Do eggs from pasture-raised, cage-free chickens really taste better than conventionally raised
eggs? Let's get some eggs from happy chickens and find out. Field trip to the north Georgia
mountains and the bucolic campus of Berry College, where students like Matt Smith here
look after about 250 of these beautiful little ladies.
Fun fact Matt taught me: Chicken heads are gyroscopic. You can move their body and their
heads will stay steady. This is because their eyes are fixed in their sockets, so the only
way they can keep their vision focused in one direction is to pivot their heads. It's
like a camera on a gimbal.
Now, these chickens hang out and lay their eggs in this mobile, solar-powered coop.
"And we can pick it up and we move it once a week to fresh grass, fresh ground where
chickens can eat bugs and not live in dirt."
They do also get a fortified grain feed that contains, among other things, calcium. This
is for making their egg shells stronger — less likely to crack before they get here to your
kitchen. But yes, they also eat plenty of bugs and grass, unlike most chickens raised
in the states.
"You'll notice that they're outside, and seem to be happy, and most chickens aren't outside
or seem to be happy. They live under synthetic sunlight 24/7 in cages."
One of Matt's professors went and grabbed some eggs right out of the coop for me. These
had probably been laid minutes previously. How do they compare to normal grocery-store
eggs?
"They taste better, I think — most people think, I think?"
"Well, like, could you describe it? Like, what do you think the specific difference
in the taste is?"
"Um, I'd like to say freedom and love."
Sounds good to me. Let's taste for ourselves. Butter in a non-stick pan on medium heat.
Here's those beautiful Berry College eggs, $4 a dozen. Here's some standard grocery store
eggs, about $2 a dozen. Crack them in. Happy chicken egg is on the right. You can immediately
see a difference in the color of the yoke. The yoke from pastured chickens is more golden
yellow. This is probably due to carotenoids in their forage diet — same stuff that makes
carrots orange.
What I like in a sunny-side-up egg is a super-runny yoke combined with a browned and actually
kinda chewy white. I like that contrast, which is easily achieved if you just crack in the
eggs in butter on medium heat, and then immediately pull the heat down or even turn it off. Don't
cover the eggs, don't do anything. Just sit there and wait until the white is visibly
cooked. The last to solidify and go opaque will be the white right around the yoke. You
can see the Berry College egg is standing a little taller. That's probably a function
of freshness. As eggs age, the proteins break down and they thin out. This might also explain
why the fresher egg seemed to cook a little bit quicker.
Alright, out they come, a little bit of salt on them, and let's taste the grocery-store
egg. Perfectly nice. Now, the Blue Hen Egg from Berry College. Look at how the yoke isn't
quite as runny, it really did cook quicker.
That is delicious. I notice no difference in the white, but the yoke has got a lot more
character. It is richer, I can almost taste the bugs and the grass, in a totally good
way. Damn, that is a fine egg. But let's go get Lauren and have her taste. I didn't tell
her what the difference is between these two eggs, she went in totally blind.
"Sorry, that tastes the same."
Hmm, so what does this mean?
Well let's go ahead and acknowledge right off the bat that animal welfare has intrinsic
value, totally apart from its ability to provide us humans with yummy things to eat.
But I think this gets at something totally interesting and important about the culinary
arts. Let's assume for a second, for the sake of argument, that the only reason I enjoyed
this egg more than this egg was pure placebo effect — the flavor compounds in both are
practically identical, and I just tricked myself into believing that this one is more
delicious than this one. Here's my question: Who cares?
I mean, in the pursuit of pleasure, perception is the only reality that matters, right? The
objective reality is totally meaningless if my goal is my subjective pleasure.
I mean, nourishment is also a goal of the culinary arts, and nutrition is more objective.
There is plenty of evidence, by the way, that eggs from pasture-raised chickens are more
nutritious for you than conventional eggs. But in terms of enjoyment, it's all subjective.
I enjoy this egg more. I don't really care why.
I mean, for example, my favorite cheese in the world, other than Locatelli Pecorino Romano,
is a semi-firm goats-milk cheese aged in red wine called Drunken Goat. Why do I prefer
that one to other semi-firm goats-milk cheeses? Probably because it's purple, and I like purple
food. Does the fact that it's purple actually make it taste any different? Objectively,
probably not. But in my brain? Yeah, it tastes better, and all that matters is what's going
on in my brain.
So, what have we learned here today? Well, if you can, get eggs from pasture-raised chickens.
At the very least, you'll be supporting humane agricultural practices, and you might just
enjoy them more. Who cares why?