Well, I've given you the whole weekend to hem and haw over the answer to the question I posed last Friday. Which egg is fresh?
I should probably take this opportunity to apologize to you from the bottom of my egg basket for any sleep you may have lost. I too lost sleep. Of course, mine was due to a brain exploding migraine that caused me to cry tears of blood, but ... still ... I lost some sleep.
To recap, let's have another look shall we? Was the fresh egg ...
Table of Contents
This one ...
Or this one???
The Answer:
The egg on the left came from my coop. It was probably 3 days old when I took the picture. The yolk is high and round and orange. There are 2 distinct whites, one that surrounds the yolk and one further out from that. My chickens are fed pellets, a scoop of chicken scratch, some kitchen scraps and a cob of corn every day. They love their daily cob of corn.
The egg on the right was a store bought egg I grabbed out of my fridge. The yolk was flat and a pale yellow. There was only one egg white and it was quite thin. It was the very best egg money can buy at a grocery store. An organic egg that came from a free range chicken that was allowed access to outdoors whenever it wanted. (at least that's what the package said) At the time the picture was taken the egg was still 3 weeks away from the expiry date on the carton.
As soon as I had finished photographing it, I made a scrambled egg out of my coop fresh egg. And I will describe that scrambled egg to you now. It was the creamiest, richest, most flavourful egg I've ever eaten. It tasted as though cream had been added to it. In short, it was the most delicious thing ever eaten by anyone on any planet in any solar system. Ever. It was pretty good.
I'm not suggesting you all go out and start raising chickens. That would be stupid. For one thing, those of you in small apartments would have an especially difficult time with the amount of hours chickens spend hogging the bathroom.
I am suggesting if you have the chance, the inclination or the opportunity, you should search out farm fresh eggs. And then you should eat them. (Unless you find out the address of whoever invented migraines, in which case you should throw them at their house)
Migraines and eggs? A connection? I wonder. Anyway, I don't have chickens -- away too often -- but have several neighbours who do and who put them out there on the street in an honour box for a mere $4.00 or $5.00 cheaper and prettier than store eggs. Migraines! I am a young 75 yrs old and have had them in different forms since I was a kid. Horrible they are! Years ago a friend made me two little packages, one big enough to go over my eyes and another small enough to go into the little gap at the back of your head, that space just above the spine. She made the larger one blue and the smaller one red so even in a migraine haze I would know the larger one - fresh from the freezer -- went over my eyes and the smaller one -- fresh from the freezer and then into the microwave for about 20 secs -- and then to bed. Sometimes, not always, that was enough to send they bye-bye although usually I needed to take a couple of aspirin or another over the counter headache medication. Now that I am a septuagenarian, I don't get them very often and now they manifest themselves in weird ways more often than not: flashing lights, etc. Oh, and btw, she filled the little pads with rice so they smell good, too. Migraines, Begone!
hi Karen,
I just came across ur site today through Pinterest. I have to admit u sound as crazy as me when it comes to chickens. My kids accuse me of caring more about the chickens than I do about them.
You are so funny!!!! I haven't laughed so loud as I did today in a very long time.
So far I've only read 3 of ur posts and all 3 were super hilarious. Only a chicken lover would understand the funny side of raising chickens.
Keep up the great work.
Thanks for the laugh.
I really needed a good belly laugh after a very difficult year.
That was meant to say fishiness and auto-correct made it fish insets???
Someone asked if eggs from grain fed chickens would taste different from those fed pellets or grass. It made me think of a funny story. I grew up on a farm but my dad had sold all the cows and all we had were the livestock for our own use. Chickens, ducks, geese, a few pigs etc. My Dad was adventurous and a bit goofy and loved to do crazy experiments.
Every spring the big deal where we lived was to go smelt fishing. Smelts are little tiny fish tha have a "run" every spring in the rivers around us. You would go in the evening with a net on a long pole (many were home made) a bucket, and tall boots. You could scoop the fish by the Net full into your bucket. We often filled a couple of buckets in half an hour depending on what stage in the run we were at.
This particular year we got a LOT of smelts, more than we could eat at a big smelt fry that evening at about midnight when we got home, and more than we had room for in the freezer. So my Dad decided that since the Indians used to put a fish in the hole with the seeds when they planted their gardens, he would apply them to our garden as fertilizer. Problem was, the chickens weren't fenced in, and loved to forage for worms in the garden soil. The also *loved * the taste of raw fish. We ate fish flavoured eggs for months!! It took a long time for the fish insets to disappear from the chickens systems for certain. So yes, eggs taste and look different depending on their food. Sometimes, not such a good thing!!
I can't wait for my girls to start laying (we have a couple more months). I tell them they're good girls everyday, but I'm posting this photo in their coop, just in case they forget what their job is.
Hah! If you really wanna get them moving post the final picture from this post ... https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/how-to-make-a-tea-towel-apron/ ~ karen!
Look into Co-enzyme Q10 and omega-3 fatty acids as well as the vit B and magnesium. I take all four and my migraines (hormonal) are much less painful -- more like a dull headache and not even a bad one at that. I don't have to take the prescription drugs (Amerge) nearly as much either which pleases me very much. It may take a couple months of taking the supplements to ramp up the benefits.
BTW, keep an eye on the coloring in the girls' eye rings, beaks, and legs. You can tell how long they've been laying eggs by how much color leaches from their bodies and into their yolks.
Karen-I found this article/study on the website sciencedaily.com when I was looking around for information about migranes for my 13 yr. old son. This study talks about these glasses that help reduce the effects of migranes. Thought you might be interested. I like this website-it has a lot of cutting edge, interesting information that non-scientists can understand.
