Advice for using free-range eggs

12/1/2013

Wondering about using farm-fresh free range eggs vs. store-bought? I’m not sure what you’ve heard, but in cooking and baking you would use the same number of free-range eggs as you would traditional eggs in a recipe, assuming their size was the same. Most recipes, unless otherwise stated, always use large eggs.

As far as storing them, farm fresh eggs are good for 4 to 5 weeks in the refrigerator.

When buying eggs at a farmers’ market, it’s a good idea to ask whether the eggs were washed and refrigerated within a day of being laid. This will greatly cut down on the chance of contamination from salmonella, which multiplies rapidly in temperatures above 45 degrees.

Remember, all eggs, no matter whether organic, cage-free, or free-range, are at risk of salmonella contamination, unless they have been pasteurized.