Fresh Eggs vs Store Bought
There is a huge difference between fresh eggs and store-bought eggs. The first thing I noticed was the color of the yolk. Even “cage-free eggs” purchased at the store do not have the same color yolk as our girl’s eggs.
Initially, I thought something was wrong with it. It was so yellow that it was nearly orange! But I learned this is normal. In addition to their layer feed, the girls are eating grass, flowers, bugs, and any leftovers we have in the frig. This enhances the color of the yolk.
Next was the texture of the egg itself. The shells are stronger and harder to break.
It appeared to have less egg white than the store-bought egg and the yolk was huge. With fresh eggs, the egg white is thicker. As the egg ages, the white thins and becomes runnier.
Eggs purchased in the store can be 30-45 days old.
How old are store-bought eggs?
There’s a number on the carton that will tell you when the egg is packed, called the Julian date. Generally, the first number is the plant ID number and should start with a letter. The second number is the date, which correlates to the day of the year (although, these could be reversed). The Julian date is a three-digit number. If the eggs were packed on January 1st, the number would be 001, and if December 31st, the number would be 365.
With this carton, the eggs were packed on August 26 and the best buy date is October 9, which is 44 days. The egg safety center states they are still safe to eat 4 or 5 weeks after the sell-by or best by date. No wonder they are runnier.
Finally, fresh eggs are richer in taste. The yolks are creamier. Since eating fresh eggs, I’ve found that store-bought eggs are just bland!
When I first started eating fresh eggs, I felt a little nauseated. Some friends in my chicken group reported the same thing. I’m not sure if it was all in my head or if it was the richness of the egg itself.
I won’t lie, it did freak me out at first that the egg just came out of my chicken! Now, I don’t have a problem breaking open an egg and using one I just gathered.
Cooking with Fresh Eggs
When I first started cooking with fresh eggs, I was shocked at the differences. One of the things I’ve noticed is the yolk is firmer and doesn’t break or mix as easily. This is great for poached, fried, or any recipe that shows off the egg. Additionally, when scrambling or frying, they cook faster.
If you are making meringue, older eggs whisk easier which creates more volume.
Since the yolks and whites are firmer and the membrane is stronger, fresh eggs are easier to separate. But because of this, they are also harder to peel when boiled. The membrane will start to separate from the shell the longer it sits. The same is true for baking. Week old eggs are easier to beat.
The trick to boiling fresh eggs is to actually steam them. I usually use eggs that have been sitting for a week. If I let them sit any longer, the yolk will be off-center.
To Steam Eggs
Bring the water to a boil. Then place each egg in the pan. I use a slotted spoon. Wait for the water to return to a boil. Then cover and turn off the heat. Steam for 9-15 minutes, depending on how firm you like the yolks. Now, the trick is to place it in an ice bath. I remove it with the slotted spoon and place it in the cold water.
If the eggs are less than a week old, I’ll add more ice after 15 minutes. Some people will crack the eggshell and roll it on the countertop then put it back in the cold water. The water will get in between the egg and membrane making it easier to peel. I tried this with day-old eggs and it helped a little. The membrane was still really strong.
There is an air sac or air cell on the large round end of the egg.
The air sacs main purpose is to provide fresh air to the chick when it’s ready to start breathing on its own. In an unfertilized egg, it traps any bacteria that may seep into the pores. You should store eggs with the pointy end down. This will keep the air sac in place and away from the yolk. If stored with the round side down, the air sac will move up and any trapped bacteria will move with it. This is especially important if you wash your eggs removing the protective bloom. Now, as the egg ages, the air sac gets larger. So, when boiling or steaming eggs, you can also get an idea of the age of the egg from how large the air sac is.
If you are unsure, how old the egg is, you can try the float test. Since the sac increases in size with air as the egg ages, if you place in water, it will float. Check out my previous blog post for more info.
I’m not too picky about how we store our fresh eggs since we use them so quickly. It’s rare that I have eggs for longer than two weeks. Although as we get closer to Easter, I’ll make sure they are pointy end down for deviled eggs.
If you don’t normally eat fresh eggs, I encourage you to do so. Not only are fresh eggs tastier but there are studies showing that free-range chickens are healthier than caged, therefore the eggs are healthier.
