Looks good? It was. Actually, all three of them were. I had the egg on Sunday. On Saturday morning, it was inside the chicken. By late Saturday afternoon, it was in my refrigerator.
According to NPR this week, unwashed eggs don’t have to be refrigerator. They come out of the chicken with a membrane over the surface that provides preservation. Of course, refrigeration is always helpful. So helpful, that eggs can last 2-3 months. So helpful, that the carton of eggs in the store — the one that announces it is “Farm Fresh” — can contain eggs that are really weeks old.
My Sunday eggs were really fresh. And that means different in look, taste and feel. This picture at the top has some special salt from, naturally, Trader Joe’s. But the picture below here shows the yolk, that wonderful yellow yolk that went so well with Suzen’s homemade bread.
Where to get fresh eggs? Well, farmers market. Perhaps someone in your community. Perhaps you. Yes, you or someone down the block. There is a incredible new movement of people raising chickens in their back yards. Even if they live in a city. Now, Suzen and I have three acres upstate but our deed forbids us from raising chickens. But our daughter Kelly has 1/3 of an acre inside the Seattle city limits and she can have chickens. Up to eight. No roosters. Kelly and her architecturally adept boyfriend Mark even made a home for their egg layers. That’s the final picture below. Kelly and Mark have been stops on the annual tour of Seattle chicken coops — yes, there is such a thing and they occur all around the country.
Over time, Kelly and Mark have become experts, as you might, in what breeds to house for their eggs. The national favorite is Rhode Island Reds because they tend to produce an egg a day. Pretty regularly. Although, chickens are a bit seasonal and they lay at different rates over the different seasons of the year. There are ways to spur their production. Apparently, visual display of sharp hatchet often gets them crackin’.
Look around your neighborhood, find those fresh eggs, and treat yourself next Sunday to an unsurpassed flavor.
