compared store eggs to home-grown eggs and...

[kellieetal]

Home grown eggs cost me $3/dozen. Store eggs cost me $2.40. Everyone assured me home eggs were richer, more colorful, more flavorful, fresher, just all around better than store eggs. So, I bought a friend's home-grown eggs (free range plus organic feed and kitchen scraps). Noticed a difference in the shell--store ones were thinner and more fragile. Friend's eggs were lovely to look at, and "felt good" cracking...but in the bowl...I wondered if something was wrong with my eyes or bad lighting or something, so I took the bowl of home eggs and store eggs over to the window to make sure it wasn't just the fluorescent lighting...they looked exactly the same, zero difference in yolk color, or white thickness and/or clarity. *hmmm, disappointing, but maybe it will still taste different.* But nope. I scrambed up two of each kind of egg, using same pan (not at the same time, though), same amount of olive oil spray, same amount of salt (just a pinch), scrambled them and cooked for the same amount of time and...fed them to family. I felt like a child at a zoo standing there with a popped balloon. I couldn't taste an ounce of difference, and neither could my son. Daughter said she could, but she chose the "wrong" bowl--she didn't know she was choosing the store eggs. Husband couldn't tell a difference either when he tried them later. Am I missing something?! What difference was I supposed to be able to detect? I still really want to raise my own chickens, but hubby is refusing to invest the money and "effort" in it, so I was dearly hoping that he would be able to taste a difference and we could get our chickens by next week. (he's a man led by his stomach, after all) But NUTHIN'! I feel so let down by my friend's stupid chickens. And what am I going to say to her when she asks me what I thought about her fantastic eggs when I see her at work tomorrow?!

 

[Judy]

There are times my own yolks don't seem much darker than store egg yolks, but they usually do. That is a factor of eating greens, or so I've read. We've not been getting a lot of eggs lately so I've had alternating store and yard eggs a few times in recent weeks. I realy don't mind store eggs that much, but the yard eggs do have a richer flavor to me , and the yolks definitely stand up higher in the pan. I prefer over easy eggs. I am sure I would find it harder to tell the difference if I routinely ate scrambled eggs; you just don't get that rich yolk flavor in a scrambled egg that you get in a runny yolk.

Mother Earth News did some extensive research on yard eggs a few years back and found that yard eggs were more nutritious, and I believe easier on cholesterol levels as well. Perhaps the health benefits would help sway an opinion or two. And perhaps you could pick up a bunch of kale and darken her yoks a bit.

 

[kellieetal]

hmm...I'll try hard-boiled and poached next time. I know the health differences matter to me, but hubby would just as soon eat two pounds of steak and fries and an extra-large milkshake for dinner as a salad, or anything that in any way implies "healthy" for that matter.

 

[kellieetal]

hmm...I'll try hard-boiled and poached next time. I know the health differences matter to me, but hubby would just as soon eat two pounds of steak and fries and an extra-large milkshake for dinner as a salad, or anything that in any way implies "healthy" for that matter.

 

[jomoncon]

I've had backyard chickens for a few years now. When my first batch got older & the egg production dropped to an unacceptable level, I gave those to a friend with a farm & purchased new chicks. Of course that meant several months without fresh eggs. DH & I decided to just by eggs at the store until we get our own again. Bought 1 dozen eggs.

We could not eat them!!

The taste that we had become accustomed to just was not there. The yolks were pale, the white were runny & the taste was bland. Luckily, I sell jams at a farmers market so I do have access to fresh eggs at $4 a dozen. Then, the same friend I gave my older chickens to asked me if I'd like some of his eggs to sell at the market. So we struck a deal. I'll sell the eggs, the profit is split 2/3 him, 1/3 me. And I can get my payment in eggs if I choose. Now I have access to delicious eggs without having to pay full price.

BTW, the store bought eggs were all scrambled & given to the dogs & the new baby chicks. Only about a month or so until my new girls start laying.

 

[kellieetal]

Well, we boiled some of each this morning, and again, daughter was the only one who could taste any difference. They were both good, though. She did point out that maybe we just happened to get reaaly good store eggs. We,re in the seattle area, and fresh, local stuff is very in demand here. So, perhaps my store eggs just came from a smaller, more local facility, or something.???
Tomorrow, i'll poach my eggies and see what becomes of that.

 

[donrae]

I'd wondered about store eggs that cost that much, if they were more local or something. I've not really looked at store egg prices around here, but can't imagine they're anywhere near that, more like 1.50 a dozen. That could be your difference. I can sure tell the difference in my eggs vs our Wal-Mart or Albertson's eggs. Richer color, better flavor.

 

[urbanfarmer101]

I am going to suggest that you eat only "home grown" eggs for 2 weeks. Then switch back to the store bought eggs. I think you will taste the difference.

 

[texascoral]

My mother-in-law can tell a BIG difference in store bought and fresh eggs. We lost all of our chickens to a raccoon family last year and had to do without fresh eggs for a while. I didn't tell my mother-in-law for almost a month that we lost all the birds and we just swapped the eggs thinking she wouldn't know. Every time we gave her a store bought egg she would complain that it tasted funny and then throw up. She kept complaining that my chickens were sick and something was wrong so I finally had to tell her about the raccoon family and the loss. Now we have 2 separate pens and are overrun with chickens because she never wants to be without fresh eggs again! Our chickens are mainly free range (they are cooped up at night) but our yolks are almost a dark orange. During the winter when we don't have anything from the garden and they rely on mainly sack feed I do notice that the yolks go back to a whitish color and loose a lot of flavor. The fresh eggs also taste better when baking cakes or pies (that's the only way I can tell a difference).

 

[Lady Karli]

First egg So egg-citing Kids are so happy
!