Let's grade some eggs!

If you had to list criteria for grading eggs what types of things would be important to you? What would you measure, or check, to distinguish rock star eggs from sub par eggs? What types of qualities would set one egg apart from another in your mind?

Maybe determining some way to measure freshness would be important? How about nutritional value? I mean eggs have vitamin A and vitamin E but how much vitamin A and vitamin E is certainly going to vary. Right? Would you want to know bacterial counts? Food borne illness is on the rise, and it seems we constantly hear about this outbreak or that outbreak. Maybe we could figure out a way to measure bacterial loads on eggs or even test for certain types of bacteria we know are more harmful? If you told me you would want to know those types of things about your eggs I would emphatically agree.

Now would you like to know what is actually measured when grading eggs? Well prepare to be impressed, because I've attached a chart outlining the most important aspects of grading an egg according to the USDA. And as you can see, you worry about all the wrong things when it comes to eggs. Luckily for you, your tax dollars are hard at work to protect you from yourself. Now prepare your minds to finally see what really defines a high quality egg.

You mean you didn't know that the size of the air cell in your egg is the first thing we are looking for in a real top shelf type of egg? How many times have you ruined an omelette because the air cell of your eggs was subpar? How about the outline of your yolk? I can't tell you how often I've had to toss a batch of cookies because I insisted on using eggs with yolks that had "clearly visible outlines". And everyone knows if you eat an egg with a "weak white" you will be throwing up all night.

Ever noticed our labels we place on our eggs?

We don't do it out of vanity. We do it to be legal. We have to be clear that no USDA official graded or inspected our eggs. We inspect them ourselves, and we look for things the government inspectors don't care about. As a result, we have to be clear and let you know our eggs aren't graded. They just taste better. They just look better. They just cook better. And, I believe, they are better for you. Now, there are studies that show pastured eggs are more nutritious. There are studies that show pastured eggs have lower bacterial loads and lower counts of harmful bacteria. I can guarantee you can't get fresher eggs than ours, (Literally, we wash them at night, package them, and have them sold within the week)but when you buy Wheatley Farms eggs I beg of you with all the energy I can muster----please do not be confused and think you are getting a USDA inspected grade AA egg. You know, the eggs that are laid by a chicken who was raised in a warehouse, fed the cheapest feed ingredients possible, and stored in another warehouse for a month or two before you picked them up and took them home.