Eggy

Fanny over at Foodbeam has a recent post about eggs, and specifically the colours you might find in different egg yolks, be they French, English or Italian. Frankly, I used to think Nigella was being a little pretentious when she went on about getting her eggs from Italy, but if they have lovely red yolks, maybe I would too!

And I wanted to show Fanny what colour Australian yolks are, very specifically, Clancy's BioDynamic Free Range Eggs. I got a half carton, so I didn't get to read the full label and discover if these are the chickens which are protected not by fences but by special guard dogs (I kid you not). But the eggs are lovely and the yolks are gorgeously yellow, as you can see here.

One thing that has me a little puzzled is that the store where I purchased them from keeps them unrefridgerated. Eggs deterioate very quickly at room temp and these are people who have a drinks fridge and a cheese fridge (and that's just in the front of the shop - not the kitchen!).

I have been amusing myself with Elizabeth David's ruminations on eggs recently, from Is There A Nutmeg In The House? and I just had to share this passage with you.

Separating the eggs is such a basic kitchen operation that it is surprising to find that people are actually frightened of it. Indeed special gadgets have been invented to help the nervous and the inexperienced. In this respect, the best gadget I know is a good fresh egg.

Well said! The above photo came from a recent lunch, 4 minute soft boiled eggs just the way I like them - yolk runny but firmish and white set. And my, the devotion that goes into being a food blogger! I took my eggs off the stove where they'd been simmering and then thought "Oh, I want a photo of this, they look pretty". So I scurried around to find the camera, pot still in hand, eggs continuing to cook. Then as I tried to take the picture, the lens became covered in fog from the steam rising from the hot water. This is not the first time this has happened. I am not a quick learner. It suddenly dawned on me that if I put cold water in the pan, both the eggs would stop cooking and the water would stop steaming. It took about 10 minutes before I got to sit down and eat my lunch, but hey, I got the shots. And that's what counts to a food blogger, right?