Potomac Village Farmers Market - May 16th (At The Market This Week)

Did you know that May is National Egg Month?  Given Americans consume over 76.5 billion eggs a year according to www.educationstation.discoveryeducation.com, it seems fitting that an entire month would be dedicated in celebration of them.  Most of us are familiar with the standard grocery store white egg available in several sizes including jumbo. More recently brown eggs have found their place on the grocer’s shelf.  So what’s the difference? The breed of hen determines the color of the egg. White eggs are laid by hens with white feathers and brown eggs are laid by hens with red feathers. At your local farmers market, you can find farmers selling blue or speckled eggs too.  Although there is no significant nutritional difference between a brown or white egg, some folks swear there is a flavor difference – preferring brown over white.

What do hens eat? Hens kept in captivity or cages are usually feed a nutritionally balanced feed made up of corn & soybean meal. Grass fed or pastured eggs found at your local farmers market are from hens raised outdoors in fenced in areas on fresh grass, protein rich insects, and sometimes an occasional supplemental feed making their resulting eggs naturally rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids (a complete protein) and DHA – an Omega 3 essential fatty acid needed for proper cellular function and brain health. On a regular basis, these mobile hen houses and its residents are moved to a fresh area of pasture for feeding and roosting.  Hormones are never given to pastured hens and antibiotics are rarely if ever needed.

How many eggs does a hen lay if a hen felt like laying eggs? An average hen will lay one egg every day or two. Hens lay more eggs in the warmer months then in the winter and won’t lay when it’s too hot or too cold. Their yolks are sometimes bigger in the spring when they are first let out to pasture.  Most small farmers collect their eggs in the early morning.  They are then rinsed, inspected to ensure they are not fertilized, graded, packaged and readied for sale.  Most likely your local farmer will have harvested his/her market eggs just hours before bringing them to market.

So stop by the Potomac Village Farmers Market & give your local egg farmer an opportunity to talk about their eggs, hen breeds, feeding practices, and collection process.  Take home a dozen or two and see for yourself what everyone is talking about! Then once you have tasted a truly farm fresh egg, you too may find yourself joining the ranks of devoted egg hunters everywhere who passionately seek out eggs each market week from their favorite farmer.  Shop early, they go fast. See you at the market!