needsome facts to educate others- eating fresh eggs

[Kait27]

I'm getting to the point where I need to give away some eggs, and I'm going to start bringing them to work. I want to make a sign for the work fridge alerting people to the (free) fresh eggs inside, with a few things to know about fresh eggs- differences they might notice, as well as advantages. I need some ideas! These people are mostly city folk who are still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that you DO NOT need a rooster to get eggs. (If i have to explain it one more time...)
Basically, I want to point out differences between fresh and store bought, or tips. This is what I have, I'd love suggestions:

--The egg white might be cloudy, and the yolk more vibrant- This is because the eggs are very fresh and my chickens eat a varied diet of chicken feed, fruits, veggies, greens, and anything they find outside during yard time.

--Hard boiled Eggs will likely be difficult to peel, because as an egg ages, the inside shrinks away from the shell. (How long is long enough to let an egg "age" to make it easier to peel?)

--The shell might be a little harder and the membrane thicker- a product of a healthy chicken!


Do you think I should wash them before hand? Should i just tell them to rinse the eggs before they use them? At home, i keep the eggs in the fridge but unwashed. I wash as I use- just a rinse, like I would a tomato.

Any other advise to someone who's never experienced eggs outside of a grocery store? Or benefits to eating my fresh eggs?

Thanks!
(if anyone would like to see my finished product for similar reasons, let me know. i'm a graphic designer by trade)

 

[bantybev]

If you really want those eggs to fly, you might want to add how much better the "backyard" eggs are compared to store bought. I have seen several reports that they have an average of 7 times the amount of beta carotene, 3 times more vitamin E, 3 times more omega three fatty acid and 2/3 more vitamin A than storebought eggs. http://backyardeggs.com/
I have also read they usually contain a lot less chloresterol than store eggs.
Of course you might have a lot of orders to fill once the word gets around how much better "our" eggs are in flavour also

 

[rdranch]

You pretty much have the info they need covered.

For hard boiling my label tells people they can do it 2 weeks after date collected. Sometimes that isn't quite long enough if you have really good eggs.

When they are put in the carton they are only washed if visibly soiled and then only enough to remove the gunk. The rest are not washed. Again the label tells them to was before using.

You can't be to sure about peoples kitchen habits. I alway find it amazing how some people are adverse to "real" fresh eggs.

 

[horsejody]

Print this article:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-10-01/Tests-Reveal-Healthier-Eggs.aspx

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
Sounds like you've got plenty to work with on the education front, but I wanted to address the hardboiled eggs.

I found a method (on byc of course!) for making even fresh eggs peel easily.

Bring water to a boil.
Place eggs in water.
Boil for 14 minutes.
Spoon eggs into an ice-water bath.
Peel warm or cold.

I was amazed that this worked even on eggs I boiled the same day they were layed. I've always kept a carton of week-olds in the fridge for making hardboiled eggs, but I don't have to anymore.

 

[Akane]

Steaming is a lot less effort. You can peel about any egg (even fresh quail) that are steamed instead of boiled in the water and you can't over steam. Other than that you follow the same directions of rinsing or dipping in cold water before peeling. Letting the egg cool all the way down actually makes them harder to peel. For easiest peeling you want the inside hot and the outside cold so the contents shrink away from the shell.


It's best to leave the eggs unwashed and just remove any feathers or straw stuck to the egg. If people want to wash them then tell them to wash them in water warmer than the egg shortly before they use them. Washed eggs have a higher risk of getting contaminated and going bad while sitting around. If one of my eggs gets wet it gets used within a day or 2 even if that means feeding it to the dogs. There are several reasons for that but the easiest one is probably to tell people the eggs have their own protective coating when laid that keeps the germs from getting inside the egg and washing them removes that. That way they have a reason why you don't wash eggs until you use them.

 

[technodoll]

You might have an easier time than you think...

My hubby works in the city and brings eggs to the office for his colleagues who gladly shell out $5 a dozen for fresh farm eggs, there is NO place to get these quality eggs (organic, truly free-range, well cared for, etc) in the city.

I need more hens, we can't keep up with all the orders and hardly have any eggs for ourselves!

GOOD LUCK!

 

[felidaet]

I agree with technodoll. I always have a waiting list for eggs that I take into the office. I sell them for $3.00 a dozen. I am going to more then double the size of my flock this spring. Unfortunately I will likely not be working in the office by the time they start laying. There are more than 200 of us in my office that have been informed our jobs are being outsourced (most likely to another country) in the next 6 months. Oh well....

 

[claud]

Quote:
Sounds like you've got plenty to work with on the education front, but I wanted to address the hardboiled eggs.

I found a method (on byc of course!) for making even fresh eggs peel easily.

Bring water to a boil.
Place eggs in water.
Boil for 14 minutes.
Spoon eggs into an ice-water bath.
Peel warm or cold.

I was amazed that this worked even on eggs I boiled the same day they were layed. I've always kept a carton of week-olds in the fridge for making hardboiled eggs, but I don't have to anymore.

That's the only method that works for me. Steaming didn't work and I've tried every other method anyone could possibly think of.

 

[evonne]

my hubby's secretary said she wouldn't eat eggs from our house becasue they came from chickens...

rofl

i've heard people say they think home chickens are dirtier (huge myth)
or that they aren't as sanitary (maybe, but you can wash the egg)

and i've heard people who wont eat ANY eggs because they come from the same hole chicken poop does (no helping these folks)

but to not eat our eggs and keep eating grocerystore eggs because apparently the ones from teh grocery store come from ... um.... maybe the cows? (still, how would that be better??)

good luck with you egg venture.... i can't wait till i get to the point i'm able to give some away
(i need to stay away from the swaps and the trains.. lol)

*edit*
i forgot.. i was going to say.. i steam my eggs in the rice steamer to hard boil them... LOVE that... i can't cook a boiled egg on the stove to save my life... and then i do the ice water bath... works wonders... i was told 10 minutes in ice water.. and never knew that if the whole thing cooled down it got harder to peel again... sometimes i'm distracted and let them sit for longer than 10 mins... lol..