One of the “hazards” of having a blog centered on boy-centric parties and recipes for said parties is there is always something good to eat going on in my kitchen. I know. Such tragedy.
The constant aroma of fresh baked goods assailing your will power? Good for the soul! And for my husband and son.
Truly, I love to bake. And blog. One of the perks of all this is the interesting info I come across. As a brand ambassador for Burnbrae Farms, I’ve learned a lot about chickens, eggs, and farms.
Today I’m letting you in on some of my newly acquired knowledge: The Egg. The Myth. The Legend.
Disclosure: I am participating in the Burnbrae Farms campaign managed by SJ Consulting. I received compensation in exchange for my participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.
For example, have you ever wondered if white or brown eggs are healthiest? There is no nutritional difference! The shell color is determined by the breed of chicken.
Brown eggs come from the brown Rhode Island Red hen and white eggs are laid by the White Leghorn, at least at Burnbrae.
There’s a white/light spot on the hen’s ear area that indicates white eggs (turns out hen’s teeth might be rare but yup, they have ears). Brown eggs usually cost more than white eggs simply because brown chickens are larger and they require more food to make an egg.
Have you ever noticed a little blood spot on an egg? Surprise: that does not mean it is fertilized. It’s caused by a rupture of a blood vessel when the egg is forming. The spots are not harmful at all but you can use the tip of a knife to get rid of it if it bothers you.
I know. I’m a wealth of information. There’s more.
If they’ve been properly stored in the fridge—not the door, where temps can be inconsistent—you can safely eat eggs up to three weeks past the coded expiration date. There’s actually no nutritional difference between a day-old vs a two-month-old egg but sometimes fresher eggs function better in baking and meringues.
Hard-boiled older eggs are easier to peel.
And you can’t tell the quality of an egg by the yolk color, either. That color is influenced by what hens eat. A pale yellow yolk means there’s been a wheat-based diet.
A darker yellow yolk results when the hen is fed a corn-based diet. Sometimes ground marigold petals are added to a hen’s diet and this increases lutein levels and a more orange yolk.
Here’s one more interesting tidbit, in case you’re ever on one of those television game shows: double yolks are fairly rare. They’re usually laid by young hens early in their reproductive cycle.
If you look at the shell, there is usually a ridge in the middle of the egg, as if two eggs have been smushed together. They’re perfectly safe to eat. I always feel like I’m getting a bonus when I find double yolks.
In fact, according to the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans issued in January of 2016, eggs are recommended for healthy eating in all three of their healthy eating patterns.
Guidelines emphasize reducing saturated fats and eggs do not have a large amount of saturated fat. Eggs contain cholesterol. Even the Harvard School of Public Health agreed that egg cholesterol has very little impact on blood cholesterol, so eating an egg a day will not increase the risk for heart disease.
The best part of The Legend? Eggs have a great balance of all the essential amino acids that our bodies need and they’re also a complete source of protein. Each large (53g) egg provides approximately six protein grams.
The variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants coupled with low saturated fat, sodium and carbs make this little 70 calorie package quite a deal!
If you’re frequently in the kitchen like I am, you know that eggs are the backbone of many recipes, like these “Have Two Fudge Brownies”. These brownies are a favorite for good reason!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup Naturegg™ Simply Egg Whites™ well shaken
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- 1. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in large bowl. In another bowl, whisk sugar, liquid egg whites, oil and vanilla until creamy. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just until blended.
- 2. Pour into greased 8” (20 cm) square pan. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes or until firm to the touch (do not overbake). Cool and cut into squares. Store in refrigerator.
Brownies are my absolute favorite and these are perfect! Plus they are guilt free!!!!
So excited about this recipe! Substituted some of the sugar with honey but still got the same great taste.