If you’re going to be raising chickens and enjoying fresh eggs, you might as well know more about them. In general, a fresh egg will have a portion of the white that is watery, a good portion of the white that stays together like jelly around the yolk, and the yolk will sit up high in the fry pan. Another characteristic of a fresh egg is a small air pocket, perhaps the size of a dime or nickel at the blunt end of the egg shell. And, the contents of the egg will drop out easily from the shell when cracked open.
Our eggs here at Squat and Drop Farms are collected and refrigerated on the same day they’re laid. We sort out eggs that have been soiled or appear to be cracked; those we clean up and use right away. We normally don’t wash our eggs unless they’re especially dirty. In that way, the eggs retain the protective “bloom” placed on it when laid. Photo left shows an egg moments after it’s been laid. Notice the bloom appears as a shiny film and the light colored end shows how the bloom dries in a matter of seconds. Unless you watch the eggs as they’re being deposited in the nest, you’d never guess that they’re somewhat wet when laid.
Old Eggs are Still Good – As eggs get older, the air pocket inside gets larger causing the egg to be more buoyant in water, (the watery portion of the white disappears and gets replaced by a larger air pocket), and the yolk won’t sit up in such a pronounced manner in the fry pan. With eggs that are many months old, the white becomes more viscous and reluctant to part ways with the shell, and the air pocket can become quite large. Photo right shows the air pocket of an egg that’s at least several months old.
Good Eggs Float Too – There’s a myth that an egg that floats is a bad egg. That’s not true, it’s just a much older egg with a larger air pocket. As you might guess, the shell of the egg is somewhat permeable, so older eggs have basically dried a bit from the inside out.
Shell Colors, Shapes and Textures – Years ago most of us overcame the notion that all eggs are white. We now know that eggs can be brown, a light pastel green or blue, and a few other color variations. The shape of an egg is generally…egg shaped… but there are a wide range of possibilities, including small and nearly round “practice eggs” from young hens, and elongated eggs that look like a tiny watermelon or torpedo. The shell can also have wrinkles or waviness, and sometimes it can sport a bunch of speckles like paint splatter, or even some tiny bumps.
Internal Abnormalities – It’s not uncommon to find the occasional blood spot on the yolk or near the yolk, or something that looks like an small sun spot on the yolk. Slightly milky whites and something that looks like a glob of white “snot” near the yolk are also things you might encounter. None of these things necessarily make the egg unfit to consume, they only make the egg unfit for the typical commercial egg consumer, and that’s why we rarely encounter them with store bought products. Photo left shows fresh eggs in the fry pan; yolks sitting up high, watery parts of the white cooking first, a little blood spot on the top center yolk and “snot” attached to the top left and right yolks. Not exactly what we’re all accustomed to, but delicious and nutritious nonetheless.
There’s no need to toss out a perfectly good eggs just because they don’t match with expectations that may have been established for many years by commercial producers. When you’re catering to the public, that requires candling your eggs and culling those with slight imperfections. And, you probably guessed it, white eggs are much easier to candle than darker colored shells.
When eggs are produced naturally, they’ll naturally have some variations. Enjoy the variations and the delicious results when you produce your own fresh eggs.
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Clair Schwan enjoys fresh eggs from his flock of layers. He finds it an easy way to be more self-reliant and get a bit closer to his sources of food.