First, you can buy eggs from the produce stand and also at the meat stands, and you can buy any number of eggs you want. So if you only need a few for a recipe, that's what you buy. If you don't have a container for them to put the eggs in, they will just put them in a bag for you. I haven't had any break on me yet!
At the grocery store, the eggs are on the shelves, not in the cooler. And so far, I have only seen them in units of 10 or 6. (I wonder why ours are a dozen or 18 and theirs are in containers of 10.) The first time I saw eggs not in coolers was in Mexico and I was pretty shocked by that. I didn't know that they would keep unrefrigerated. I have since seen this in other countries as well. (I wonder if we treat/process our eggs differently in the U.S. that requires them to be refrigerated. If not, what a waste of electricity!)
The egg yolk is a much richer orange than the weak yellow that we have at home. Also, the egg is used here in main dish meals more often then we see at home. In the canteen (cafeteria) they serve a creamed pea dish with a fried egg on top. Can't help but to think my brother Greg would like this, as in the restaurants they will place a fried egg on top of just about anything! Since the lunch meal is the larger meal of the day, I understand eggs are used quite often for the evening meal; fried, hard and soft boiled, etc.
(Anne F: I bet you are going to tell me why on both of those things I am wondering about! I love it that you either know or find out these things for me and the other readers!)
2 comments:
color of egg yolks
"When hens are able to eat green plant material or yellow corn..., the beta carotene concentrates in the yolk making it dark sometimes even orange."
"(factory farm hens are sometimes fed yellow dye or other supplements to color the yolks)"
http://coyotecreekfarm.blogspot.com/2007/04/color-of-egg-yolks.html
from Anne F (research for fun, that's my game)
for storage, the American Egg Board insists on chilling:
Eggs kept at room temperature (or above 68°F) may lose more quality in one day than in one week under refrigeration.
Kept under proper refrigeration at 45°F or below (do not freeze), eggs will retain their quality for several weeks
Cold temperatures help maintain quality by slowing the loss of moisture and carbon dioxide from the eggs. The cold also slows the growth of any bacteria that might be present. Retail sales of eggs and the use of refrigerated display cases are governed by state regulations.
But before the extravagant use of energy, people ate fresh eggs or prepared them for long-term storage, here's a quote from 1890
"Eggs may be kept good for a year in the following manner:
To a pail of water, put of unslacked lime and coarse salt each a pint; keep it in a cellar, or cool place, and put the eggs in, as fresh laid as possible.
It is well to keep a stone pot of this lime water ready to receive the eggs as soon as laid; make a fresh supply every few months. This lime water is of exactly the proper strength; strong lime water will cook the eggs. Very strong lime water will eat the shell."
http://www.earthlypursuits.com/Food/FreshEggs.htm
AnneF (on a frigidly cold day in Juneau 20 degrees F at noon)
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