One common misconception that people have about eggs is that brown eggs are healthier than white eggs. This assumption is totally false. The color of the eggs has nothing to do with the nutritional value, the taste, or the “healthiness” of the egg. The color of the egg is actually dependent on the breed of the chicken. Pastured Brown Eggs, on the other hand, are truly healthy. The keyword here is “Pastured”. Pastured means that the chickens are raised the way chickens are supposed to be, free and happy. By being left to wander and grow naturally, the chickens aren’t stressed and they eat food that they want and when they want to eat. When the chickens are healthy, the eggs they produce are healthy as well.
Pastured Brown Egg Trivia
- Pastured brown eggs are different from pasteurized eggs, make sure that you’re getting pastured eggs and not pasteurized eggs.
- Pastured brown eggs are gaining popularity and production levels are growing year on year.
- The false assumption that people have about brown eggs being healthier is their high price. The high price of brown eggs come from the high upkeep of the chicken breed that produces brown eggs and not due to any nutritional values.
- Brown eggs seem more “natural” because of their “natural” brown color.
- To simplify, white eggs are produced by white chickens and brown eggs are generally produced by brown chickens. This might be an oversimplification but it’s mainly true.
Pastured Brown Egg Buying Guide
Since the term “Pastured” is an unregulated term, it can be used loosely in marketing eggs. To make sure that you’re getting real pastured brown eggs, look for the “Certified Humane” label, instead of “Organic” or “Pastured”. To help you find real pastured brown eggs, we’ve prepared a list of places where you can find real pastured brown eggs.
- In supermarkets – It’s very easy to find pastured brown eggs in supermarkets, they’re usually the most expensive eggs in the egg display case. In Texas, there are big companies that work with smaller farms to make pastured brown eggs available as widely as possible.
- Food Cooperatives and Specialty food stores – If you live near one of these, then you’re lucky. They will be the ones to make sure that the pastured brown eggs that they sell will be what they say they are.
- Local Farms, Homesteads, and Farmstands – You know what they say, the best way to get something is to get it from the source. For us, this is the best source for pastured brown eggs as you can check the conditions of the chickens yourself.
- Friends and Neighbors – Unless you live in a highly urbanized area, you’ll probably have a few neighbors that raise chickens in their backyards. Aside from knocking on your neighbors’ doors, you can usually see postings in your local community bulletin board from locals who are selling their excess eggs at a reasonable price.
- Online – Everything is moving online nowadays, so a simple search can show you if there are any pastured brown eggs available for delivery in your area. And also, we here at Texas Real Food have a listing of farmsteads that produce pastured brown eggs, so be sure to check it out.
Pastured Brown Egg Production & Farming in Texas
Backyard chicken raising in Texas is becoming more and more popular, so the availability of pastured brown eggs in the state shouldn’t be a problem. On top of that, there are large corporations that purchase pastured brown eggs from many smaller homesteads to make the eggs available to a much wider audience. These corporations fiercely guard their reputations as purveyors of humanely raised chickens and organic eggs and they make sure to let people and independent agencies check the sources of their eggs. Of course, all of this comes at a premium, but it supports the local farmers and at the same time, provides real pastured brown eggs to a much larger audience.
Pastured brown eggs can also be found at any farmers’ market. For us, this is one of the best places to get pastured brown eggs as you’re getting directly from the producer and you can stock up on other local products at the same time.
Packaging:
In keeping with the earth-friendly theme, pastured brown eggs are packed in biodegradable paper egg cartons in sixes or dozens. If you purchase from your local producer or from a farmers’ market, you can skip the packaging altogether and use a reusable container.
Enjoying Pastured Brown Eggs
Pastured brown eggs are enjoyed the same way regular eggs are, but to truly enjoy the taste of pastured brown eggs, we suggest cooking them sunny-side up or over-easy. This way you can taste the creaminess and the rich taste of the yolks.
Storage:
As a good rule of thumb, you should store the eggs in the condition that you bought them in. If they were refrigerated when you purchased them, then store them in the fridge. If they were at room temperature when you purchased them then it’s best to store them at room temperature.
Cooking the Perfect Over Easy Eggs:
We did mention that the best way to enjoy pasture brown eggs was to make over-easy eggs. While it may sound simple, well… it actually is simple, it just needs a lot of practice.
Ingredients:
Pastured Brown Eggs, 2 pcs
Butter, 1 tablespoon
Salt and Pepper to season
Step 1:
Crack eggs into a ramekin. By doing this, you can control the way the eggs land on the pan. While it may sound trivial, this is the most important step in making perfect over-easy eggs.
Step 2:
Melt butter on a non-stick skillet (6-8 inches) over low heat and swirl around the pan.
Step 3:
Once the butter is fully melted, pour the eggs into the pan and tilt to pool the eggs to one edge, this will prevent the whites from running all over the pan.
Step 4:
After 10 to 15 seconds, lower the handle to allow the eggs to cook evenly once the initial shape has set. Season with salt and pepper and continue to cook for about a minute.
Step 5:
This is the hard part. Tip the pan and allow the eggs to slide to the edge and flip. Push the pan away from you and snap the pan upwards. This may take some practice, but once you get the hang of it, it will be easy.
Step 6:
Once the eggs are flipped, give it a 10 count and re-flip the eggs before sliding it out to a plate.
Enjoy your over-easy eggs! This is best with toast dipped into the still runny yolk.
