Know Your Eggs

In our experiences, buying fresh eggs is always one of the best benefits of shopping at farmers’ markets. The slow food-centric Eat Local Challenge blog just wrote about what you need to know about buying eggs. Basically, it all comes down to finding a place whose eggs have consistently good yolks and sticking to it. Why yolks?

A good clue to the nutritional content of an egg is the color of the yolk. The deep orange color often seen in a naturally produced egg yolk is related to the chickens’ diet. If the diet includes yellow and orange plant pigments called xanthophylls, the yolk will be deep yellow-orange. If the diet is low in these pigments, the yolk can be almost colorless.The yolk holds all of the egg’s vitamin content including six B vitamins, as well as vitamins A, D, and E. The yolk also contains the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin and trace amounts of carotene, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium.

Our favorite Philadelphia market at Clark Park might not be open yet but there’s still the Reading Terminal Market, the Italian Market and the Firehouse Farmers’ Market.

What You Need To Know About Buying Eggs [Eat Local Challenge]
Reading Terminal Market [Official Site]
Italian Market [Official Site]
Firehouse Farmers’ Market [Official Site]

Know Your Eggs