Tag: eggshell colors

How to Boil Farm Fresh Eggs so They Peel Easy

Post author By KS
Post date April 23, 2022
2 Comments on How to Boil Farm Fresh Eggs so They Peel Easy

Whether scrambled, over-easy, sunny-side up, or boiled, eggs are delicious, nutritious, and versatile. Especially farm fresh eggs. But how to boil farm fresh eggs so they peel easy, that’s the question. Is there a trick to it? Well, a few actually.

It has to do with the age of the eggs. You see, eggs in the grocery store are a lot older than eggs that are collected from backyard farms. And the older they are, the easier they are to peel. You’ll also get the sulfur smell with the aging of eggs. However we don’t have to get into all of that.

Another thing to consider is the eggshell color. Since some shells are naturally denser or harder than others, that will also affect how easy it is to peel. For instance, most of our chickens lay blue eggs. And I have found that those shells and the Maran shells tend to be more difficult to crack. Thus, the eggshell color of your eggs will likely determine the best solution for you.

These are eggs we collect in a coffee can: and they consist of duck, Maran, ‘Cauna, and Barred Rock eggs.

Boiling Farm Fresh Eggs to Peel Easy: 1st Method

Pick your eggs & leave them on the counter, unwashed for 3 or 4 days.
Next, on the 3rd or 4th day, put your eggs in a pot; and cover with salted water.
Then when the water gets to a roiling boil, turn off stove; and remove pot from heat.
Set a timer for 10 minutes, then allow pot to cool before draining water. Next, rinse eggs with cold water.
Finally, peel and enjoy!

The above method is what I used to use. But after trying the other methods, I won’t go back.

multi-colored farm fresh eggs in a pot of water — Eggs cooling after being boiled.

Boiling Farm Fresh Eggs so They Peel Easy: 2nd Method

Gather your eggs, and DON’T wait for them to age
Bring a pot of water to a boil
Put a steamer basket, or strainer, with your eggs over the boiling water
Cover and allow to steam for ~ 20 minutes
Then remove from heat
And cool eggs before peeling

multi-colored farm fresh eggs in a blue styrofoam egg carton — Finally, the eggs are finished.

There’s another option that recommends boiling the eggs in a regular pan (not pot), but letting the pan remain on the stove for 20 minutes. Then shake the pan, while the shaking cracks the eggshells. And finally, cooling the eggs under cold water. Both this method and the 2nd method don’t require waiting for the eggs to age. Here’s the link if you want the instructions.

So now you understand that it’s the egg’s freshness that makes it so difficult to peel. And what makes it so yummy also makes it a drag sometimes to eat in certain ways. But now you also know how to boil farm fresh eggs so they peel easy. Did you have any tricks you want to share about boiling and peeling farm fresh eggs?

Thanks for stopping by! If you enjoyed this, please don’t forget to like, post a comment, share, and please don’t forget to follow!

Tags boiling farm fresh eggs, easy to peel fresh eggs, eggshell colors, freshness

raising happy, healthy chickens

Egg Facts

Post author By KS
Post date August 26, 2021
5 Comments on Egg Facts

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Eggs are considered a perfect food, because they’re one of the best sources of protein. And they contain all the essential amino acids. Not to mention there are supposedly 100 ways to cook them. Apparently that’s why chef’s hats have all of the folds they have, for all the numbers of ways to cook an egg. And that’s just a couple of egg facts. But I have more that you might not be aware of.

Eggshell Colors

There are 3 common eggshell colors, which are white, brown, and blue. However the uncommon ones are dark brown, pink, olive, and cream.

Also, shell color depends on the breed of the hen that laid the egg. But shell color doesn’t determine how healthy the egg is.

Additionally, in grocery stores, brown eggs are more expensive than white eggs. And that’s because hens that produce brown eggs are typically larger than their white egg-laying counterparts. Thus bigger birds equal more feed and thus more costs, which get passed onto the customer.

Biggest Egg Fans

Japan consumes the most eggs, with an average of 320 eggs eaten per person in 2020. And they also import most of their eggs. However the average American eats almost 300 eggs annually.

Top Egg Producer

In the United States Iowa produces the most eggs with 17.1 billion eggs in 2019!

Biggest Egg

This is the biggest egg we ever got. And Natalie, our broiler, laid it.

In 2010 Harriet the hen, from the U.K., laid an egg weighing ~7 ounces. And it measured ~8 inches in circumference. Additionally, when it was cracked, there was another egg inside!

It takes 24-26 hours for a hen to produce an egg. And within half an hour of laying the egg, the process starts all over again.

