For almost 6 years of living here in the US I never cared about eggs. I always bought the cheapest one because they’re just eggs anyway, right? Then with the recent surge of egg prices I got curious about why certain eggs here are priced differently. So I went on a rabbit hole of research about this grocery item that I now suddenly care about–Eggs.
It boils down to how these chicken are raised, the square footage of how free they can roam. There are 4 types:
- Caged
- Cage-free
- Free-range
- Pasture-raised
The chicken eggs of the first 3 types are pretty much the same, they’re all caged with free-range having “some” access to outdoors, but in terms of area these chickens are given only 2 sq. ft. each. The highest quality eggs you can find that is now available in grocery stores are the pasture-raised eggs, this means each chicken has a roaming distance of about 108 sq. ft.
Before cooking these eggs, you will know the difference through the brittleness of their eggs shells. The eggshells of pasture-raised eggs are sturdier as compared to other types. I noticed that the cheapest eggs had really brittle shells. As you check on their yolks, pasture-raised eggs tend to have orangey yolk and looks silky smooth sac, whereas regular eggs have pale yellow yolks that has this clear, gooey membrane separating it from egg-white. The smell as well, regular eggs tend to smell eggy which can be a sign that they go bad quickly. Lastly, the taste, pasture-raised eggs taste a million times better than regular eggs, it’s smooth and it does not feel soggy in your mouth, almost the same taste as the itlog sa bisayang manok back home. In addition to all of this, pasture-raised eggs are, of course, the healthiest among options in the market.
The only con I can think of is the price, pasture raised eggs are almost 3x the price of regular eggs. As a moderately-aware adult navigating through the ins-and-outs of this country, I care more about the quality over the quantity of the items that I purchase–especially those that we put inside our bodies like Eggs. 😀