# backyard fresh eggs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287 "2017-06-18T14:56:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/1 "2017-06-18T14:56:32Z")
Good morning all. I am a city boy. My Mom was a farm girl, but moved to the city in 1936. Our connection to the farm cousins was pretty much over by the time I was old enough to remember. My new next door neighbors are much closer to their rural roots than we are. They put up a small chicken coop in their back yard last week, and they brought me half a dozen fresh eggs yesterday. What a difference! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/2 "2017-06-18T15:15:32Z")
Yep. Our account at work has ten or eleven chickens. He gives the surplus eggs to me and my coworkers. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/3 "2017-06-18T17:37:07Z")
I’ve never had them and have only had store-bought. What is the difference? ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/4 "2017-06-18T17:55:51Z")
It is like the difference between winter tomatoes strip mined in some Quonset Hut somewhere and the ones you buy at the farmer’s markets in the summer. Like the difference between canned vegetable beef soup and a soup you put fresh ingredients into and simmer all day ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/5 "2017-06-18T19:16:23Z")
Meh. I’ve had fresh-from-the-farm eggs, eggs bought at the local farmer’s market, eggs brought to me by friends who own farms, and store-bought eggs. I’m with [the Serious Eat’s](http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/08/what-are-the-best-eggs-cage-free-organic-omega-3s-grocery-store-brand-the-food-lab.html) guys: I can’t tell the difference. They’re all good, assuming they’re not really, really old. That said, I do like supporting local businesses and places that treat their chickens well, so I quite often buy the farm eggs. But flavor-wise? No difference. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/6 "2017-06-18T19:36:55Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > It is like the difference between winter tomatoes strip mined in some Quonset Hut somewhere and the ones you buy at the farmer’s markets in the summer. That’s the comparison I use. Fresh from the chicken eggs are like fresh off the vine tomatoes - just something you have to taste to believe. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/7 "2017-06-18T19:49:12Z")
A neighbor gave me some of his eggs. I don’t know if it was just the breed of chicken, but they were _tiny_. Like “Extra-Small” if they sold them in stores. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/8 "2017-06-18T20:10:33Z")
My mom raises chickens, too. I wouldn’t say the difference is as big as it is with tomatoes (_nothing_ beats a real tomato), but there’s still a heck of a lot more flavor than in the store-bought ones (especially the yolks). **gaffa** , Mom often has a hard time fitting hers in a jumbo carton, and she’s gotten eggs as large as four ounces. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/9 "2017-06-18T21:17:17Z")
I’ll have to try some fresh eggs some time. I absolutely love eggs, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never had fresh ones. I may have, in a bed and breakfast in England years ago. I remember thinking the eggs were especially good, but I didn’t think to ask. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/10 "2017-06-18T21:45:25Z")
I’m not a big egg eater - I usually use them for baking - but there’s something about a deep orange yolk vs. the pale yellow ones in the store-bought eggs. And “home-grown” eggs aren’t identical, either. They’re different shapes, sizes, and colors too. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/11 "2017-06-18T23:35:59Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’ve never had them and have only had store-bought. What is the difference? You have to wash the shit off them. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/12 "2017-06-19T01:03:05Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’m not a big egg eater - I usually use them for baking - but there’s something about a deep orange yolk vs. the pale yellow ones in the store-bought eggs. Commercial chicken feed contains a chemical that turns the yolks pale yellow. A lot of eggs are sold for baking, and bakers don’t like eggs with a strongly orange yolk. The fluorescent orange yolk of a small farm egg gives tremendous eye appeal to a plate of sunnyside-ups, or an omelette. Also there’s the “supporting small farmers” thing. And I think they’re better tasting all around. A good egg is a meal for me. That’s why I pay roughly 50 cents per egg than buy 'em for a buck a dozen at the supermarket. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/13 "2017-06-19T02:05:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > That’s the comparison I use. Fresh from the chicken eggs are like fresh off the vine tomatoes - just something you have to taste to believe. I’ve had off the vine tomatoes and they tasted the same as the store bought ones. I guess I have bad luck. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/14 "2017-06-19T02:29:32Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’ve had off the vine tomatoes and they tasted the same as the store bought ones. I guess I have bad luck. You really must have. Or perhaps just have really good store tomatoes. Strawberries are another one where the difference is night and day. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/15 "2017-06-19T13:21:28Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > You have to wash the shit off them. There ya go. We’ve just started to keep chickens, and I was looking forward to a big taste difference, but I’m not detecting it. The most I can say is, the other day I made some scrambled eggs that were really good, and I’m wondering if it was because with these small eggs, the yolk to white ratio is better. Could just be me, I’m not a connoisseur of anything. