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Writer's pictureCherie Aria

How to Pick Fresh Eggs?


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Eggs are a healthy simple source of protein, and they are delicious. Plus, almost all recipes call for an egg or two, especially when you are on a low-carb high-protein diet. Which is why my family eats so many eggs. I personally eat 3-4 eggs a day, so our egg shelves always need to be filled.

Recently, I saw XieXing Egg on Facebook. The quality of their eggs seem pretty good and their store is not too far from where I live, so I decided to take my mom there and find out more. I ended up learning so much about how to pick eggs! So I'm here to share it with you.

By the way, XieXing's eggs are not just fresh and delicious, they are super cheap. I'm talking Costco-level cheap. My mom bought an entire bag full of organic eggs, silky fowl eggs, duck eggs, and century eggs. They added up only to be around NTD$160.

How to Pick Eggs?–The Long History of XieXing Egg
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Before we start, let's talk a bit about the history of XieXing Egg. XieXing has been around for 71 years. This storefront in WanHua has been open since the first generation founded the business. This area used to be filled with old Japanese-style houses. After they renovated the buildings, they kept it around to commemorate their history. As of now, their main line of business is wholesale.

The residents nearby are also familiar with XieXing. When I went there, we saw a lot of elderlies that live nearby come get eggs. They are all long-time regulars that come almost every day.

We also ran into the young owner Mr. Chang and he explained the differences between all the different types of eggs. He also openly shared with us tips for choosing great eggs so that we could find ourselves the freshest and healthiest eggs wherever we shop.

How to Pick Eggs?–The Outsides
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Let's start from the appearance of the eggs. When I was little, I was told that it's best to choose 'ugly' eggs with rough shells. Turns out, this is totally baseless and actually the opposite of the truth. Mr. Chang said that they tried keeping a few eggs around for a long time to see what happens to the eggs shells. Turns out, they don't get smoother. In fact, eggs with rough grainy surfaces indicate that the hen that laid them has a calcium deficiency, and has absolutely nothing to do with the freshness. It's best to choose mid to small-sized eggs that have smooth eggshells instead of large ones.

Then it's the pores on the eggshells. If you pay close attention, you would notice that eggshells are covered with tiny pores. That's why we can dye eggs, draw on Easter eggs, and do the egg in vinegar experiment. If you don't know how long the eggs have been around, the pores would be a good indicator. The less fresh they are, the bigger the pores.

Of course, some eggs are just born with larger pores. Mr. Chang showed us one of those at the store that day. However, the eggs here at XieXing are all shipped directly from the ranch every morning and all of them are fresh from that day. Freshness is not something you need to worry about here, but it's a good tip if you are shopping at a supermarket.

How to Pick Eggs?–How The Chickens Were Raised

XieXing works with designated and exclusive ranches that uses floor feeding. Each batch has to be certified by veterinarians. Of course, they have SGS certification and meet Certified Agricultural Standards (CAS) from the National Animal Industry Foundation.

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Floor feeding means that the hens are not raised in stacked up cages. In the past, people thought they were simply genius to come up with this multi-stacking idea because the eggs wouldn't come into contact with the soil and excrement, which means that their merchandise would be cleaner. But in reality, the lack of exercise not only affects the health of the hens, it's also very cruel. There are some modern methods of multi-stacking such as using crates or installing a water pad cooling system. It's really not much of a difference. It's like kidnapping you into isolation then acting like it's an act of god by giving you a bed and air-conditioning.

Floor feeding uses a roofed barn so that the chickens can move around freely and get sufficient exercise. I asked why they didn't choose to raise them free-range. The owner said that there are many migratory birds that come to Taiwan and could have avian influenza. Without a roof, the chickens might contract avian influenza through the excrement of migratory birds and lead to the death of the flock. Floor feeding is an easy way to ensure non-cruelty and the health of both the hens and consumers.

(I've also found some free-range eggs from another store in Taiwan that I am very interested in trying. But the minimum order is 40 eggs, since they seem to be operating directly from the ranch. So please stay tuned until I have more space in my fridge.)

