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May 15

ShouldEggsBeRefrigerated

Do Eggs Need to Be Refrigerated?

Do eggs need to be refrigerated? It’s one of the most popular questions we get.

Yes, eggs are best when kept refrigerated – at or below 45°F is the standard and safe recommendation.

That said, we’ve all seen images of eggs sitting out on a counter, be it at a farmers market, the local diner or in a catalog or a magazine of a beautifully rustic kitchen setting. Additionally, I have made recipes that call for eggs to be at room temperature, which is typically much warmer than 45°F. It would seem only reasonable to assume that those eggs need to be out of the refrigerator to achieve the recommended room temperature right – so what is the threshold for safekeeping?

According to www.eggsafety.org, after eggs are refrigerated, it is important that they stay that way. “A cold egg left out at room temperature can sweat, facilitating the growth of bacteria. Refrigerated eggs should not be left out more than two hours.” But the Egg Safety Council is an industry organization sponsored by large-scale egg producers in large-scale facilities.

Perhaps that’s the key; perhaps fresh eggs, which have never been refrigerated, are less vulnerable than their already refrigerated, store bought counter parts. Let’s face it, long before there were refrigerators, people have been gathering eggs, storing, cooking and eating them. I’ve scoured the web with this question and have read similar commentary time and time again; farm fresh eggs (that have not been washed) seem to keep at room temperature for longer periods of time, without issue.

Maybe we need to rely on some best practices and good judgment here:

  • Do not keep eggs out for a prolonged period of time. If you know you aren’t going to use all dozen eggs, why not store them in the refrigerator, just for safekeeping?
  • Do not wash eggs under water due to the porous nature of the shells; eggshells actually have a protective coating that works to keep bacteria from seeping into the egg.
  • Cook eggs thoroughly to an internal temperature of 160°F (killing any Salmonella bacteria)
  • Don’t eat eggs from strangers! Know your flock owner and how they raise their birds; healthy birds eating healthy feed will typically lay healthy eggs.

 

Links & References:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov
http://www.chow.com/
http://www.mothering.com

May 9

Home Girls_01

Featured Flock Owner: Home Girls

Member Name: Stephen Price
Join Date: October 13, 2011
Egg Stand: “Home Girls” of Riverview, FL 33569

If you’ve ever been to our feedback page then you are sure to be familiar with Stephen. Hands down, he is our most active and vocal member, and we are all the better for his participation. Make sure to watch the video and read the full article, he’s an interesting person with a lot to say. Thanks for all your help Stephen!

Eggzy: Why do you use Eggzy?
Home Girls: Basically I am kind of fanatical about record keeping and was searching for the best method of tracking my chickens and their performance. I found Eggzy through a Google search and liked the beta version that was being offered. I have made many suggestions for software improvements and much to my surprise most of them have been accepted and implemented. I also use Excel for some other data tracking. Ask me a question about my girls and between Eggzy and my Excel data I can answer most anything. Just don’t ask which girl laid which egg. LOL The marketing aspect of Eggzy was a plus and has proven to be the most beneficial part of the site.

Eggzy: Tell us something about yourself?
Home Girls: I am retired from Lockheed Martin and currently teach “Armed Security Officers” (www.mysecuritylicense.com) here in Florida. Living on a 4 acre piece of land has allowed me to explore some less citified adventures. Along with the chickens, we are currently raising bees, rabbits and generally a nice garden. This year I failed at the garden. I guess I was concentrating too much on other endeavors and not nearly enough on tilling and planting the good earth. We will have a nice harvest of honey this fall though.

I have also been designing a new electronic system to help myself and others as they start and expand their own flocks. I hope to have a shippable product late this summer or early fall. I am sure that even if a flock owner does not obtain a device for themselves they will be able to easily see the advantages the system will provide. Keep an eye open for the initial release of my product right here on Eggzy.com.

May 1

Phot credit: bettycrocker.com
2 Comments

Recipe No. 10: Popovers

It’s no secret that I enjoy cooking and eating more than I do writing. However, blogging does have its benefits, so when the nice folks over at Storey Publishing reached out and asked if I would like a copy of Jennifer Trainer Thompson’s newest book, The Fresh Egg Cookbook, I jumped at the opportunity!

I like cookbooks that inform and inspire, as well as instruct, and Jennifer Thompson is a natural storyteller. She generously shares her experiences along with helpful tips and insights about raising chickens, cooking fresh eggs and the history of a recipe, when there is one to be told.

There are dozens of recipes in this book, and I plan to try most of them, however the very first recipe that called to me where the popovers. What caught my eye was how easy the ingredients and instructions were – popovers are typically made with simple ingredients you’re sure to have on hand; eggs, milk, flour, butter, and salt.

We made a batch this weekend and had them for breakfast with jams, butter and cheese. We liked them so much we made them again for dinner, which included grilled pork chops on a bed of sauteed cabbage & apples – both servings were delicious! (Btw, did you know that the most famous version of a popover is the Yorkshire Pudding?)

Popover recipe from the Fresh Egg Cookbook:

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  1. Preheat oven to 375øF. Butter a six-cup popover pan – I used a 12-well muffin pan instead. Add 1/2 tablespoon of the chilled butter to the bottom of each cup and put the pan in the oven until the butter melts.
  2. Beat the eggs until foamy. Beat in the milk and melted butter. Add the flour and salt and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.
  3. Fill the prepared (pan) wells no more than three-quarters of the way with batter and bake 25 to 35 minutes (time will vary depending on oven), or until puffed and well browned. Serve hot!

Tips for to great popovers:

  • Make sure the pan is hot before you pour in the batter
  • Keep batter chilled
  • Generously grease cooking pan
  • No peeking while they’re in the oven!

Additional Recipes & Resources:
Paula Deen Recipes @ The Food Network
Sweet, Sugar Cinnamon Popovers @ beautyandbedlam.com
Herbal Popovers @ Better Crocker
Quick & Easy Yorkshire Pudding Recipe

Apr 24

Favorites_Feature

New Feature: Favorites

We’ve added a ‘Favorite’ feature to Eggzy! With this new feature you will be able to collect and save egg stands to your account, enabling  a system of short-cuts to access those saved flocks whenever you want without having to do a zip code search each time.

Favorites can be identified by a small icon of a badge (or ribbon). The icon is either grey or gold depending on the selection state; grey if unselected, and gold when selected.

Unselected     Selected

The grey Favorite icon can be seen by all who visit the site but can only be selected (made gold) by logged in Eggzy members. The new Favorites feature exists in three places across the site so you can easily identify those flocks you buy from, sell to, or simply admire:

  1. All egg stands listing/search pages
  2. On each egg stand
  3. In a new ‘Favorites’ section within member hub pages under ‘Activity’

'Favorites' is located on the Egg Stand listing pages.

Favorites' is also on each Egg Stand page next to the Flock name.

There is also a new ‘Favorites’ section within your hub under ‘Activity'.

We will be detailing the new Favorites feature in the Help section, in the meantime, please contact us with any questions, bug reports or suggestions that you may have.

We appreciate hearing from our members, your feedback serves to inform and guide the site features and our priorities.

Regards,
Eggzy Team

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