Eggs are a super food. Pretty much a crisis in our house if we run out.
The most common eggs are white and brown-shelled eggs. Identical in nutrient value, the only real
difference between the two is the breed of hen they come from. White shelled eggs typically are from hens
with white feathers (usually White Leghorns in Alberta), while brown shelled
eggs are typically from hens with brown feathers. Rode Island Reds.
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| White Leghorn hen |
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| Rhode Island Red hens |
The real fun begins when you start to
investigate heritage breed chickens.
These hens lay a rainbow of brown, beige, grey, blue, green, white,
pink….so beautiful. My kids and I had
some hens for over a year, Barred Rocks, Ameraucanas Cochins, Red Rock Crosses. These hens were nothing like the sluggish
white meat birds that I had experienced before.
They hopped, flew, scratched, jumped, ran, pecked and laid the most
beautiful eggs. Beautiful shells- a
creamy bluish green from the Ameraucanas that when you cracked the egg were a
Robin’s egg blue inside. There could be
a whole new line of paint colours named after the colour of hens’ eggs- but
don’t tell Martha Stewart.
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| Barred Rock chick |
These eggs
were beautiful inside too- firm clear
egg whites, vivid yellow yolk and amazing flavour. Once you’ve tasted eggs like that where the
hens eat grass and bugs in addition to their feed, then every other kind of egg
is a disappointment.
The year we had
our hens, we had fried egg sandwiches for lunch, omelets for breakfast, quiche
for supper, the fluffiest waffles, amazing meringues and during summer ….ice
cream. No need to “waste” an egg by
frying it when you can make homemade ice cream with fresh local
strawberries.
Eggs at Farmers’ markets are often produced by small farmers
who don’t have large enough production to need quota. Egg production and marketing in Alberta in
controlled on a quota system (so are milk and chicken) Quota is a way to control the production and
availability of a perishable product. It
generally helps farmers receive a decent price for their product as well. But a farmer has to buy quota. Small farmers with or without quota can sell
at a farmers’ market, but the cartons need to be labelled as uninspected- which is the official word for "they
can be different sizes". They also need
to be clean and labelled with the farm name and contact info. Sometimes you will see eggs labelled as pullet eggs- this means that these are young hens who just started laying and their eggs are a bit smaller than average- but they are so cute! There are further classifications of eggs by the Egg
Farmers of Alberta. Of course keep in mind that they need
to remain unbiased and support all their different types of egg producers. You can find more info on the Egg Farmers website. http://eggs.ab.ca/about-eggs/egg-types
How to tell if an egg is hard-cooked or raw:
Spin the egg on a flat surface- a cooked egg spins smoothly
and raw egg spins unevenly because the liquid inside keeps spinning if you stop
the egg.
Eggs that refuse to peel:
The good news is that they’re really fresh. The bad news is, it looks like your cat tried
to peel them. So let your eggs age if
you’re going to hard-cook them. You can
also hard-cook eggs in salted water to
help them separate from their shells and peel them when they’re warm. I’m not a gadget girl, but one of the best
things I ever bought is one of those egg timers
it looks like a egg that’s flat on one side, that goes in the pot with
the eggs and shows how done the inside is.
My husband and kids can cook their own eggs to order now. Because really, there’s nothing worse that
wanting hard boiled eggs for salad and they are runny when you peel them.
If you want to learn more about how eggs are produced in Alberta, I invite you to make friends with a farmer or maybe even look into having a few hens yourself. But for initial info on the life of an egg there is this video from the Egg Farmers of Alberta.
Perry Family Standard Fried Egg Sandwiches:
Great for breakfast, lunch, supper, elevensies, midnight snack and emergency measures.
Melt some butter in a pan, when it sizzles break in two eggs per sandwich. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the white starts to cook, break the yolk so it spreads over the white and push each pair of eggs into a shape to match the bread you are using. Cover and cook until firm but not super done. Runny just gets too messy. While the eggs are cooking get out any kind of bread. If in doubt toast it, but either way is fine. Spread one side with mustard and the other side with ketchup. When the egg is done slap it on the bread and inhale. Vary from this combination at your own peril- results are not guaranteed.
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