How to Pick Eggs?–How The Eggs Were Processed

When I shop at super markets, I always see different brands labeling their eggs as "washed eggs" and claiming that without any soil residue, their eggs are much more sanitary and therefore superior. So I believed it. However, XieXing does not wash their eggs. Because there is a film on the surface of eggshells which could help keep the eggs fresh and would be removed when washed with water. The soil residue can also help the eggs stay fresh for longer. Which is why XieXing chooses to carefully disinfect all the eggs after collection rather than washing them.

How to Pick Eggs?–The Insides
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Then let's look at what happens once you crack open the eggs. First, pay attention to the consistency. If it's watery, it means that the eggs are no longer fresh. But Mr. Chang also pointed out another possibility: it's really hot in summer here in Taiwan, so the hens might drink more water which could lead to the eggs having a higher water content. However, this should only affect eggs to the extent of having more liquid egg whites. If the egg whites are watery and the yolk breaks easily, it's most likely that the egg isn't fresh. On the flip side, if the yolk is perky and firm when you look from the side, it means that it's extremely fresh. We like our eggs the way we like our boobs. What? Shh...

Then, it's the color of the yolk. The more orange the yolk is, the higher it is in omega-3 fatty acids, which means it is better for your health. Those come from free-range chickens that are eating some worms like they should instead of having grains shoved down their throats. Sometimes, there are occasional floor-fed hens that lay eggs like this because they just like looking for food outside of what they are fed, smart chicken give her a gold star.

Some people think that you can't eat eggs if you have high cholesterol because yolks are high in cholesterol. Actually, your body does not turn cholesterol in your diet into cholesterol in your body. High cholesterol is a result of excessive omega-6 fatty acids. Having more omega-3, good fats, can actually help metabolize omega-6 fatty acids and lower your cholesterol levels. This is why a lot of people take krill oil or fish oil. The reason that most doctors advise patients with high cholesterol to stay away from eggs is because most hens are grain-fed and the yolks from their eggs mostly contain omega-6.

Speaking of which, beef is the same. Grain-fed beef mostly contain omega-6 while grass-fed beef contains more omega-3. So the food that our food eat is definitely important, too. That's why I stay away from U.S. beef in Taiwan. It's not about politics or ractopamine but because most grass-fed beef that are humanely raised in the U.S. are from ranches that trade locally. The beef that are exported to Taiwan are all grain-fed beef from big corporations.

How to Pick Eggs?–Different Types (Breeds) of Eggs
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Emerald Eggs

This is one of XieXing's most special signatures. With their light greenish gray eggshells, these are eggs from Silky Fowls! Those "black-boned chicken" have higher activity levels than other chickens, hence Emerald Eggs contain more protein than any other eggs. Many older people who do not have enough protein in their diets would choose to eat Emerald Eggs instead of regular eggs for the extra protein contents.

Different breeds of chicken, like people with different body types, have different diet plans that are suitable for them. There are different health issues that are commonly found in certain breeds that can be fixed or prevented through their diets. Which is why XieXing has a different formula for each breed of hens.

The grain-fed silky fowls have an addition of seaweed and expensive viable bacteria in their food. Which is not only rarely found in chicken food, but hard to come by even in health supplements for humans.

Organic Eggs

The organic eggs do not come from free-range chickens. As previously mentioned, they are floor-fed. The color of the eggshells come in a deeper reddish brown and a lighter pinkish brown. These chickens are fed grains with pot marigold (calendula) and garlic. The addition of pot marigold makes the yolks far more orange. But I'd like to add that I have no idea if the pot marigold affects the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in the yolk aside from the color.

Fresh White Shell Eggs, Fresh Brown Shell Eggs

This would be the regular eggs that we commonly see. The only difference between brown and white shell eggs is that they come from different breeds of hens, but the taste, texture, and nutritional value is not much different. What's special about the white and brown shell eggs from XieXing is as we mentioned: they are extremely fresh and are all delivered straight from the ranches on the same day.

How to Pick Eggs?–Other Types of Eggs
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Other than chicken eggs, you can't be forgetting duck eggs. Being born and raised in Taipei, I was surprised when Mr. Chang told us that they eat a lot more duck eggs in southern Taiwan. They make fried eggs and braised eggs using duck eggs most of the time. In fact, duck eggs were traditionally more popular in Taiwan and they were slowly replaced by chicken eggs because of Western influence.

