Much of our modern-day folklore has to do with food.Recently a neighbor asked us if it was true that brown eggs tasted stronger than white ones...that's what she had heard...
Others have supposed that supermarket eggs are safer because they have been washed in a sterilization solution.
The color of your egg is determined by the breed of chicken that laid it. The super-producing chicken favored by the factory farm happens to lay white eggs.
Eggs have a natural protective coating on them...when washed off the egg becomes vulnerable through its shell to contamination. This makes eggs from small farms actually safer for the public than those from factory farms. Chickens raised in confinement are sick chickens. Have you ever wondered why they wash your eggs in a sterilization solution, and pepper the carton all over with warnings of salmonella and hand-washing advice?
Hens happily pecking away to their hearts' content outside wherever their fancy takes them...those are happy laying ladies indeed...and they lay happy eggs.
Conventional Egg (left)
Little Flower Farm Egg (right)
A 2007 Mother Earth News Study found that truly FREE-RANGE eggs (not ones produced in line with the USDA's pathetic standards for "Free-Range", but eggs from hens raised without confinement and out on pasture...) are healthier than their conventional counterparts.
Truly Free-Range Eggs contain:
* 1/3 less cholesterol
*1/4 less saturated fat
*2/3 more omega-3 fatty acids
*3 times more vitamin E
*7 times more beta carotene
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-10-01/Tests-Reveal-Healthier-Eggs.aspx
Chefs prize pastured eggs for their whiter whites, & their darker (indicating more vitamins!) firmer yolks. They behave better in omelets, souffles, and cooking.
This picture on the left is how most hens spend their lives laying conventionally raised eggs.
Now for our laying ladies at little flower farm:
In Summer and in Winter our hens are busy doing what they do best:
Being Hens!
Simply stated: Happy Hens lay Happy Eggs. As to the rumor that they also sing french love songs when the moon is full...we cannot comment on that at this time.
Bon Apetit!
little flower farm eggs available for on-farm pick-up and weekly orders. $3.00/dozen & for inestimable joi de vivre
email for more info: littleflowerfarmcsa@gmail.com
I have eaten those eggs and can say without hesitation that they do taste better. Free range is part of it, fresh is the other. Hours old compared to weeks (months?) in the dairy case? That's an easy choice.
ReplyDeletemim
I'm with you. There is nothing better and more natural than letting hens range free. Or any animals raised for food and such. I'm happy for your hens.
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