Spring Time Eggs

Star at the WindowIt may not officially be Spring for another month, but my girls have decided with the longer days they will start laying again now. I love when they come back into lay, although we buy eggs off a local farmer when they stop for the Winter they are never as good as just laid in your own garden!

Egg Age & Use

Depending on the age of an egg it can be better for different types of cooking. This is why I love our girls starting to lay again so much, as it means freshly poached eggs are back on the table.

Poached Eggs

These are best made with really fresh eggs. You want to white to remain firm and buoyant, but as the egg ages the white loosens and becomes more watery – meaning it just does not work as well for poached eggs. Ideally you want less than 5 days from lay for a perfect poached egg. The problem though is Supermarket eggs are often this old before they even hit the shelves. As such, if buying eggs from a Supermarket, grab the pack with the longest Best Before and have poached eggs the day you buy them in order to get the perfect egg.

Boiled Eggs

This is when older eggs come into their own. You actually don’t want really fresh eggs for boiled eggs as it makes the shell a lot harder to peel off. I use eggs that are at least over 10 days old for our boiled eggs. I often find myself making up batches of hard boiled eggs in the Summer when swamped with eggs from the ladies. Lots of egg salads and egg mayo sarnies for lunch!

Scrambled Eggs

For this one the egg age doesn’t really matter. You can have a good scrambled egg no matter the age, but I prefer slightly fresher eggs as the scramble seems more creamy – without the need to even add butter. I never add milk to my eggs, just a little butter or if we have it in and it needs using a dash of cream on occasion.

As you may be able to tell I’m rather happy the girls are back in lay and thinking about all the ways we can eat them right now!

Knock-Knock

Over the Winter the girls have been rather unhappy. The constant rain has had them bedraggled and hiding out in their coop a lot of the time, and often with the direction of the wind pushing the rain horizontally their feed has become damp even when well sheltered.

Star as a result has taken to letting us know if there is a problem with the feed, or if she just fancies a little treat – she knocks! Usually at the back door we hear a little peck peck knocking. However, if at the other side of the house we don’t hear this so now she jumps up and taps on to let us know!

Who says chickens are bird brained?!

Posted in My Chicken Diary

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