在超市,看到種類繁多的雞蛋,常常不知道如何挑選,只是打開看看,沒有破裂就行。以前聽老人家說過,紅殼雞蛋好,有時也買紅殼雞蛋。今天看了這篇文章,大致上明白雞蛋標籤的含義,想著也許有人和我一樣,所以,拿來和大家分享一下。
A Smarter Way to Shop for Eggs
Epicurious
March 12, 2015
By Sheela Prakash
Are those eggs really 「extra large」? What does an
「omega-3」 egg have that others don』t? Here, we unscramble the jargon.
Shopping for eggs? Better bring a glossary. Egg makers
are slapping all manner of industry terms on their cartons, some of them
meaningful, some of them not.
But where would you find a glossary of egg carton terms?
Right here:
WHITE / BROWN
The color of the shell is simply that: a color. Different
breeds of hens lay different colored eggs, most commonly white or brown but
also blue, green, or speckled. Shell color isn』t an indicator of health or
flavor or quality—but brown eggs are a lot better for Instagram.
GRADE A / GRADE AA / GRADE B
Eggs are graded according to USDA guidelines. Grade AA
and Grade A are practically interchangeable—they indicate eggs that have thick
whites, yolks that are free from defects, and clean shells. Grade B is noticeably
different: the whites are thin and the shells are blemished. You』ll find Grade
A eggs at the grocery store; Grade B is typically reserved for industrial use.
PEEWEE / SMALL / MEDIUM / LARGE / EXTRA LARGE / JUMBO
USDA size standards range from peewee (yes, that』s an
actual term) to jumbo. Most recipes call for large eggs, which is good, because
that』s what most grocery stores carry. (Peewees, which are the size of quail
eggs, are almost impossible to find). Large eggs weigh about 2 ounces and
contain approximately 3 1/4 tablespoons of liquid; extra large eggs weigh
about 2.25 ounces and have about 4 tablespoons of liquid. Thus, if a recipe
only calls for one or two eggs, you can use the two interchangeably with no
serious consequences. (Got a recipe that calls for more than two eggs? Start
measuring.)
ALL NATURAL
This term isn』t regulated by an agency, so anyone can
slap it on their carton and it can mean pretty much whatever the producer
wants—there are no standards when it comes to feed, living conditions, or use
of antibiotics. In other words, this means nothing. Ignore this.
VEGETARIAN-FED
This means that the chickens were fed a strictly
vegetarian diet, which is made up of mostly corn and soybeans. However, this
label also suggests that the chickens weren』t allowed to spend any time outside,
where they would feed on non-vegetarian grub like worms and other little bugs.
FREE RANGE / CAGE-FREE
Free-range means the chickens are not caged and have some
access to the outdoors—though there』s no way of knowing if the chickens
actually go outside and if they do, for how long. Cage-free simply means the
hens are not caged, but they remain indoors. However, there』s no regulation
regarding how much space cage-free chickens actually get.
CERTIFIED ORGANIC
This is the only label that is issued by the USDA. To
earn it, eggs must come from free-range chickens that are fed an organic,
vegetarian diet.
OMEGA-3
A regular egg has about 30mg of heart healthy omega-3
fatty acid, while an egg with this label is fed a diet enriched with fish oil
and flaxseed to have an even higher amount. How much higher? The egg producers
aren』t required to say, so you』ll never know.
CERTIFIED HUMANE
This label is issued by the Human Farm Animal Care. It
means that the chickens are cage-free and were raised with certain living
conditions (a regulated amount of space, etc).