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GREAT OMELETTE RECIPES
THE GROCERY-STORE EGGG HUNT
Sunset  March, 2008 by Molly Watson
How to find the best eggs? There are many choices in the stores these days: free-range, organic, natural, cagefree--it's all so confusing. Here's a quick guide to what's what.
ORGANIC Hens have never been given antibiotics, and they've been fed organic feed.
NATURAL A loosely defined marketing term (not a USDA-approved stamp); often means the eggs are free-range and organic.
OMEGA-3 Hens eat a diet rich in algae, flaxseed, or other foods with beneficial omega 3 fatty acids, which end up in their eggs.
CAGE-FREE Hens aren't squished into cages, as is common in conventional poultry operations. They can walk freely--but not necessarily outside or in a large space.
FREE-RANGE Chickens are cage-free, with access to the outdoors. Means widely different things at different farms; an open door at the end of a barn can mean "access," even if the chickens never go throught it.
PASTURE-FED Eggs laid by free-range chickens with continuous, free access to the outdoors for at least half their lives. Some studies show that a diet including plants and insects yields more nutritious eggs.
So what to pick? We try do buy organic eggs from pasture-fed hens (farmers' markets often have them). Otherwise, we look for organic free-range, or at least cage-free.
COPYRIGHT © 2008 Sunset Publishing Corp. |
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