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August 8, 2020 M@D time to Order!
Eggstraordinary!
Market Chitchat & Grower Notes
THE LOWDOWN ON EGGS
Eagle Grove Farms recently added quail eggs to their Market listings. This week the Market is offering duck eggs as well from M@D’s customer and friend, Don Smith. We hope the following information will inspire you to try both of these wonderful products! We’re including goose eggs for information only as they’ve previously been offered through M@D.
The chicken clearly rules the roost of American egg production, but many other birds lay tasty eggs, among them the quail, duck and goose. Other cultures have long recognized the virtue of these varieties.
The funny thing about eggs is that most people say they all taste about the same. If you prepare a dish using duck, goose or even quail eggs, guests may notice subtle differences but usually will say it tastes like a chicken egg.” This is actually a good thing, because it allows you to incorporate the more unusual types of eggs into recipes without worrying about drastic changes in flavor. You will, however, need to adjust the amounts!
Quail Eggs: Bigger isn’t always better. The diminutive, spotted egg of the quail is perfect if you’d like to experiment with a fun, unusual type of egg. At about 1 inch in length and 9 grams in weight, quail eggs are popular with chefs looking to make creative treats such as bite-sized deviled eggs. As long as you make adjustments for size, quail eggs can be used interchangeably with chicken eggs. Caterers and party-planners should take note that it’s very impressive to do little things like a open sandwich, such as croque madame or to serve hors d’oeuvres topped with a quail egg. They’re served with steak tartare in France, marinated in soy sauce in Korea, and paired with chorizo and toast for Spanish tapas.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 14
Protein: 1.2 grams
Cholesterol: 76 milligrams
Chicken Eggs: A standard 60-calorie chicken egg is about 2 1/2 inches long, weighs about 60 grams and can vary drastically in color, depending on the breed of chicken that laid it. This is the egg that Americans love most and the only egg that many have ever been exposed to. Consumers have many options when it comes to buying chicken eggs. White or brown eggs? Organic, free-range, cage-free, or pasture-raised? Omega-3-enriched or soy-free? The variety can be confusing, but ultimately, which egg to choose comes down to personal choice.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 60 to 70
Protein: 6 grams
Cholesterol: 187 milligrams
Duck Eggs: A bit larger than chicken eggs, duck eggs have a creamy, rich consistency, due to their larger yolk-to-white ratio. It also means that they have a higher fat content than chicken eggs. Duck eggs also contain more calories per egg and feature a harder shell than chicken eggs and have a potentially longer refrigerated shelf life. Once you do crack a duck egg, you’ll notice that the yolk is very large. This is why duck eggs have a higher fat content and a creamier texture than chicken eggs which is why many bakers like the really silky batter they make. In addition a lot of pastry chefs prefer duck eggs for flan, crème brûlée, or anything where you desire a custard texture.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 130
Protein: 9 grams
Cholesterol: 620 milligrams
Goose Eggs: Weighing in at about 5 ounces each, goose eggs are equivalent to two or three large chicken eggs. Once you master the trick of cracking these giants — tapping them against a bowl won’t cut it! — you’ll find them a delight to eat. Geese have a limited laying season of just a few months in the spring, and most birds lay only about 40 eggs per year, give or take. Goose eggs are roughly the equivalent of two jumbo eggs. Like duck eggs, they are highly prized for baking.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 265
Protein: 20 grams
Cholesterol: 1227 milligrams
CHITCHAT & GROWER NOTES
Welcome Don Smith! Don has been steadily growing his flock of ducks who give him a wide variety of beautiful duck eggs. Be sure to read his product description to learn more.
Danny’s Greens is taking a break for his lettuce to grow. Even using heat tolerant varieties in the summer months, our August heat is hard on it. Danny has promised to notify us as soon as he sees there will be enough to list for sale. In the meantime, he’s got a number of other crops started that should be available in the fall.
Avalon Farms:
With the daily temperatures running in the mid 90s, and heat index of well over 100, this heat has really been impacting all of our chickens. We’ve been taking extra precautions to keep our chickens comfortable. The broilers moveable house has been retrofitted with an extra roof-over of tarp. This creates a cooler airspace over their entire area. We are also changing out their water several times a day and watering their grass area to keep it cooler. And even with this help they are still growing very slowly. They are several weeks behind schedule. The layers are also suffering from this heat. (And, yes we give them extra cooling things too!) Daily egg counts are down almost by half!
Hopefully the extreme heat will break soon. It makes it so hard to even think about fall plantings.
FOOTNOTES
We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.
Order Saturday 5pm to Tuesday 5pm weekly for Pickup the following Friday
Dothan Pickup: 10am – 12pm, Dothan Nurseries, 1300 Montgomery Highway, Dothan, AL 36303
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Our COVID protocol is still in place for everyone who wants curbside service.
I. Order Payment:
1. Voluntarily prepay by 6 pm Thursday if possible using this PAYPAL link. This eliminates passing paper currency back and forth or handling debit/credit cards on site. Your invoice will be marked PAID and pickup is fast and easy. In the event of undelivered items you will be issued a Market credit that will apply to your next order.
2. Debit/Credit – One of us will briefly step within 6 feet for you to put your card in the chip reader. We do our best to avoid touching your card or you touching the equipment which means we sign an “x” for your signature.
3. Cash and Checks – You may hand them to us. Exact change is preferred if using cash to prevent a lot of passing back and forth. If you choose curbside pickup you are welcome to put payment in your trunk/tailgate as that would eliminate the need to come near your window.
II. Order Delivery:
1. Curb Service: Please pull up next to the Market Shed. We will direct traffic a little bit if needed. Have your trunk/ hatchback open and we’ll load you up!
2. Walk Up Pickup: Please do not come inside. When we see you coming we’ll put your order near the entrance and step back for you to claim it. This system works really well for those of you wishing to get extra veggies that may be available.
3. Regardless of how you choose to accept your Market order please know that we make every effort to practice safe distancing and ask that you do the same.
We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!