{"id":1271,"date":"2024-04-09T17:10:11","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T23:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/?p=1271"},"modified":"2024-04-29T12:59:40","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T18:59:40","slug":"info-about-gaston-farm-eggs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/?p=1271","title":{"rendered":"Info about Gaston Farm eggs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Common questions we get about our eggs:<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. How long are they good for?<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 These are not like eggs from the store.\u00a0 They last much longer, at least<\/em> 4 weeks when left at room temperature and at least 3 months when refrigerated.<\/li>\n
  2. Have they been washed?\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0No, we do not wash our eggs.\u00a0 This is why they last so much longer. And you’re getting them days after they were laid, rather than weeks like at the store.<\/li>\n
  3. Shouldn’t they be refrigerated?<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0They don’t have to be, but it does make them last longer. We do not refrigerate them because once they are cooled, they need to stay cool.\u00a0 Our eggs are kept at room temperature until you get them – then you can put them in the fridge and they’ll last months.<\/li>\n
  4. What is the date on the egg carton?<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0That is the date they were laid, not when they expire.<\/li>\n
  5. Are these eggs from free-range chickens?\u00a0<\/strong> Yes, all of our chickens are free range. They get most of their diet from foraging, however we do provide them with certified organic feed and some high protein snacks every day.\u00a0 Dehydrated black soldier larvae is their favorite!<\/li>\n
  6. Do you want the egg cartons back?<\/strong>\u00a0 We like to reuse them when possible, just to keep costs down.\u00a0 They cost us about $1 each, so it’s nice to reuse them, but it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t happen.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Farm fresh eggs are much better than the ones you buy at the grocery store, but why?
    \nHere are a few reasons:<\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. \u00a0Farm eggs are much more fresh than eggs from a grocery store.<\/strong>\u00a0 The grocery store eggs are typically 2-3 weeks old by the time they get to the grocery store, and they don’t last as long because the bloom has been washed off.\u00a0 \u00a0Farm eggs last much longer.<\/li>\n
    2. Farm fresh eggs just taste better<\/strong> – especially when the hens are free range and eat quality feed as a supplement to the bugs and other forage they find on their own.\u00a0 Happy hens lay better eggs.\u00a0 These eggs are more rich in flavor – the yolks aren’t as pale as grocery store eggs.\u00a0 This is partly because the grocery store eggs are laid by hens that are stuck in cages all day. They don’t get any fresh air, sunlight, or fulfillment. They just eat bulk feed and lay eggs that will taste watered down.\u00a0 \u00a0Eggs from happy, healthy hens have a much brighter yolk and are healthier for you. They also make a noticeable difference in the quality of baked foods.<\/li>\n
    3. Farm fresh eggs last longer<\/strong>, and you can keep them at room temperature as long as they haven’t already been refrigerated.\u00a0 Once refrigerated, they need to stay in the fridge.\u00a0 But as long as the bloom has not been washed off, these eggs can last 3 to 6 months in the fridge!\u00a0 Obviously they taste better within the first 2-3 weeks, but the bloom protects them from bacteria that causes the eggs to “go bad” like grocery store eggs.\u00a0 \u00a0Even when farm fresh eggs are 10 weeks old, their egg whites still grade out as Grade A.\u00a0 The quality is just so much better.<\/li>\n
    4. Farm fresh eggs are fun to look at!<\/strong>\u00a0 We have hens that lay green eggs, some that lay speckled brown eggs, others are white or brown.\u00a0 \u00a0Store eggs are boring.<\/li>\n
    5. Farm fresh eggs are usually less expensive<\/strong> than grocery store eggs.\u00a0 When we can’t get rid of our eggs fast enough, we just give them away.\u00a0 We’re not trying to make money off of them, we just want a little money to offset the cost of the egg cartons and some of the feed.\u00a0 But even if we don’t make any money on the eggs, we’d still have chickens because they are so much fun to have around.\u00a0 Some people will sell their eggs for more because they’re trying to break even, but we don’t care about the P&L on these.<\/li>\n
    6. In the case of our eggs, our hens do not have anything added to their diet or bodies that could affect the quality of the eggs<\/strong>.\u00a0 We do not vaccinate our hens, and they only eat certified organic feed as a supplement to their natural diet.\u00a0 Their diet almost entirely consists of fresh grass, weeds, and bugs around the barns, and scraps we take them from our kitchen.\u00a0 Eggs that are over 4 weeks old get boiled and we feed the yolk crumbles to them.\u00a0 Our chickens also have constant access to well water that comes from an underground spring.\u00a0 No tap water and fluoride for our girls.\u00a0 These are the best eggs you’ll ever have!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      All of our eggs are kept at room temperature inside our house until you get them, and we never wash the bloom off (also known as the cuticle).\u00a0 We only rinse off any mud\/feathers\/poop with warm water and a silicone brush, but we do not use soap.\u00a0 This is important because soap will kill the bloom, which makes the eggs go bad sooner.\u00a0 You may want to wash the eggs with warm soapy water once you get them, if you plan to keep them in the fridge or freezer.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      How to test any eggs for freshness<\/h2>\n

      All of our eggs have a date on the carton, this is the date they were laid and collected.\u00a0 If you’d like to test the eggs for freshness:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Fill a medium sized bowl with cool water<\/li>\n
      • Gently place an egg in the water to see if it sinks or floats<\/li>\n
      • If the egg sinks or lies horizontally on it’s side, it’s fresh.<\/li>\n
      • If the egg sinks but remains vertical, it is still fresh but should be eaten soon.<\/li>\n
      • If the egg floats, it’s no longer ideal for eating.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        There are exceptions to these rules, but in general, they will help you check an egg for freshness before you crack it open.\u00a0 This test works because fresh eggs do not have an air bubble inside.\u00a0 As the egg ages, a bubble forms between the inner membrane and the shell, usually on the wider end of the egg.<\/p>\n

        Side note: we always put our eggs in the carton “upside down” with the smaller end down.\u00a0 This helps the eggs last longer by helping keep the air sac inside an egg’s shell from touching the yolk.\u00a0 The longer the air stays away from the yolk, the longer the egg will stay fresh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Common questions we get about our eggs: How long are they good for?\u00a0 \u00a0 These are not like eggs from the store.\u00a0 They last much longer, at least 4 weeks when left at room temperature and at least 3 months when refrigerated. Have they been washed?\u00a0 \u00a0No, we do not wash our eggs.\u00a0 This is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/chickenseggpage1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1271"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1278,"href":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271\/revisions\/1278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.djgaston.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}