Precision-tinted lenses offer real migraine relief, reveals new study
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110526064629.htm#.ToFbtn2VZes.email
I didn't lose any sleep over which egg was which, but it did help remind me to try the Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs and OMG, I'm never cooking them the way I used to again. Didn't have any creme fraiche or sour cream, but used plain yogurt and they were delicious! I don't believe all that cholesterol crap either - in fact ate 4 eggs when I made the scrambled ones and my good cholesterol levels are really high.
Also used to have those 'monthly' headaches, but began to go to a chiropractor about 15 years ago and haven't been bothered since. Hope you find some relief!
Really enjoy your blog!!
Thanks CC! My mother discovered the scrambled eggs we make (Ram's eggs) when I put them up on my blog and she just about had a fit, screaming at me about how good they were, LOL. Yup. They're good. ~ karen!
Karen - Botox is 20+ injections across the forehead, down each side of the head and neck and across the top of each shoulder blade. And, no, it does nothing for any wrinkles you might want to take care of. That lasts for 3 months. I take zinc in advance of the botox and I also get a magnesium IV once a week. But then, I get more than 15 migraines a month without all that. I'm on the cutting edge of treatments!
Well I might pass on the Botox (for cost alone) but go for zinc lozenges and magnesium supplements to see how it goes. Maybe some vitamin B. These are some MAJOR migraines I get so I'm afraid heavy duty prescription drugs may be the only way to go but I'm willing to try other crap too. ~ karen!
Dear Karen,
I found that aspirin (not acetaminophen, or even ibuprofen) and soy milk made a huge difference in my hormone headaches. I was sensitive to wine too, and if I'd have more than one glass I'd wake up around 2AM for an hour a few days every month. So I have to limit that. But having the soy milk and baby aspirin (I took a full dose, I just like the orange flavor) really took the edge off for me. They seemed to have seriously decreased over the last year and a half. Now I only really have a major headache very few months. Best wishes.
I am sad. I recently stopped using "real" eggs because of cholesterol. One large egg yolk has basically the maximum amount of dietary cholesterol that an adult should consume in a day. Even though I've seen this guideline all over the place, I feel like I also see smart, healthy people touting the awesomeness of eggs. In the past I bought organic eggs and loved them. (I can only imagine how wonderful farm fresh eggs must be.) Now I am using Egg Beaters, which even though it's a "real egg product" according to the box, it's weird. I don't like pouring my eggs out of a carton. And they don't look quite right. So far they've worked just fine in a breakfast sandwich but don't really cut it for straight up scrambled eggs. Which I loved. And miss. :( I might go back to real eggs and just remove the yolks, but that feels wasteful. Anyway, sorry. I know this has very little to do with your post, but seeing your gorgeous farm fresh egg made me jealous. Haha.
Christina - I'm going to get in trouble for saying this but I don't believe in all that crap. No one should restrict themselves of anything. Everything in moderation, blah, blah, blah. If you can't eat an egg yolk what the hell is life worth? I probably wouldn't eat 7 eggs a day, but I wouldn't eat 7 chocolate bars a day either. Go ahead. Eat a yolk. ~ karen!
I thought you might respond like that. Haha. Historically I've had a similar attitude. And you've got me thinking. I probably am being a little too hard on myself. I'm only 24. I'm healthy. I should be able to eat a damn egg yolk. Thanks for sharing your perspective. :)
I know this is five years old but real eggs actually increase your HDL levels and decrease your LDL levels; the balance between these two is what matters, not the actual amounts of either. HDL are good for you while LDL are bad so the amount of cholesterol in a real egg yolk is good for you!
Magnesium is good for oncoming migraines. If you go to the ER, they start you on a Magnesium IV. Years ago before the current migraine medicines, the neurologists recommended daily B2, and magnesium. I also get massages a lot. I find that I don't sit right at the computer, so my neck and shoulders get out of whack and then I start to get a headache. I think the screen is too high, so I tilt my head back. I hate to admit it, but exercise really helps. Also, Republic of Tea Ginger Peach tea helps after onset. Food triggers are important, and my doctor said not to eat avocado and bacon, and to only have one egg and one banana a week. I hadn't had an egg for months, but last week I had one, then got a headache. What about you? Ann
Ann - Nope. It doesn't have anything to do with food. Completely revolves around when I get my period. On occasion I'll also get one because of my computer work because of the same reasons you say. I love my prescription meds for it. They're fantastic, but I'm always open to other options if they work. I've heard that the B vitamins can work. ~ k!
I LOVE fresh eggs, I get them from my cousin and I picked the correct one from the picture right away! That bright orange yolk was a dead giveaway!
Would you believe that my other cousin will only eat store bought eggs, she says the fresh ones taste gross!?
Also, my husband says I can't have chickens due to some city ordinance or something, plus we have a chain link fence and we'd get caught...
The next house hopefully!
Yay! I guessed right too! So sorry to hear about your migraine. Glad you're feeling better. I generally will wake up with mine (and the vomiting, yuck) Thankfully haven't had a horrible one for a while. Think mine are caused by problems in my neck. Hope you find something that helps.
Andrea - Mine are a combination of hormones and neck problems from sitting at this stupid computer typing and editing photos all day long. Get them every month for 2-3 days. I'm gonna try the Zinc lozenges someone else recommended, just for fun. ~ karen
Another migraine sufferer here. Glad you are feeling better!
I've got to find someone around me that sells eggs. Shouldn't be too hard since I live in a rural farming/agriculture area. I had forgotten how much better they taste and look.