Eggs in france

mlawton

Michael k lawton
I know why the cheese is better, and the butter, and the bread and the wine - but why are the eggs better? Does anyone know? Even the ones you buy at a supermarket/Cora taste better than US eggs.
 
Why is the cheese better? The same reason for this egg difference?

I never noticed French supermarket eggs being very delicious. And French farmers' market eggs never struck me as particularly better than my US farmers' market eggs. But it's been a while since I've eaten food from a French farmers' market.
 
The cheese is better for a number of reasons - although I think FK does a fine job and may provide us the most interesting variety and highest overall quality I've seen in the US - we are limited on Raw Milk choices, as well as the aging period on those raw-milk choices. We can't have young, raw milk Munster or Soumantrain or Brie de Meaux or any of those cheeses in the US, and I have never seen things like Rigottes de Condrieu and various other interesting products in the US at all. For hard cheeses - sure, FK does fine. No better Comte to be had, anywhere.

Back to the eggs, I can't compare farmers market eggs because we do not buy them here and we didn't buy them there. I'm just comparing what's available in grocery stores here and there. We tried a couple of different "brands" from Cora and all were much tastier than any egg we have purchased in the US - no matter the preparation. We had people who preferred soft-boiled, over easy, fried and even scrambled. All agreed that the taste was superior there over here.
 
Maybe France doesn't have those big industrial chicken factories we have in the States and mandate better minimum living conditions for their hens.

The difference between the eggs bought at Safeway (which I'm sure are from caged hens) and Whole Foods ("free range"---the hens are probably stored in dark sheds with concrete floors, but still better than cages) is very noticeable (yolks are more vibrant, shells are much thicker).

At the very least, maybe France doesn't grind off the tips of their peaks like they do in the States.
 
originally posted by Yule Kim:
Maybe France doesn't have those big industrial chicken factories we have in the States and mandate better minimum living conditions for their hens.

The difference between the eggs bought at Safeway (which I'm sure are from caged hens) and Whole Foods ("free range"---the hens are probably stored in dark sheds with concrete floors, but still better than cages) is very noticeable (yolks are more vibrant, shells are much thicker).

At the very least, maybe France doesn't grind off the tips of their peaks like they do in the States.

Indeed "free range" is a bit of a joke.
 
originally posted by Yule Kim:
Maybe France doesn't have those big industrial chicken factories we have in the States and mandate better minimum living conditions for their hens.

Common guys. France produces exactly the same shit than any western countries.
It's not because France is the country of the self intronised sans souffre messiahs that the eggs are not produced in horrible egg factories.

The case of Cora or Super U supermarkets is interesting though. For the past few years, they have been buying fresh products locally, arguing that logistic cost reductions will generate higher margins for them, and higher quality for consumers at the same price.

At first I thought it was mostly marketing bullshit, but I have to admit that quite a bit of their cheeses, vegetables and fruits can be in the OK+ range, bordering Good to very good for some cheeses in some regions. One of the best bethmale cheese I've ever had was bought in a Cora market in Foix. I took the adress and went visit the producer. A true pyrenean shepperd who was making is cheese with the same love than any hypster wine producer...

But in Carrefour or Auchan you'll get the same shit that any Safeway... unless you go for high end IGP eggs like Lou eggs. This goes for wines as well.
 
If any of you guys visit Spain, check out the stuff at the (moderately priced) Valencia-based Mercadona supermarkets. One of the great stories of quality-oriented chains in Europe, with lots of organic producers working exclusively for them. And, BTW - eggs are usually good here. It's part of the explanation for the humble potato omelet being the national dish.
 
interesting, Eric. So with the eggs, it's not France that's doing something better - it may be Cora that's doing something better? Hmmm. We didn't buy our Munster there, but we did buy a delicious Vacherin Mont D'Or wheel which was somewhat local. I wonder if they are trying to buy local, they have the distribution optimized to bring "local" to other parts of France?
 
originally posted by Brzme:

But in Carrefour or Auchan you'll get the same shit that any Safeway... unless you go for high end IGP eggs like Lou eggs. This goes for wines as well.

I love those Auchan's. they make Walmart's look small.
 
I keep ducks & chickens on my property....they free-range during the day and are locked up at night to keep them safe from predators. They are happy, tame and feed on organic grain and greens from an organic vege garden.

I can happily say that their eggs would shit on any other that I've tried anywhere in the world....if the poultry is looked after, loved, not stressed, fed well and given plenty of clean water (rain water in our case as we are not on the mains) and healthy feed...they will produce great eggs....it's that simple.
 
lots of great eggs at the farmers markets in and around philadelphia. my friends cant believe what i spend on them. but they are so good its more than worth it to support the effort put into producing them.

my favorite are these blue eggs (the shell is blue) they have thick yokes that have a deep orange color. kind of like a sunset. best i have ever had anywhere.
 
originally posted by Bill Lundstrom:

my favorite are these blue eggs (the shell is blue) they have thick yokes that have a deep orange color. kind of like a sunset. best i have ever had anywhere.

The local egg farmers {chicken farmers?) around here INSIST the dark yolk is not a breed thing and is entirely diet dependent. Meaning that a very healthy diet may or may not cause the dark color, just depends what it consists of. I see it more in late winter/spring eggs than in summer/fall ones.
 
originally posted by Bill Lundstrom:
lots of great eggs at the farmers markets in and around philadelphia. my friends cant believe what i spend on them. but they are so good its more than worth it to support the effort put into producing them.

How much?

I don't even consider buying eggs anywhere else anymore.

(Unless for burying very deeply into a cake or something).
 
about $6/dozen depending on what market i am at. i have paid more at a vendor at reading terminal market (a must go if you are ever in philly)who sells products from various farms around the delawre valley.

a dozen blue eggs will have maybe two or three that are similiar in color. the rest will be darker or lighter shades. but the yokes are pretty much the same lovely deep orange color.
 
originally posted by Ned Hoey:
originally posted by Bill Lundstrom:

my favorite are these blue eggs (the shell is blue) they have thick yokes that have a deep orange color. kind of like a sunset. best i have ever had anywhere.

The local egg farmers {chicken farmers?) around here INSIST the dark yolk is not a breed thing and is entirely diet dependent. Meaning that a very healthy diet may or may not cause the dark color, just depends what it consists of. I see it more in late winter/spring eggs than in summer/fall ones.

Haaaa, romance...

Now facts.

Sourthern europe likes its eggs with very dark yellows tending to orange red.
So industrial growers use a very common and well known additive called canthaxanthine. Cheap efficient...
This comes naturally when hens eat a lot of corn, too.
 
originally posted by Brzme:
originally posted by Ned Hoey:
originally posted by Bill Lundstrom:

my favorite are these blue eggs (the shell is blue) they have thick yokes that have a deep orange color. kind of like a sunset. best i have ever had anywhere.

The local egg farmers {chicken farmers?) around here INSIST the dark yolk is not a breed thing and is entirely diet dependent. Meaning that a very healthy diet may or may not cause the dark color, just depends what it consists of. I see it more in late winter/spring eggs than in summer/fall ones.

Haaaa, romance...

Now facts.

Sourthern europe likes its eggs with very dark yellows tending to orange red.
So industrial growers use a very common and well known additive called canthaxanthine. Cheap efficient...
This comes naturally when hens eat a lot of corn, too.

i will ask the farmer who raises these eggs next time i see them if they use that.
 
Back
Top