Fresh Eggs

May 2

About Fresh Eggs From Backyard Birds

To wash or not wash

After you gather them, don't wash them. There is a protective liquid that dries around the egg that keeps bacteria out. That means you could keep them on the counter for up to a month without them going bad or quality and taste being affected.

Spot washing is fine with a damp rag or paper towel - if there are just little bits of debris to remove.

If you do wash them use lukewarm water and then store them in the refrigerator right away.

If the eggs start getting more soiled than normal, replace the straw in the boxes!

Try to store them pointy side down. Then an air pocket will form on the more rounded side making it easier to peel.

Using the eggs

—>Always crack fresh eggs into a bowl outside the pan or mixing bowl where you're making your recipe. Then you can retrieve any shell pieces or little debris that might be inside the egg. Refrigerated eggs always go back into the fridge and not left on the counter.<—

A fresh fried egg sandwich is delicious with fresh greens picked that morning. Fresh greens or asparagus sauteed in garlic butter go well with fresh scrambled eggs.

I give my dog an egg every couple days and her fur is nice and shiny.

Hardboiling

I can hardboil eggs just fine with an Instapot. 5 minutes to cook, 5 minutes to release pressure, 5 minutes in an icebath. They peel and taste great. If you want to make deviled eggs where the yolk is in the center, then store them on their sides for 24 hours before boiling them.

Coloring fresh eggs

Dark and light brown take on deep colors and are as beautiful to use as the white eggs.

Using the shells

Try keeping the shells until they're dry. Then smash them up to feed back to the chickens. You can sprinkle them around tomatoes and peppers who like the calcium. You can also sprinkle them around plants that slugs and snails like to eat. Here are more ideas for you. https://www.ruralsprout.com/eggshell-uses/

Variations

Not every backyard chicken egg will be exactly the same color, shape or size and sometimes the shells might even be soft. That should not affect the quality inside the egg as long as you use them right away.

Turkeys

People who keep female turkeys can have eggs too. Just provide them a turkey nesting box - which is slightly different than a chicken nesting box.

"Turkey Eggs vs. Chicken Eggs

Turkey and chicken eggs share some similarities but are also very different from each other. Turkey eggs are quite a bit bigger than chicken eggs—more than 50 percent larger. Whereas a chicken egg weighs about 50 grams, a turkey egg comes in at about 90 grams, similar to the size of duck eggs.

When it comes to taste, it's generally agreed that these two types of eggs taste about the same, although turkey eggs are often described as being creamier. The membrane between the turkey eggshell and egg is thicker, as is the eggshell itself, which requires a sharp blow to crack. Turkey eggshells can be white, cream-colored, brown, or speckled.

One aspect that differentiates these eggs is the nutritional breakdown. A turkey egg provides almost double the calories, protein, and fat as a chicken egg, partly due to its larger size.

Turkey Egg Nutrition

A single turkey egg contains 135 calories (compared with 75 for a chicken egg), 11 grams of protein (vs. 6 grams), and 9 grams of fat (vs. 5 grams). Notably, a turkey egg contains nearly four times as much cholesterol (737 milligrams vs. 207 milligrams) as a chicken egg. The daily recommended amount of cholesterol is 300 milligrams per day, so eating a turkey egg means consuming more than double the recommended daily amount of cholesterol in a single sitting."