Free range eggs

[Jersey Girl]

Am looking for a place to buy free range eggs. I know I can probably get some at the Scottsdale Farmers Market, but I can't always get there on Saturday mornings.

Does anyone have another option?

 

[Russ Smith]

How far can eggs actually range?

 

[AZZenny]

If you find a non-early morning local source, please let me know?

If you want to pay through the nose, like $6 a dozen, Whole Foods often stocks a brand called 'Vital Farms Backyard Eggs/ PASTURE RAISED' that are better than any of the usual 'cage-free' aka quasi-free range, eggs I've tried. They say the hens live outside, foraging in pastures that are rotated regularly, averaging a 9 x 9' area per hen. That's as much or more space than any home-style hennery I've seen. The eggs are excellent, yolks a deep orangey-gold, although they don't measure up to the 1-2 day old truly backyard eggs I got a few times from a client's family a few years ago.

Since I normally take 2 weeks to go through a dozen eggs (unless I'm in pound cake mode) these are almost worth the extra cost to me. Unfortunately, they're good enough that I tend to binge on 3-egg omelets and poached eggs on ham, mushroom, and potato hash whenever I buy them. Although the shells are quite sturdy, I've noticed they often have cracked eggs in the cartons, suggesting a rather rough method of shipping, so it pays to check the box carefully.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Thanks, Zenny.

I started using Happy Egg (http://thehappyeggco.com/), which I found at Fresh and Easy. They are $5 a dozen, but I am sucking it up.

Haven't been to any farmer's markets recently. I will let you know if I see anything cheaper and/or more local.

 

[crisper57]

Thanks, Zenny.

I started using Happy Egg (http://thehappyeggco.com/), which I found at Fresh and Easy. They are $5 a dozen, but I am sucking it up.

Haven't been to any farmer's markets recently. I will let you know if I see anything cheaper and/or more local.

Fresh and Easy is going out of business nation-wide, I think, so you may want to find a backup plan.

Sprouts has cage-free eggs, not sure if they are fully free-range.

These guys deliver eggs from their farm to Phoenix locations throughout the year. Order through their website.

http://www.cprmeats.com/cprmeats/Poultry_Descriptions.html

And these guys will let you place an order online and then pick it up at their farm in Gilbert.

http://www.luckychickenfarms.com/?page_id=20

This is harder than I thought!

 

[BigRedRage]

fresh and easy is not going out of business, they were purchased and only closed a few stores.

 

[Mulli]

How far can eggs actually range?

Is the range downhill?

 

[crisper57]

fresh and easy is not going out of business, they were purchased and only closed a few stores.

Wow. I don't know how I missed the news about the equity firm swooping in at the last minute to purchase them. So only 7 valley stores are closing. That's good news.