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/16 "2017-06-19T13:43:48Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’ve never had them and have only had store-bought. What is the difference? I drive by a farm on my daily commute that sometimes has fresh eggs available via roadside table and cash box. I can’t speak for every variety of chicken but these have much darker and richer yolks chock full of yolky flavor. How much that appeals to you probably depends a lot on your favorite part of the egg. The only place I’ve seen yolks like that were from ‘farm’ eggs; even the “Happy Cluck’s Super Organic Free-Range Health Eggs” at the grocers don’t compare. They also have stronger shells. Not that that matters in taste or cooking but it is a notable difference. Anyway, they’re good enough for me to grab them when available but not so different that I can’t live with a carton of 99¢ battery-farm produced white eggs when they’re not. Now, sweet corn, that’s something I’ll only eat fresh these days as the store-bought stuff is tasteless garbage to me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/17 "2017-06-19T14:04:16Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > There ya go. > > We’ve just started to keep chickens, and I was looking forward to a big taste difference, but I’m not detecting it. The most I can say is, the other day I made some scrambled eggs that were really good, and I’m wondering if it was because with these small eggs, the yolk to white ratio is better. > > Could just be me, I’m not a connoisseur of anything. I think it varies a bit. Maybe by breed or something. Last year, my parents’ neighbors started raising backyard chickens, and my parents would get some surplus of eggs, which occasionally were passed on to me. I was so excited about these eggs, but they ended up tasting pretty much indistinguishable from grocery store eggs. No difference whatsoever that I can tell. (I always just buy the cheapest eggs at the grocery, as I could tell no difference between that and the three-times-or-more-as-expensive cage free or whatever brands.) I was puzzled, because when I was living in Hungary, I would get eggs that were just _eggy_ with deep orange, plump yolks, and I really missed them when I moved back to the States. Then, last year, I finally ended up buying some eggs at a farmer’s market (I don’t have one in my neighborhood, so I’m lucky if I visit one once or twice in a year.) I picked up a batch of interesting looking chicken eggs, some brown, some blue, and some white with a weird bumpy texture to the shell. I don’t know what chickens these came from them, but _these_ were the eggs I remember. I put some in a pan side by side with an egg from the grocery store and, first, the visual difference was striking: not only did we have a color difference of lemon yellow yolk vs a deep orange/amber, the farm egg yolk also was much “tighter/firmer” and rose in the pan about twice as high as the grocery egg. It was like the difference between a flabby bicep and a muscular one. The most important test for me was in the tasting, though. I like my eggs runny, and the yolk is my favorite part. The flavor of the yolk in the farm egg really was much more intense and concentrated compared to the commercial eggs. Just pure, yolky heaven. So one batch of backyard eggs tasted just the same to me as commercial eggs, and then one batch of farm eggs tasted (and looked) fan-freaking-tastic and more “eggy.” So who knows. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/18 "2017-06-19T14:08:46Z")
You do need to feed your chickens properly to get good eggs. Most commercial producers don’t bother because good feed is more expensive than corn, but it’s possible that a backyard producer just didn’t know about proper chicken feed. Here’s a hint: The fancier store-bought eggs sometimes brag about how their chickens receive a 100% vegetarian diet. This is not something they should brag about. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/19 "2017-06-19T14:10:26Z")
The richer yolks have been mentioned a couple of times, as was the ‘small size’. The Accountant’s chickens’ eggs are both. The eggs really are tastier, but not very big. Mrs. L.A. insisted I buy brown eggs, as she thinks they taste different from white ones. Not a battle I want to fight, but the Cherry Lane brown eggs are usually the cheapest so I got them. Then one day the corner market was out of Cherry Lane, and all they had was white ‘jumbo’ eggs. Mrs. L.A. decided that the large yolks in them were better, so I started getting them. (And they’re also inexpensive.) She wants the jumbo eggs when I make them over/easy. She tends to use the eggs I bring home from work for scrambled eggs or custard. But for me, fried is better because of the superior taste of the yolks. It’s interesting to see that **Jophiel** gets eggs for 99¢. The Cherry Lane brown eggs cost between $2.39 and $2.89 per dozen, depending where I get them. The jumbo white eggs cost about the same. Farm-fresh eggs sold by the roadside, with a cashbox, cost $4.00 or $5.00 per dozen – so I don’t buy them. Better to get the occasional surplus farm-fresh eggs free. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287/20 "2017-06-19T14:15:13Z")
Wow, Mom only charges $3 a dozen for hers. Of course, she only has a half-dozen or so hens, and only sells to a few of her neighbors. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backyard-fresh-eggs/789287.md?page=2)