Egg week: Week 16 of BigBarn’s food and drink weeks

It’s egg week! And why not when 1.2trillion eggs are consumed every year! Eggs are not only incredibly versatile but also help keep you fuller for longer which means you are less likely to snack throughout the day.

More Egg facts:
– Forty per cent of the world’s eggs are consumed in China.

– An egg shell is made of calcium carbonate, makes up 9-12 percent of an egg’s total weight, and contains pores that allow oxygen in and carbon dioxide and moisture out.

– An egg white is made mainly of protein and contains about 57 percent of an egg’s protein.

– The colour of an egg yolk is determined by hen’s diet. The more yellow and orange plant pigments there are in the grain fed to a hen, the more vibrant the colour of the yolk will be. (a happy chicken will also lay a brighter orange yolk)

Perfect breakfast 123rf.com

– The other colours within an egg vary with its age and other factors. Egg whites that are cloudy indicate that the egg is very fresh, clear egg whites indicate an egg is ageing; pink or iridescent egg whites indicate spoilage, and these eggs should not be consumed.

– The average hen lays between 250 and 270 eggs a year but some lay more than 300.

– According to research published in 2008, male dinosaurs were sometimes responsible for sitting on eggs until they hatched.

– The world record for eating hard-boiled eggs is 65 in 6min 40sec

– The colour of an eggshell is purely dependent on the breed of the hen.

– When an egg hatchets the chick assumes the first big animal it sees is its mother.

Office chuck

If you haven’t experienced the joys of keeping chickens I highly recommend it. They may be our nearest relation to T-Rex, and not very cuddly but are very funny and can be great pets.

I had a chicken that used to climb the stairs to my office every day and sit on the chair next to me watching me work. Unfortunately, despite my numerous warnings, she eventually got taken by a fox (the risk of complete free range), but had a much better life that the average battery hen.

Friendly, busy, chucks

Chickens are also a fantastic way to help children understand where our food comes from, and I believe every school should have some. Preferably in an allotment to also learn about fruit and veg.

For the freshest real free range eggs head to your local farm shop on the BigBarn local food map. You might even find someone to sell you some hens.

Or if you have a favourite egg recipe, or any other recipe, and would like the chance to win a prize, please video your recipe and add it to KIS (Keep it Simple) Cookery. Please have a look at existing videos here and try and keep your video less than 2 minutes long.