EGGS 101: What to Look for When Cooking Eggs

Ok, so we’ve learned a bit about what to look for when shopping for eggs, but when it comes to cooking, there are 4 things to pay attention to.

1. Yolk Color

While the color of the yolk does matter (vibrant orange yolks are generally considered to be more nutritious while pale yellow ones are thought to be the product of unhealthy hens), it isn’t everything. Egg yolk color can be easily manipulated with certain foods and additives, something that many commercial egg operations know and have been taking advantage of for years.

In contrast, healthy pastured egg yolk colors can vary greatly depending on the season and other environmental and lifestyle factors. If you’re interested in learning more about the determining factors involved in yolk color, this article from Modern Farmer offers some incredibly interesting commentary on the subject.

 

2. Shell Strength

Healthy, pastured hens should produce eggshells that are more firm and tougher to crack than conventional eggs.

Since pasture-raised hens consume a diet naturally rich in important eggshell-boosting minerals (calcium, zinc, magnesium, and manganese), it makes sense that taking in these nutrients would result in tougher, more durable eggshells.

3. Yolk Firmness

The yolks of pastured hens are generally more stable, tougher to break, and “stand up” better than their conventional counterparts.

4. Taste

It turns out that nature got it right. When you let chickens live and act like chickens, the eggs they produce actually taste better. Get some friends together and do a blind taste test and see for yourself.

So where can you find pastured eggs?

Our rule of thumb is to inspect what you expect. If you expect your eggs to be coming from chickens that are roaming on fresh pasture everyday, don’t just look for packaging with a nice illustration on it. Go visit the farm to see for yourself how the chickens are living and what they’re eating.

As a matter of fact, we think that transparency is the true solution to fixing the American food system. That’s why we give tours of our farm almost every month, and offer on-farm pickup so you can inspect what you expect.

EatWild.com is an excellent resource for finding local, sustainable egg and meat farms (but be sure to also do your own research on whatever farm you buy from).

You can also raise your own backyard hens— and have full confidence that you’re eating the healthiest eggs possible. Check out our Live Started Laying Hens and Small Batch Organic Chicken Feed, or contact info@primalpastures for more information.