Aside from that, XieXing also has uncooked quail eggs! I've never seen a fresh, uncooked quail egg with it's shell in tact in real life. My mom was surprised, too and said that she didn't even know quail egg shells had spots in the past. She said that my grandpa would always buy quail eggs when she was little, but they were always cooked and soaked in water, like the ones you'd easily find at hot pot restaurants around here.

The owner points out that not a lot of stores in Taiwan sell them, but more and more foreign restaurants are opening up in Taiwan, and many French cuisines use quail eggs, so they started selling quail eggs after multiple inquiries.

How to Pick Eggs?–Egg Products

Red Soil Salted Eggs

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Outside of fresh duck eggs, they have a bunch of duck egg byproducts as well. XieXing is most known for their salted duck eggs. Every year, all of the most famous bakeries in Taiwan order salted yolks from XieXing in bulk when Mid-Autumn Festival rolls around. A famous dacquoise cakery nearby, Starway Cake, exclusively uses XieXing's eggs. They also order salted yolks from XieXing and created the special salted yolk sablés breton. It's the perfect fusion of French and Taiwanese pastry.

XieXing's salted duck eggs are made through traditional methods of covering eggs with Yilan red soil and take around 25–35 days to be made. This is very rarely seen nowadays. Most salted eggs are made by soaking duck eggs in salt water and brining it for 10-20 days. But the current owner of XieXing visited the factories that produce salted duck eggs and realized that the brining method creates a lot more food safety concerns. Plus, salted eggs made through the red soil method have better texture and taste. So they persisted in their traditional ways though it is more troublesome and time-consuming, hoping to bring everyone salted duck eggs that are more satisfying and safer to consume.

I don't normally like salted eggs, they usually taste like someone robbed a salt production company and is trying to get rid of the evidence. But XieXing's salted yolks are not deadly salty like the other ones and are super addictive, I honestly can't stop.

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Century Eggs

I know a lot of non-Taiwanese people are terrified of century eggs. But listen, you simply cannot talk about duck eggs and not talk about century eggs. They look scary, but they are delicious.

Have you ever wondered how century eggs are made? Mr. Chang joked that there was an urban legend that century eggs are made from soaking duck eggs is horse urine. Of course, it's not real. Century eggs are actually made through soaking duck eggs in basic solution. Basic as in chemistry, not basic as in UGGs in summer.

A reminder from the owner: if a century egg tastes chemical and especially hard and chewy, do NOT eat it. Does this remind you of anything? Yeah, the egg experiment we all did in science class. After soaking eggs in strong acid for days, they turn into freaking bouncy ball. Do you think you can eat that? NO. So if you get a century egg that resembles that, please definitely do question the food safety and health concerns of it. A lot of century eggs in the earlier days are made from soaking the eggs in strong base and could even result in heavy metal residue.

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XieXing's century eggs are made by soaking the duck eggs in baking soda, tea leaves, and salt solution. They are all led-free century eggs. There are individually packaged Pine-Patterned Century Eggs and Healthy Century Eggs that come in a box of six. There isn't much of a difference between the two aside from the manufacturer. What's special about Pine-Patterned Century Eggs is that there are basic crystallizations that form in the eggs and creates a beautiful pine tree-like pattern.

And I have to mention the Emerald Q Century Eggs from XieXing. I've previously explained in another post that Q means chewy in a good way in Chinese. Those are the only century egg made from chicken eggs on the market. They are made out of the Emerald Eggs from silky fowls and have a bouncier texture than duck century eggs.

How to Pick Eggs?–XieXing Egg: Info
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The owner said that they are also planning on making essence of chicken and desserts in the future.

Currently, they are trying to overcome delivery issues but they are also planning on making their eggs available to order online some time soon. So that people who don't have the means to come to their store can also enjoy fresh eggs by ordering them online and having them delivered to their homes or even to a designated convenience store of their choice. So I'm waiting, just like you guys!

Store name: XieXing Egg

Address: No.2, Alley 172, KangDing Street, WanHua District, Taipei City

Opening hours: Mon-Sat 8:00-12:30, 13:30-18:00

Phone; (02) 2331-0059

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