Pullets eggs

[cherrytree Profile]

I am seriously shocked. I’ve just been reading the Guardian food page on line and am amazed to read that pullets’ eggs are going to be allowed to go on sale. My horror took on a new level when I saw that Waitrose are going to sell them for £1.99for four!
I buy my eggs from Sheila who has free range hens as well as sheep. When she has pullets eggs I buy 30 for £2.00.
Some customers in Waitrose are being seriously ripped off.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I’m not sure why they would need to be “allowed” to go on sale

But agree that the price is ludicrous, I think when my butcher had hens he gave them away to regular customers with children who liked little eggs. They are a by product

[Alexandria Profile]

I have read that not all pullets possess a yolk ..

Do these have yolks ?

[Suffs Profile]

Occasionally, due to a synchronisation issue, the egg white reaches the part of the oviduct where shells are formed, without having ‘picked up’ a yolk.

This happens a bit more frequently with young pullets. However, as all eggs (other than those sold at the farm of garden gate) are candled, there is very little chance of the yolkless eggs reaching the shops.

When we sold eggs the pullets’ eggs were usually sold to pickled egg and Scotch Egg producers.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I think I had the occasional pullet's egg without a yolk when I used to get them, but those would be the very small first ones but they can check for the presence of a yolk, in the same way as they can use a bright light and a light sensor to check for eggs with 2 yolks

Here's the Guardian article

https://www.theguardian.com/food/shortcuts/2019/aug/15/pullet-eggs-waste-shop-farmer-supermarkets-chefs

[Suelle Profile Website]

The price seems ludicrous, but they are apparently Clarence Court eggs, which for some reason command a price premium.

I often buy Waitrose mixed size Essential eggs at £1 for 6 - they are usually medium/large, I've rarely found anything really small in the box. They are white eggs.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I buy organic eggs from the shop over the road - random weight seems to bring the price right down, can't remember the exact price, but it's not premium, and they are nice eggs, of all shades

Clarence Court seem to have positioned themselves as the premium egg brands
The US chain Eggslut, has opened a branch in Notting Hill and apparently all the eggs are Clarence Court, though for some reason it is hard ot tell this from their (fairly poor) website - it seems they are too idle to customise for the UK (they will regret that I think)

http://www.eggslut.com/menu

[Alexandria Profile]

Sue and Suffs,

Thank you for your explanations and the link ..

Appreciate it ..

[Alexandria Profile]

Here, in Barcelona, organic or ecological eggs, 1 dozen, size Large range from 2.89 Euros - 3.50 Euros.

I use Large Eggs them for Spanish Omelette ..

[Joanbunting Profile]

My six new birthday present pullets are all laying, their eggs are small of course, but all have yolks, they are raised organically and they are absolutely gorgeous. When using them for cooking I just use 2 in place of hen's eggs.

I love them to bits and they all have names.

[cherrytree Profile]

I bet my eggs from Sheila are premium ones. What some people pay for is quite astonishing.

[Renee Profile]

I often buy Clarence Court eggs because the yolks are larger. I wonder why these vary so much?

[Suffs Profile]

Yolk size tends to vary with the breed of chicken ... also its age and wellbeing.

When I was a child on the farm in Suffolk in the 50s/60s we kept a few hundred laying hens in large barns with deep straw on the floor, cosy nestboxes and perches made from tree branches. In the summer the doors would be opened during the day and they could wander out into a large fenced stackyard to scratch about and have a dustbath etc. Ma would save vegetable peelings from the kitchen and boil them up to mix with their afternoon mash and corn and Pa would hang cabbage stalks etc to dangle on ropes from the roof for them to peck at. The eggs were collected weekly by the SAPPA lorry, having been checked and sorted into sizes by Ma and me after school. They were checked again and candled again when they got to the SAPPA packing station at Bury St Edmunds.

When I was married with a young family we had a small holding and I kept around 40 rare breed chickens and sold the eggs to regular buyers in the village. I love chickens

Now I can no longer get my eggs from the local farm shop
I buy either Clarence Court or Barford Browns ... they are egcellent ... great quality and flavour with strong shells (this indicates the hens are healthy and have a good diet) and I believe the hens are well cared for .., which matters a lot to me. The difference in price for a dozen eggs between the cheap ones and the ones I choose is less than the price of a cup of coffee.

[Renee Profile]

What a happy childhood that must have been Suffs and your hens were so well loved and cared for!

No matter how much we pay for eggs, they are still a cheap and nutritious food.

I get Burford Browns which are Clarence Court.

[Suffs Profile]

Yes sorry I meant that I get either the Burford Browns or the Clarence Court whites.

It was indeed a happy childhood ... like something out of a book ... my brother was younger and often poorly with asthma and bronchitis and took a lot of Ma’s attention so I had a lot of freedom

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Excuse my ignorance, but is there really a big difference between a pullet´s egg and a hen´s egg?

[Lusciouslush Profile]

is there really a big difference between a pullet´s egg and a hen´s egg?

Hens have the teeth Clive...……..

Suffs - sounds like the Darling Buds of May - good to have lovely memories.

[Suffs Profile]

Nothing other than size KK ... I think the large producers send a lot to cake manufacturers etc where it’s not the size of the individual egg that matters but the weight of the vast quantity of beaten egg needed for the recipe.

If you’re a home cake maker who measures amounts by weight then small eggs don’t matter, but so many recipes nowadays just say “4 large eggs” or similar so home cooks don’t want very small ones .., but they are great for Scotch eggs and pickled eggs.

Supply of pullets’ eggs tends to vary as they’re only produced when a new batch of hens come into lay for the first time.

[Suffs Profile]

Luscious lush ... there were similarities ... except Pa was 6’ ex RAF with a moustache and my Ma couldn’t cook like Ma Larkin, bless her ... I learnt to cook as a form of self defence.

[Pampy Profile]

... I learnt to cook as a form of self defence.

Pullets eggs would be good for velveting chicken - I always find that a "normal" sized egg is too big for a dish being made for 1 person.