Any food fare, or preparation thereof, which I recommend, will NOT be on m y list of inedibles! Frank EDIT: 'Ceptin maybe Squid and Eel!
I've really enjoyed eggs again since I moved to the country. I recall cracking my first fresh egg here and the smell brought back childhood memories, it had been that long since I had a real egg that actually had a smell (and had flavor.) Not long ago I got a couple of dozen that were nearly all double yolks. I discovered that this is usually when a hen is early in her laying career, and tends to ovulate twice at the same time. After I hard boiled some brown eggs and had the coating come off in the pan, I discovered that it was the vinegar I added that caused the color to release. The brown coating is applied the last 1/2 hour of the egg going through the canal, and is alkaline. The acidic vinegar releases it from the shell, and it settles to the bottom of the pan. Not too long ago I got some eggs with paper-thin shells and very thin yolk membranes. I would not have noticed it but for my pasta phase where I separated lots of yolks & whites to weight them separately. I had a couple of yolks that ruptured as soon as I cracked the egg, and a couple broke as I gently rolled the yolk from one shell half to the other. These conditions also can be caused by the layer being young, by a calcium deficiency in the chicken's diet, or in very rare cases by a virus-damaged or genetically-defective shell gland. Such a glandular condition cannot be remedied. I was speaking with the friend who sells the eggs on behalf of the owner and he said that he recalls her getting some new layers, so the thin shell is likely due to the chicken being young. I will say that the thin-shelled eggs are the best to hard boil because of how easy it is to peel the shell. I've posted this pic before. I made a generic pasta dough to season my machine, and one made of all egg yolks. Notice the beautiful color that country egg yolks impart:
I tell people that an egg is a perfect food. Why if your body needed to repair an eye,heart,lung,bones or any other part. An egg with nothing added to it when it hatches that chicken has everything to live and survive all the body parts. All these parts were made inside the egg so everything to make an eye, heart,lung,bones,are all there. They claim a person could survive on 1 egg a day if had to. I eat about six eggs a day cooked in different ways.
So I went to replenish my supply of eggs, and there are none! The chickens around here molt this time of year when winter is around the corner (got into the upper 30s last night), and they won't be out of it for about 30 days. If they lay at all during molt, it's sporadic. I had no idea. Bad timing on my part. This is why I keep backup in the fridge...I'm down to my last dozen. The farm across the street from me sells eggs, but they charge $4.50 /dozen versus the $2.25 I've been paying. I'll either go there or maybe stop by one of the many houses around here that has an "Eggs for Sale" sign in front and see if they have any, hoping they have some eggs on hand. May as well increase my circle of suppliers. And the ones I've been getting continue to have fragile shells and yolks. Tried to make 2 "over-easy" the other day, and both yolks broke as soon as I cracked the shells. I hard-boiled 4 last night and one of them split open. I cracked one an hour ago for cookies I'm baking, and the yolk was broke.
@John Brunner -- I was watching this guy make fried rice and then got sucked into the Youtube vortex for a couple of hours. I might try these egg sandwich things.
I had never tried poached eggs and kippers, so I went on the web to see if there was anything more to it than it sounded (did you have to fry the kippers?, etc.) I made them, and it was horrible (although I had kipper snacks and not real smoked kippers), but that's not why I'm telling you this. As you said, the YouTube vortex took me to this website where in the process of making this dish, I picked up tips for making poached eggs. First, the guy broke the eggs into an intermediate dish so you could just ease them into the water. But the best part was when he showed how to stir the water with your slotted spoon to create a whirlpool, so when you slide in the eggs, the swirling water gathers the white close to the yolk so it does not spread all over the place. I'll watch the vid you posted later. I don't feel like 9 minutes of egg sandwich recipes at the moment, especially when I don't even recognize the language on the loaf of bread. Is this guy really in Japan posting egg sandwich recipes in English on You Tube for Americans to watch??? What a wondrous age in which we live.
Thanks. I wasn't sure. And I'll check out that fried rice vid. I make some every once in a while when I've got leftover chicken or pork, and do those frozen dumplings to have with it. Bean sprouts are tough to come by here in the sticks...
That's interesting. He added the egg and all flavorings to the coat the rice before stir-frying. I would never have thought of doing that. I'll have to try that next time I make fried rice (which has been another one of those "Used to eat it weekly/have not had it in a year" things.)
@John Brunner This is amazing! We have two giant food retailers across the street from one-another, Safeway and Smiths (Kroger owned) and routinely buy great eggs for about $1.50, sometimes less. No shortage at all, the shelves are overflowing with cartons. What gives? Frank
>You can keep fresh eggs that have not had the bloom washed off of them for a month at room temp. >>Any unappealing bits might be brushed off, but are never washed away. >Refrigerated eggs last up to 6 months. >The eggs you buy in the store are typically 30-45 days old when they hit the shelf, and have been washed off to make them visually appealing, so must be refrigerated. The bloom is a natural coating that protects the egg from bacteria getting in until the chick matures and hatches (shells are permeable.) I guess they call it "bloom" because the real words would be unappetizing. Once you wash the bloom away, only refrigeration protects against bacteria. Given that The Molting Season is predictable, building up enough inventory to get through it is part of the producer' calculations. Commercial layers are most productive in their early years, so when the hens are nearing the end of their productive year(s) and go into molt, they are slaughtered and sent to market (I don't know if they end up in canned soups or if they end up in the meat counter.) Then a new flock is brought it. Some breeds are high-producers during their first year or two and then drop off precipitously, while others are "slow & steady" over the long haul. One would assume that commercial layers are highly productive for 2 years, and the replacement of the flock is staggered...half during an even year and half on an odd year. I learned that the protein content of their feed must be significantly increased during the time they are growing a new set of feathers. That adds to the cost of escorting them through this period. I think most backyard chicken keepers escort their flock through many molts. Once the backyard hen has stopped laying, her fate depends on the situation of the owner. Many will let them live out their natural lives, while poorer folks might not have the luxury.
This is true. I used a couple of eggs in a cake this April that had a November 2019 expiration date. They were fine, just thick, dehydrated I guess.
They were dehydrated because the bloom had been washed off, so the liquid evaporated through the pores in the shell. I wish I had known about the upcoming molting season. I always have a "working carton" plus 2 dozen backup cartons on hand, but let my inventory run low.