I used to be able to buy farm fresh eggs about a mile from my house, but now there are no more chickens playing in the grass. The farm appears empty and abandoned. I haven't found a new local source of free-range eggs. During the summer months I buy free-range eggs at the farmer's market, but during the rest of the year I rely on my friend, Bird Watcher, at work to get me some from her friend who has a shop in a small town to the south. She sells local, organic, or healthy types foods at the store.
The egg transfer usually occurs at work, which often garners some attention since it is not usual to see a co-worker carrying a carton of eggs out the door at the end of the day. On Friday as I was exiting with the eggs, I was stopped by a pair of co-workers desirous of an explanation. When I gave them the details, the woman was clearly taken aback.
"How do you know they are fresh?" She asked with apparent concern.
I know they fresh because the farmer walks out and picks them up from under the hen just days before they arrive in my hands (and even sooner if there wasn't a middle (wo)man or two to get through). I have absolute confidence they are fresh. I know where they come from. Once when I got eggs from the farm down the road, the farmer didn't have any cartons already filled, so he dashed into the barn while I waited. Talk about fresh!
How does she know her store bought-eggs are fresh? Because they say so? OK, maybe I'm cynical, but that doesn't do it for me (nor does the whole poultry industry, but that's another subject altogether).
8 comments:
I laughed at the image of your egg transfer at work ... and agree with you. I have the same thoughts about Bean's baby food now. Of course your eggs are fresh! How weird, and interesting, a reaction from her.
Oh some people are so weird! What leads people to believe that because their eggs are from the refrigerator at the grocery store that they are fresh? They are probably older than they want to know. I am jealous. We rarely eat eggs but I've heard that fresh eggs are phenomenal! Enjoy!!! That is so cool that you can get eggs that are so fresh :)
Awesome! I don't have a source like that. Are they expensiver?
These ones are $3 a dozen. I think they're usually $2 or $2.50 at the farmer's market. I love the yolks in free range eggs- almost orange and so full of flavor.
Store bought eggs are sometimes as much as 6 months old or more. This isn't as bad as it sounds, since eggs have natural preservatives in them--since the chickens lay one a day and often clutch 12-14 of them, some of them are two weeks old before they start sitting and if they didn't have natural preservatives, they wouldn't be any good! However, fresh eggs have yolks that stand up firm rather than lay flat.
You are doing the RIGHT THING!
Fresh eggs sound delish! That is cool that you have a resource to get them - I have a friend whose mom has chickens - I should look into this... :)
It's always wonderful to know where your food is coming from.
I want some fresh eggs, best I can do here is organic.
My gmail is down at the moment. :-(
Also, for several days, the modem has been freaking out and/or not working half the time (all evening last night).
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