I love eggs.Chicken eggs.
Not that I ever do it, but I could eat eggs and/or egg-related things, five times a day.
I think I am part raccoon.
Anyhoo -- I have always been troubled by the things you hear about store-bought eggs.
You know, like in the latest Jonathan Safran Foer book [Eating Animals] there is one section where he shows on the page the square footage that most egg-laying chickens are living in……. well, it is the size of a piece of writing paper.
That just isn't right! That can't be good.
But I don't know any farmers at all, much less chicken farmers! In my urban environment, where am I supposed to find such a thing as eggs from normal chickens?
Well --
I was walking through the open air Market yesterday, and lo and behold, a quaint little display case -- showcasing REAL EGGS!
From chickens that run around and eat real food and stuff!
So I bought a dozen of these things.
I fried two of them up this morning.
Friends -- find yourself some real farm-type eggs! I mean, if you are an egg-eater at all, find some farm-fresh eggs. It will change your life.
These things were so good.
It says right on the carton "Roam Free Hens".And -- "Direct from farm to you."
The difference in taste -- well, all I can say is that it is taking all of my willpower right now to not eat the rest of them.
This particular dozen came from a place called Bekings Poultry Farm…. where chickens run around all over the place in what's called "roam free facilities."
They have "access to nests and roosting areas with open spaces for scratching and dust bathing." They are fed an all-grain diet.
My God!
I myself wouldn't mind living there -- sounds like a terrific deal! Especially the thing about "scratching."
The moral of this blog is just… simply, I am declaring that there IS a big difference, taste-wise, and [presumably] health-wise, in finding yourself some DAMN GOOD EGGS!
I once wrote a little hymn to…. The Egg.
And another, to.... The Chicken.
Which one came first? Even the author can't quite remember!
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4 comments:
Local farming makes a huge difference in quality and taste of all food. You know I don't do eggs or meat but now that summer is here and I have begun getting my weekly box of fresh organic veggies right from the farm (CSA) my mouth and tummy are so happy. even lettuce tastes better!
I have to agree, free-range eggs taste so much better! I bet it's all those bugs the chickens get to snatch up and eat for themselves.
Well now, I'm just fascinated....they really do taste different? I am an egg-addict. Really. I could live the rest of my life on eggs and cheese. Since we live on way too much acerage, I've been toying with the idea of our own henhouse. But I can't figure out a way to keep the chickens in the pasture.
Maybe I'll catch one of our neighbor's chickens that always seem to be wandering down the road (prompting a plethora of Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road jokes every time I swerve to avoid them).
Although in all honesty I cannot claim to have noticed such a huge difference in taste, I refuse to buy food (at least when I am aware of) that comes from animals that have been tortured all their life.
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