Eggs > Fresh Eggs

Fresh Eggs

Darling Downs Fresh Eggs are ‘as fresh as the start of a new day’. Our eggs are produced with rural values from our farms where our hens are cared for in modern facilities.

This allows us to ensure food, water, temperature are optimised to maximise hen care and produce the highest quality eggs each and every day. Our daily production is graded and packed on site and delivered fresh to our customers daily. We offer fresh eggs in six, dozen and catering packs.

Overview of Fresh Eggs

Air Cell

The Air Cell is the empty space between the white and shell at the large end of the egg. When an egg is first laid, it is warm. As it cools, the contents contract and the inner shell membrane separates from the outer shell membrane to form the air cell. When eggs are graded for size the air cell is used as one basis for determining the grade.

As the egg ages, moisture and carbon dioxide leave through the pores of the shell, air enters to replace them and the air cell becomes larger.

Egg White

Also known as Albumen. Egg White accounts for most of an egg’s liquid weight, about 67%. It contains more than half the egg’s total protein, niacin, riboflavin, chlorine, magnesium, potassium, sodium and sulphur. The egg white consists of 4 alternating layers of thick and thin consistencies. From the yolk outward, they are designated as the inner thick or chalaziferous white, the inner thin white, the outer thick white and the outer thin white.

Egg White is more opalescent than truly white and does not appear white until it is beaten or cooked. Cloudiness of the raw white is due to the presence of carbon dioxide which has not had time to escape through the shell and thus indicates a very fresh egg. Egg white tends to thin out as an egg ages because its protein changes in character. That’s why fresh eggs sit up tall and firm in the pan while older ones tend to spread out. A yellow or greenish cast in raw white may indicate the presence of riboflavin.

Freshness

How recently an egg was laid has a bearing on its freshness but is only one of many factors. The temperature at which it is held, the humidity and the handling all play their part. These variables are so important that an egg one week old, held under ideal conditions, can be fresher than an egg left at room temperature for one day. The household refrigerator is the best place to store eggs

Due to DDFE’s efficient egg collection and handling processes its means our eggs are collected and packed daily. DDFE’s eggs generally reach customers within a couple days of being laid. DDFE works to ensure its product freshness is maintained by working with its customers on appropriate handling and storage techniques.

How important is “freshness”? As an egg ages, the white becomes thinner and the yolk becomes flatter. These changes do not have any great effect on the nutritional quality of the egg or its functional cooking properties in recipes. Appearance may be affected, though. When poached or fried, the fresher the egg, the more it will hold its shape rather than spread out in the pan. On the other hand, if you hard boil eggs that are at least a week old, you’ll find them easier to peel after cooking and cooling than fresher eggs.

Shell

Seven to seventeen thousand tiny pores are distributed over the shell surface, a greater number at the large end. As the egg ages, these tiny holes permit moisture and carbon dioxide to move out and air to move in to form the air cell. The shell is covered with a protective coating called the cuticle or bloom. By blocking the pores, the cuticle helps to preserve freshness and prevent microbial contamination of the contents.

The shell colour comes from pigments in the outer layer of the shell and may range in various breeds from white to deep brown. The breed of hen determines the colour of the shell. Breeds with white feathers and ear lobes lay white eggs; breeds with red feathers and ear lobes lay brown eggs.

Size

Several factors influence the size of an egg. The major factor is the age of the hen. As the hen ages, eggs increase in size.

The breed of hen from which the egg comes is a second factor. Weight of the bird is another.

Yolk

The yolk or yellow portion makes up about 33% of the liquid weight of the egg. It contains all of the fat in the egg and a little less than half of the protein.

With the exception of riboflavin and niacin, the yolk contains a higher proportion of the egg’s vitamins than the white. All of the egg’s vitamins A, D and E are in the yolk. Egg yolks are one of the few foods naturally containing vitamin D.

The yolk also contains more phosphorus, manganese, iron, iodine, copper, and calcium than the white, and it contains all of the zinc.

Yolk colour depends on the diet of the hen. If the hen gets plenty of yellow-orange plant pigments known as xanthophylls, they will be deposited in the yolk. Hens fed mashes containing yellow corn and alfalfa meal lay eggs with medium yellow yolks, while those eating wheat or barley yield lighter-coloured yolks.