Also, some chickens lay eggs every day, while others lay only every other day. And then there are some hens, for show mainly, that will only lay an egg once or twice a week. But sometimes a hen could even lay twice in the same day. Although that’s rare.

Yolk Color

What’s the deal with yolk color? Well, yolk color tells you about the hen’s diet primarily. And if you buy eggs from a farmer, it’s a great indicator of their environment and health. Also, eggs that have a richer color taste better. Some store-bought eggs can have a darker yolk, but that could be because the hens are being given marigold to produce the darker color. But a true pasture raised hen will forage, eating grass and bugs, and not just the feed alone. Thus her egg yolks are naturally rich.

Are Eggs Fertilized

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Pexels.com

I get this question a lot. And no, chickens don’t need a rooster to lay eggs. So eggs from the grocery store should be unfertilized. Besides the majority of the hens are in cages, therefore they wouldn’t be mixing with each other anyway.

Eggs Have a Long Shelf Life

Eggs don’t have an expiration date in grocery stores. However store bought eggs can last up to a month. But if you purchase eggs from a farmer, they can last months as long as they haven’t been washed, due to something called bloom.

Furthermore you can tell how old an egg is based on its buoyancy. So if you have an egg that’s questionable, just put it in a cup or bowl of water. And if it floats, it’s old. But if it sinks, or stays at the bottom of the cup or bowl, then it’s fresh.

I hope you enjoyed these egg facts, and thanks for reading! Feel free to comment or ask a question.

Tags bloom, egg facts, eggshell colors

Hens

What Causes Chicken Eggs to be Blue

Post author By KS
Post date August 19, 2021
3 Comments on What Causes Chicken Eggs to be Blue

There are a variety of chicken egg colors. But most of the time we only see white and brown. Though I’ve heard that some stores carry blue eggs. I sell blue (and brown) eggs to some neighbors and people I work with. However I also give a lot away. Recently I was asked, “What causes chicken eggs to be blue?” Do you ever get this question? Or have you asked it yourself?

I think people are under the impression, that because the shell is colored differently, somehow it will affect the taste. But that just isn’t the case at all. Although all farm fresh eggs taste differently compared to store bought eggs. That is if they’re free-range or pasture raised eggs. And that’s due entirely to the hen’s diet, not to the shell color.

broken chicken egg placed on white table — Photo by Klaus Nielsen on Pexels.com

Additionally, I think people get the idea that shell color determines how healthy the egg is. And once again, that isn’t true. But eggs from large farms, where the chickens are all caged, are going to taste different from the eggs my birds produce. And just why is that? To a large extent, that’s due to the bird’s freedom to forage. If a bird is caged all day, without interaction from her peers or social order, she’s basically just a machine. Or a tool. Eggs from a farm taste richer. And the yolks are more orange than yellow, signifying a healthier diet for the hens. Which will result in more omega-3s and vitamins for those who consume them.

So Why are Chicken Eggs Different Colors

matrix background — Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

Well, firstly, most egg colors are determined by the hen’s genetics. And all eggshells are made of calcium carbonate, including the white ones. They’re just lacking pigment. But also, all eggshells begin as white. Although eggs that have shells in colors other than white will have the pigment levied on them as they make their way through the hen’s oviduct. Kinda like the hen is painting the egg. Weird, right?

The pigment, known as protoporphyrin IX, is responsible for staining eggs brown. Which is deposited later in the whole process, only making the eggs brown on the outside. So, certain hens only lay brown eggs, while others only lay white. But where did the blue come from?

Well, blue eggs also have a gene that’s essential to their pigmentation called oocyan. The key differences between protoporphyrin IX and oocyan is that blue eggs are blue inside and out. And the gene oocyan got there because of a retrovirus, called EAV-HP, hundreds of years ago. This was learned in a study completed around 2013 by the University of Nottingham.

Cream Legbar hen in mixed flock — This is our Cream Legbar hen, just one of many of our hens that lays blue eggs.

Furthermore, one of the first birds to have acquired the blue egg trait, and thus the virus, were the Mapuche fowls of Chile, possibly 500 years ago. Consequently, these birds are ancestors to French, Spanish, North American, and British chickens, such as the Araucana, Ameraucana, and Cream Legbar chickens, to name a few. And Asia has their own breeds with the oocyan gene, the ancient Dongxiang and Lushi.

But the virus isn’t harmful. In the case of causing pigmentation in chicken eggs, it’s actually pretty cool. We’re all profoundly aware that viruses can cause sickness, including foodborne illnesses. However they can also change an animal just slightly, like EAV-HP did, resulting in blue eggshells.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and I thank you for taking the time to read it.

Tags eggs, eggshell colors