03/26/2025
With the national egg shortage happening these days, many people are sourcing their eggs locally from small farms. Some people might not be used to purchasing fresh eggs directly from the farm so I wanted to share some info on fresh eggs. The farm fresh eggs you get from my farm stand are a bit different than whatās available in stores and hereās why:
1. Many fresh eggs sold directly from farms (mine included), are sold āunwashedā. This means the protective outer layer, called the bloom, on the eggs is intact. The bloom is what makes fresh eggs able to be left on the counter without going bad. Grocery store eggs are washed and need to be refrigerated. It is recommended that you wash your fresh eggs right before you use them to avoid bacteria and dirt from the shell falling into the egg when you crack it.
Here are some timelines that can be used as a general rule of thumb for egg storage. Unwashed fresh eggs can be stored on the counter and used within 30 days. Unwashed fresh eggs can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Washed fresh eggs should be stored in the refrigerator and used within 3-5 weeks. Once eggs have been refrigerated (washed or unwashed), they should remain in refrigerator until theyāre used. If you are ever unsure of the age of an egg or would like to ensure freshness, you can preform a float test. Fresh eggs will always sink.
2. These eggs are FRESH! The eggs being sold at my farm stand are usually between 12 hours and 3 days old when theyāre purchased. Store bought eggs are often close to 4-weeks old when they finally hit the shelves in the supermarket.
This freshness changes things. As you might have noticed, sometimes when you crack a fresh egg, youāll find a stringy white substance or a red spot on the yolk. This is completely normal and totally safe to eat. This doesnāt mean the egg is spoiled or fertilized. We donāt even have any roosters so itās impossible for any of our eggs to be fertilized or develop into chicks. The reason why you might not be used to seeing these on store bought eggs is because they disappear over time. You also might notice the egg white on fresh eggs sometimes appears cloudy or tinted yellow, this also, is completely normal and safe to eat. Cloudy or yellow-tinted whites are caused by carbon dioxide or riboflavin that disappears as the egg ages.
3. Fresh eggs donāt hard boil well. This is because enough time hasnāt passed for air to pe*****te the outer membrane, creating space between the outer membrane and the shell. Weāve tried many tricks for hard boiling fresh eggs but havenāt found a very reliable way to get them to peel well. You can still boil them and eat them but be prepared to lose chunks of egg white when youāre peeling. Sometimes leaving fresh eggs in the fridge for 6 weeks will produce easier to peel hard boiled eggs, but who can wait that long to eat these delicious butt nuggets?! Not us, thatās for sure.
4. Labels on eggs can be deceiving. āCage freeā and āfree rangeā are labels you often see on egg cartons but these labels donāt necessarily mean what we picture when we think of these phrases. The USDA does not define a minimum space or outdoor time for commercial chicken eggs to be labeled as āfree range.ā These chickens may never have access to grass or dirt. āCage freeā eggs may come from birds that have been housed in a cramped building and have never seen the sky.
We believe in giving our birds ample space to forage for bugs, eat grass, scratch around in the dirt, dust bathe, flap their wings and behave how chickens are meant to behave. We rotate pastures to give the land some rest and allow the plants and bugs to repopulate. Eggs from happy chickens are more nutrient-dense (and taste better) than commercial eggs from the grocery store.
5. Differences in egg shell colors are completely unrelated to nutrition or flavor. Itās whatās inside that counts.
6. You might experience an egg with two yolks, or sometimes no yolk at all, though it is extremely rare. Commercial eggs go through grading processes that w**d out non-conforming eggs.
We believe our eggs, and eggs from farmers like us, are far superior to the eggs available in stores. Give them a try and see if you agree! Weād love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Micro family farm growing food using organic and sustainable practices in Molalla, OR.
