I loved my CSA last summer, so I was pumped to find out that one of the farmers was offering eggs. These aren't just some eggs that you can run to the grocery store to procure. No, these are some pretty special eggs.
I've been reading An Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen. What a great book to describe where exactly our food comes from, what we in the US have done to food to make it cheaper, and what we have sacrificed along the way. I highly recommend the book, especially if you are concerned about the quality of the food you use to fuel your body. Aside from looking at the corn that surrounds me in Iowa in a new light, I have also gained a better appreciation for the proteins that nourish me as an athlete. Eggs would be one great example.
I eat about a dozen eggs a week. They are quick and easy to fix and can be eaten in a number of ways and in a number of combinations. Between the slow economy and my frugality, I usually find myself leaning towards the least expensive option for eggs. I've tried nearly all the varieties that Hy-Vee offers, from plain-jane white eggs to the organic brown and everything in between. Truth be told, I couldn't tell much of a difference - not in taste, not in quality.
Tonight I picked up my first dozen eggs from Small Potatoes Farm. They are amazingly beautiful eggs. Unlike the white eggs from Hy-Vee, they were not all uniform in shape or size. Nor were they any shade of white! Please note that the upper left hand egg is the white Hy-Vee brand egg, put in the container for comparison purposes.
These beauties are green, pink, and blue! They look like Easter eggs, but aren't colored by Paas, but by the chickens that lay them.
I decided to do a side-by-side comparison of my typical Hy-Vee egg with the new rainbow of eggs from Small Potatoes.
Test One: Size and Color.
Winner: A Tie - The colored eggs are amazing in their variety, but the white eggs are a brilliant white, too. The colored eggs vary in size from small to extra large. Who am I to say that one size is better than another.
Test Two: The Shell
Winner: The colored eggs - with barely a tap on the counter, the white egg split and leaked some egg before I could get it to the container. The colored egg required a sharper whack, and the shell was much stronger and less brittle than the white.
Test Three: Consistancy
Winner: The colored eggs - the first picture shows the colored egg. Notice how firm the egg white is and how the eggs stays together as opposed to the second picture (the white egg). The white spreads out more and the yolk is less firm.
Test Four: Taste
Winner: The colored eggs - I didn't fully realize how much flavor an egg contains until I tried the egg from Small Potatoes. Much richer and bolder taste. They say that some chefs have to modify their recipes when they cook using very high quality eggs such as these because the characteristics and flavor make such a difference!
I am eggs-ited to eat these eggs for the next 10 weeks. If I start running faster or blowing past people on my bike, you'll know why!
Day Two: What better place to get a flat than in Maui?
Day Five: My ride to Iao Valley State Park
Day Six: Honolua Bay
