As one of the most common staple foods, eggs are a kitchen essential for serious chefs. Because they play such an important role in baking, emulsification, and food chemistry, great eggs can elevate your home-cooked creations to the next level. In this post, I'll examine what makes a great egg, and where you can find them.

From my experience, the most important variables which determine egg quality are diet and living conditions. While the chicken's breed can determine egg size, color, and quality, most egg producers do not disclose the specifics of their operation. Instead, most have chosen to hide behind marketing terms like "free range", "vegetarian", or even "organic". These terms evoke certain expectations from consumers, and while some have legal defintions, they are no guarantee of quality.

While the term "free range" inspires images of barnyard hens hunting and pecking, the reality of the situation is usually more grim. While "free range" has a legal definition when applied to meat chickens, there are no requirements for using the term in regards to egg production. A definition proposed in 2006 is still being considered by the USDA and would define the term as, "livestock that have had continuous and unconfined access to pasture throughout their life cycle". Not surprisingly, the EU has a better definition which requires vegetation in the outdoor runs, and defines a relatively low stocking rate. While "free range" may be an indicator of quality, it is most frequently a marketing tactic used by larger producers to appeal to health-conscious shoppers.

"Vegetarian" eggs are produced by chickens that do not eat meat. This is perhaps the least honest of the egg marketing terms, because chickens are not naturally vegetarians. When allowed to roam freely, chickens will eat worms, grubs and insects along with fresh growing grass. "Vegetarian eggs" can be seen as a reaction to the Mad Cow epidemic, caused by transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), an illness caused by eating infected brain tissue. Yum yum... In the UK where the Mad Cow disease became epidemic, the cow feed contained diseased brain tissue from slaughtered cows. Chickens were also being fed reconstituted chicken parts. Theoretically speaking, a vegetarian egg is produced by a chicken which has not been forced into cannibalism, which instead eats the standard factory chicken diet of corn and soy. In reality, chickens within factory farms often go insane and begin pecking at carcasses in desperation, which is why many CAFOs remove the tip of the beak. So unfortunately, so-called vegetarian eggs are still produced with a generous helping of cruelty.

While I am a big proponent of organic agriculture, the term 'organic' has become yet another abused advertising keyword. Organic eggs found in large retail outlets are rarely of good quality. Most often these organic eggs are from chickens still raised in large metal sheds amongst thousands of other chickens. Frequently, the only difference between these eggs and conventional eggs is the organic chicken feed, mostly organic corn and soy. Again, raising eggs in big metal sheds does not respect the behavioral inclinations of the chicken, and because of this, it produces inferior eggs.

Not surprisingly, the best eggs come from chickens that are allowed to behave most like chickens. Chickens that roam and graze will eat a wide variety of insects, grubs, and plants. This balanced diet produces eggs which are rich in flavor and superior in both texture and nutritional value. High quality eggs will have a dark golden, almost reddish hue, as seen on the right in the comparison below:



The preceding picture was taken to compare Kroger's factory eggs with Chelsea's Gourmet Pasture Eggs. The factory eggs on the left have a pale yellow yolk, while the pastured eggs are a dark golden color. This golden color comes from the beta-carotene provided by freshly growing grass. Of course chickens living in a big metal shed never get to see grass, much less eat it. The pastured eggs are nutritionally superior in several regards, including having a lower amount of saturated fats, a larger amount of Omega-3 fatty acids, and contain a wider profile of amino acids (proteins). A close up on the yolks shows these differences with greater clarity:



The nutritional benefits of good eggs are described in further detail in Joel Salatin's excellent book, Pastured Poultry Profits. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone interested in raisings chickens for eggs or meat.

Well, now that we know what a good egg looks like, perhaps you're wondering where you can kind these magic eggs. The most likely answer is your local farmer's market. If you live near a major city, there are potentially several farmer's markets in your area. Websites like LocalHarvest.org can help you in this search.

I would also explore local health food stores as they tend to favor high-quality local producers. These stores offer greater convenience than the farmer's market, which generally are open only on Saturday mornings. Even large chains like Whole Foods will stock some local eggs, but again, it's hard to determine how the chickens were raised by looking at an egg carton. This is why getting to know your farmer and asking them questions is an invaluable benefit of the farmer's markets.

In closing, I'd like to say that I truly believe eggs are one of the most perfect foods on our planet. All I ask is that you show some respect to the chicken by supporting farmers who do the same.