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Farm Fresh Eggs – Are They All They’re Cracked up to Be?

Farm Fresh Eggs; Are they all they’re cracked up to be? Eggs are eggs right?

Eggs sitting in a wire basket.I was brought up in a rural community, and I often went with my grandmother out to a local farm to pick up a dozen eggs. We never even considered buying eggs at a grocery store. Farm Fresh Eggs were the only eggs we ever had.

Eggs sitting in a wire basket.Over the years, I wondered why the color of egg yolks had changed, until I started buying fresh. The store bought eggs taste fine, and are sure convenient when you can grab a dozen with a quick trip to the store, so why go to the hassle of buying fresh? I decided to do a simple comparison. Now I am not trying to start a “free-range” war here so buy what ever you like.

I buy my eggs from Buffalo Creek Family Farms. I asked Matt Stukenholtz, the proprietor, if he would just tell me a little bit about their eggs. This is how Matt responded.

Our family has been raising chickens for several years now. One of the benefits of raising your own chickens is having great eggs whenever you want them. Our chickens are raised out on a pasture and are allowed to just be chickens. They scratch around in the pasture all day, they chase grasshoppers, and when they lay their eggs they proudly let everyone know by singing their egg laying song. My children and I will spend time just watching how the chickens interact with one another. This was a great opportunity to explain the term “pecking order” and see it in action. Then when it comes to the eggs, the eggs from chickens that have been raised this way have an amazing bright yellow color and that color will intensify throughout the season. Early Spring our eggs have this bright yellow color, as the chickens are eating more vegetation and insects, the eggs will become a darker yellow and almost appear to be a neon orange later in the summer. The combination of the rich flavor, the sight of the bright yellow yolks, and knowing how these chickens are raised makes eating these eggs a flavorful and fulfilling experience.”

I decided to do a comparison, egg to egg. I bought grade A “cage free” eggs, that have a good reputation for quality, at the grocery store. I boiled both eggs at the same time together in the same pan. I cooled them the same and peeled them at the same time. The store eggs were harder to peel and the whites stuck to their shell. The farm egg yolks were a brilliant yellow color compared to the store eggs, and the biggest difference was the store egg yolk was much drier.

Boiled eggs cut in half on a white plate.A testament to this statement is to just look at my Pineapple Cream Meringue Tart. I haven’t adjusted the color of this filling, and the canned pineapple wasn’t that beautiful yellow color. Once I added the egg yolks, the color was just gorgeous.

I’m fortunate to have access to such great farm fresh eggs. If you are from the Omaha metro area, you can order eggs from Matt at Buffalo Creek Family Farms by emailing him at buffalocreekfamilyfarms gmail.com (@sign not inserted to reduce spam). This is not a sponsored post. I would gladly pay more than I do for these beautiful fresh eggs.

Liz

Sunday 21st of February 2016

We had backyard chickens for many years and the eggs were amazing. There really is a big difference. I buy pastured cage free organic eggs and they are good (but not quite as good). Hopefully we will have chickens again some day.

Julie Menghini

Monday 22nd of February 2016

I know it's work taking care of those birds and I am just really glad that I have access to the eggs! Thanks for stopping by Liz. Enjoy your evening.

Margherita

Friday 19th of February 2016

Thanks for this post Juliie!

Julie Menghini

Saturday 20th of February 2016

Thank you Margherita for your help with FF too!

cookingwithauntjuju.com

Friday 19th of February 2016

What an informative post Julie - I love tests like this where you can see and tell the difference between different sources of eggs. Thanks for sharing...

Julie Menghini

Friday 19th of February 2016

Thanks Judi! I love buying fresh local when I can, and I feel so lucky to have access to these beautiful eggs.

Jhuls

Friday 19th of February 2016

I love eggs a lot and this is a good read for me. I notice that I can see 'fresh eggs' on the packages of the eggs I buy from the store. But some yolks are very light and some are darker. I love the bright yellow ones.

Julie Menghini

Friday 19th of February 2016

Thank you Jhuls! There is a three digit number on the side of the carton. 001 is January 1 and 365 is December 31. This number tells you when they were gathered. The sell by date can be weeks later. If you already knew that I apologize. I should have put that in my post! Thank you for stopping by.

Elaine @ foodbod

Tuesday 16th of February 2016

Very interesting to read your findings, I need to find some farm fresh eggs!

Julie Menghini

Tuesday 16th of February 2016

They are just beautiful to work with Elaine! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a great day!

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