"Eggs existed long before chickens" according to On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee. The first eggs were released, fertilized, and hatched in the ocean. Around 250 million years ago, land-dwelling reptiles developed a self-contained egg with a tough, leathery skin that prevented fatal water loss. The eggs of birds, animals that appeared some 100 million years later, are a refined version of this reproductive adaptation to life on land. Eggs, then, are millions of years older than birds.

This settles the "which came first" argument decisively!

Gallus domesticus is only about 8,000 years old. Domestication of the chicken from its wild progenitor, Gallus gallus (which still exists today), has been shown through genetic testing to have most likely occurred in what is now Thailand. In our modern world, Gallus domesticus is the source of the eggs many of us consume on a regular basis.

However, where Gallus domesticus is laying those eggs turns out to be quite important. An egg testing study run by Mother Earth News in 2007 which compared the nutritional content of eggs from hens raised on pasture to official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs contained eyebrow raising news. Eggs from pastured hens may contain 1/3 less cholesterol, 1/4 less saturated fat, 2/3 more vitamin A, 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids, 3 times more vitamin E and 7 times more beta carotene.

Why the difference? Pastured hens eat fresh seeds, grasses and a variety of insects in addition to grains, and since they aren’t caged, get plenty of exercise. Commercial eggs come from blunt-beaked chickens housed in dense, caged conditions, which eat mash feed supplemented with antibiotics and vitamins to accelerate growth and prevent disease caused by those living conditions.

For commercially farmed eggs, the USDA defines "free-range" as "has been allowed access to the outside." This deceptive definition means that producers who have doors on their breeding sheds can label their eggs as "free-range" even if the birds never actually go outside. Buyer beware. And finally, there’s taste; most supermarket eggs are inferior in taste to farm fresh eggs. The difference is profound. Period.

A real farm fresh egg has a very deep yellow-orange yolk and a creamy texture. They make omelets and scrambled eggs taste much richer, and they also significantly influence the taste of baked foods. However, you may need to adjust your recipes if you switch to farm fresh eggs. The epitome of egg preparation is of course poaching, and this, if done correctly, results in a creamy textured yolk with superior taste.

There are some farm fresh eggs available at the Farmers Market. Ask the producers how they keep their chickens (be prepared to hear entertaining stories!), try their eggs, and discover for yourself that content animals produce more flavorful food.

Please join us every Saturday from 3 - 4:30 p.m. at the Harlingen Farmers Market, 712 N. 77 Sunshine Strip in the courtyard at El Mercado Mall.