March 22nd, 2013 Street Beets: Eggs, eggs, glorious eggs!

We do have some wonderful eggs at the Market. We have three egg suppliers: Farmgate Foods, Golden Acres Farms, and Pusch Brothers Greenhouse. I followed a Facebook post on my friend's wall that was all about: "What is the difference between brown eggs and white eggs?". Nothing essentially. Certain breeds of chicken lay different colors. If you ask what is the difference between Market eggs and store eggs however...I would say I love the healthy orangy yolk (which means they get the freedom to run around and scratch for food), the taste is much nicer, and they are definitely fresher. As Julia Child says, "Those poached eggs will NOT work if the eggs aren't fresh!".

So how can you tell if the eggs are fresh? One way is if they are boiled in the shell and you have real difficulty peeling off the shell, they are so fresh! When you crack them you will also notice a much thicker membrane between the whites and the shell. Now that I have worked at the Farmers' Market for six years I have learned a thing or two. I can go to a restaurant and tell if the eggs came direct from a farm two days ago. The yolk is the biggest tell. The oranger, the better tasting and more nutrional it is. It isn't only taste that means something to me, it's also that the chickens are happy and free.

I was musing about eggs a great deal this week after I heard the Co-op has decided to only carry cage free at their stores. Congratulations to them! It is a good step. Mass producing food has taken the nutrition and taste away. Adding more salt to make them more flavourful isn't good for you either. By the way, those green eggs are quite popular at the Market, Golden Acres carries them. If you don't go there first thing in the morning you can't get them. They are laid by a much smaller chicken with a bit of red on their head. With vendors selling pork and wild boar bacon, I think it is time for some breakfast supper tonight! Ada