood of shell bits in the final product.  Once cracked and released from the shell the differences in appearance continue. You will find the yolk of the FFE to be much richer in color. Most of this is due to the diet and health level of the chickens doing the laying.  Farm chickens typically get a higher quality feed, plus are usually allowed to roam and forage a bit so they have a better nutrient intake than commercial chickens which are often kept with limited space for movement. The ability to roam around in the open exposes the chicken to more sunlight and thus allows them to develop more vitamin D.  All these benefits are passed on to the egg.

Taste is the second main difference you will notice.  FFE eggs taste like eggs, whereas CE’s are much blander.  Sometimes people are surprised at how much flavor is in an FFE, shocked even, and not sure if it is correct.  However, using them in your baked good will make a noticeably richer and more flavorful product. Eating them on their own, boiled, scrambled, fried, or in an omelet is nearly transcendent.

Finally, nutritionally speaking, there is some evidence that FFE are indeed more nutritious than CE (Volume 25, Issue 1 (“Food for Life”: Looking Beyond the Horizon) March 2010, pp 45-54.  They are shown to contain almost double the vitamin E, a little more than a third vitamin A, more than twice as much Omega-3’s and a far better ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3.

Without a doubt my verdict is to purchase your eggs from a local farmer like Queen B or Parker Farms and Vineyard.  Did I always do so: no. Why? I guess I was one of those people who just argued that the comparative price was too high.  Ultimately though, we are talking about a small monetary difference for multiple meals worth of eggs. That makes even those at the higher end of the price scale one of the best and cheapest sources of protein, vitamins, and minerals available to us today.  Given that they taste better, perform better, and are far more nutritious, in my mind there is no contest. I will never go back.

No recipes today, but I will be at the Cary Downtown Farmer’s Market this Saturday talkin’, and crackin’ yolks.  Please join me there. I will have egg samples of the two types of eggs discussed here, and whip up a few quick and healthy recipes.