EGGS

If you don’t believe there is a difference in eggs, guess again.

Our friend, John Kramer, maker of Kramer’s Best Antique Improver, has begun raising chickens. Last week he sent us a dozen delicious eggs. Different variety of chickens produce different colored eggs. John’s chickens lay a multitude of colored ones: brown, speckled, white, and even a pretty, greenish hue. He tells us that they are organic eggs, which means they have no artificial coloring and no added vitamins. Since I love eggs and eat more than my share, I can tell you that the Kramer eggs passed my high taste standards.

John doesn’t wash his eggs. Eggshells may have as many as 17,000 tiny pores over its surface. Incorrect home procedures might infect the contents, so John believes it is best to avoid washing until just before using. Storing them in their cartons helps keep them fresh.

As to the old question of which came first: the chicken or the egg ‒ The bible says the chicken came first: “And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.'” Genesis 1:10-20.

Bright yellow yolks make boiled or fried eggs look mouthwatering good but the color really doesn’t make much difference. It comes from what the chicken is fed. Vivid ingredients make for darker yolks and pale ingredients cause the yolks to be lighter.

Eggs are graded according to thickness of whites, roundness of yolks, and freshness. Grade A have slightly less dense whites and though you may not be able to tell any difference in taste or quality, grade AA eggs are considered the best.

There has been a growing controversy regarding the nutritional benefits of the egg. For many years, eating eggs was considered the precursor to a heart attack. Recently, that assertion has been questioned and in fact, many believe eggs are one of the best foods available to humans. Here’s what the experts say:

1. One large hard-boiled egg only contains 78 calories and 5.3g of fat, with only 1.6 of those grams of fat being saturated fat. The level of cholesterol in eggs is high (212mg in 1 large hard-boiled egg). However recent research has discovered that the level of cholesterol contained in a food, has little significance to the amount of cholesterol contained in a person’s blood.

2. Egg yolks are one of few foods that naturally contain Vitamin D. Eggs also contain choline, which is necessary for healthy cell membranes in the body. Choline stimulates brain development and function and helps in preserving memory. Eggs also are good for your eyes because they contain lutein which helps prevents age-related cataracts and muscular degeneration. In fact, eggs contain more lutein than spinach and other green vegetables.

3.  Eggs contain the highest quality protein you can buy. Egg protein has the perfect mix of essential amino acids needed by humans to build you own tissues. In addition, eggs have thirteen essential vitamins and minerals

4.  Eggs are second only to mother’s milk for human nutrition.

Did you know that chickens came to the New World with Columbus on his second trip in 1493 ‒ that as a hen grows older she produces larger eggs ‒  that 10% or about 75 billion eggs a year are produced in the US?

The entire month of May has been declared “National Egg Month”. This is the time of the year to celebrate the many benefits of the egg.

One final thing: Don’t put egg shells down your disposer. That’s the advice from our trusty serviceman. He says the shells get ground up and turn into a sand like substance that sticks to the sides of the drainage tubes causing a build-up of other materials that will eventually clog up the pipes.