If you have a local farmer’s market, stop by and pick some up. Sometimes our local farm store will have them. They may be a few dollars more, but I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Steamed Eggs
Equipment
- pan
Ingredients
- 1 Eggs
Instructions
- Boil water.
- Once water is boiling, add eggs to pan. I use a slotted spoon.
- Return to a boil. This should only take a minute if the eggs are at room temperature.
- Cover and turn off heat.
- Steam for 9-15 minutes depending on how firm you like the yolks.
- Remove eggs and place in a pan filed with cold water and ice (creating an ice bath).
- After 15 minutes the eggs should be ready to peel.
From what I’ve heard “cage free” is still quite a crowded and stressful environment for the chickens-that might have something to due with the difference between the two. For sure I bet your backyard chicks are way happier:) I’ve there’s a huge difference in the colour of the yolk and the taste of the egg when comparing a truly free range chicken to a chicken in a larger facility.
There is literally nothing better than fresh eggs! They are so fluffy when scrambled too. There is such a big difference between them and store bought eggs. It’s crazy, but so true.
There is so much of difference in the taste of fresh eggs and store bought eggs. The colour of the yellow yolk if fresh ones still excites me. We had a small poultry in our house of 20 hens and all eggs for self consumption.Good old days.
I love how versatile eggs are and how many ways they can be prepared! I have never tried farm-fresh eggs and definitely want to!
In college, my roommate used to always have fresh eggs. Her mom would drop them off to her (along with delicious apples in the Fall) from a farmer’s market close to their home. She LOVED them, and would never eat the ones from the grocery store. After reading your post and being reminded of my college roomie, I’m seriously wanting to try fresh eggs!
That is awesome!
Oh how I miss having my own chickens! I moved to a suburb development on a postage-stamp lot and that would be highly frowned upon! It kills me to spend $4-5 a dozen now for fresh, pasture-fed eggs! Beautiful article and great photos!
I love our chickens and can’t imagine life without them. Thanks for your kind comments!
I’m going to try steaming my eggs. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome! It’s worked well for us!
great post. I have a question…How do you reheat a boiled egg?
I love a warm boiled egg. You can run under hot water or heat in the microwave. For microwave, cover with water and heat for 1 minute. If the egg is peeled,just heat for 10 seconds.
Oh my goodness fresh eggs are king compared to store bought. I’ve been eating farm fresh eggs since I was little and people just don’t believe me when I tell them how superior they are. We used to always get our fresh eggs from my great aunt who lived on a farm up the road from us but since having moved away three years ago I SOOO miss having those fresh eggs available!
I never new before having chickens. But it’s true! They are superior!
Such a detailed description, thank you! I didn’t imagine there were so many differences between store bought and fresh eggs! My sister in law used to have chickens and she had told us about it, but since we never had the opportunity to try, I didn’t think there was SUCH a difference. I need to try now!
You definitely need to try!
Wow I had no idea there were so many differences between store bought eggs and home grown! I also never knew about the julian date or how long after the best by date you could eat eggs. I guess it’s safe to say I learned a lot reading this post.
Yay! I think the Julian date is interesting. When I have to buy fresh eggs, I’m always trying to calculate the day 🙂
Wow, I sorta wanna try fresh eggs now! Since I’m on the keto diet, I eat a LOT of eggs. When I get tired of them, I just cook them a different way. Right now, I’m on a softboiled egg kick, so I bring the water to a rolling boil, place the eggs in with a slotted spoon and boil them for about 8 mins, then ice bath and then peel. So good with some fresh avocado!
That’s my son’s favorite way to eat them also! Eggs are so good for you. Try some fresh ones!
There is a HUGE difference between store bought eggs and fresh eggs. The taste is so different. Until I started researching owning chickens I had no idea of so much of this. Your articles have really helped me out in my research.
I’m glad they’ve helped! We love our chickens and the eggs are a bonus.
I LOVE fresh eggs, I don’t even want to look at store bought! Thanks for the info on packaging. How long do fresh eggs stay fresh? should I refrigerate or keep out? would like to hear some more on that!
We had to buy some around Thanksgiving. I’m going to try and freeze some this summer and see how that goes. We keep ours out on the counter. If not washed, they will last a month. Be sure and read my previous blog post. https://chikchikchicken.comindex.php/2019/02/05/fresh-eggs-what-you-need-to-know/