Posted on 03/29/2018 4:55:44 AM PDT by SandRat
PHOENIX — What's the difference between a Grade A egg and one that's labeled Grade AA?
Pretty soon it could be as much as three weeks.
The state Senate this week gave final approval to legislation that allows Grade A eggs to remain available for sale for up to 45 days after they were packed. That's nearly twice as long as currently permitted.
In fact, the cartons for these eggs won't use terms like "sell by'' or "buy thru'' — the language in the current law. Instead they will be marked "best by'' or "use by.''
Consumers who want to be guaranteed something fresher will have to purchase Grade AA eggs. The compromise on what is HB 2464 leaves the current 24-day sell-by requirement in place for them.
But as it turns out, there's a good chance if you're buying jumbo eggs, you won't be able to find them in Grade AA cartons.
All of that goes to the question of what to buy.
"The main difference is the freshness of the egg,'' explained Roland Mader, the dairy and egg specialist at the state Department of Agriculture.
There's nothing wrong with a Grade A egg for many purposes, he said. And, kept properly refrigerated, there is no health reason why not to use one 45 days after packing.
But Mader said there are times when nothing but a Grade AA egg will do.
Some of it, he said, is strictly aesthetic.
You like your eggs sunny side up?
"If you crack an egg and it is a Grade AA egg, the egg yolk stands much higher and the egg white is firmer than a Grade A egg,'' Mader explained. For a Grade A, think of a less pronounced yolk and more watery white.
Ditto on using Grade AA eggs when you're poaching them.
Still, he said, there are times when there are legitimate culinary reasons beyond appearance that someone might want a Grade AA egg.
"If you bake a cake and you want the dough to rise better, a fresher egg tends to be better to use,'' Mader said.
All that will become more important if the legislation, awaiting final House approval and a gubernatorial signature, becomes law.
What's behind all this is a desire by retailers to stop throwing away eggs. And that, in turn, goes to consumer attitudes.
Put simply, she said shoppers check out the expiration date printed on the edge of each carton. And if the date printed on the eggs in the front of the display is within several days, they're more likely to reach further back and get something with a later expiration date.
But what that does, Ahlmer said, is leave grocers with dozens and dozens of eggs that can't be sold after the expiration date and can't even be given away to food banks.
"So we wind up throwing it out,'' she said, estimating that retailers toss about $3 million worth of eggs a year.
Her original proposal would have allowed all eggs to remain on sale for 45 days after packaging.
That, however, drew protests from Glenn Hickman, who runs the Arizona egg ranch that bears his family name. He said that after the 24th day, the eggs just don't meet that Grade AA standard of that firm yolk and egg white.
So that led to the deal to allow retailers to sell eggs packed as Grade A and keep them on the shelves longer.
Mader said he doesn't think that will make a difference for most eggs coming from large-scale operations, as they can get an egg from underneath a hen into a carton in less than 24 hours.
Where it's more likely to occur, he said, is in "specialty'' eggs, like those from small-scale, free-range operations, where the time from hen to carton can take longer.
And about those jumbo eggs: Forget about getting them in a Grade AA carton.
Mader said that has nothing to do with freshness. Instead, it's biology.
"As a hen ages, the eggs get bigger,'' he said. "Because of the size, the protein on the egg white tends to be a little bit more watery.''
He said that can easily be seen when an egg is "candled'' and inspected for its internal contents.
Oh, and, for the record — it is possible to buy Grade B eggs in Arizona.
Mader said these can be eggs that have gone past their expiration date and are repackaged. That currently means older than 24 days, but with the change in law, could mean Grade A eggs older than 45 days.
He also said eggs with some flaws, including cracks, can be sold as Grade B.
In Israel every egg is stamped with date and origin. (Unstamped eggs are frowned upon, though some folks eat ‘em.) Always thought that was an excellent idea. The eggs there are noticeably more flavorful, fresh-tasting like they tasted when I was a boy on a farm... And rarely refrigerated.
Eggs are good 4 to 5 weeks.
Heard that int eh old days, they didn't even refrigerate eggs....kept them in a bowl on the counter.
When I was a bachelor I used to keep eggs so long sometimes I would open the fridge and find hatched chicks in the carton.
If I recall correctly from my friend who has chickens, as long as the eggs aren't washed they can sit out like that. There is a natural coating - I think called the "bloom" - that preserves them. Don't know how long it lasts but it was nice of God to design that :)
Don't do much in the way of baking, but I always let the egg(s) come to room temp B4 adding it/them in. Don't really know if that helps or not...
Emeril Lagasse has always advocated checking your egg cartons before buying. Not for cracked eggs but for the date stamp to assure freshness. I guess that won’t matter much anymore.
When I was a kid, the Grade A eggs were smaller than the Grade AA eggs.
When did that change?
>>”A MAN
A CAN
A PLAN!<<
LOL — been there, eh?
Imagine frozen dinners BEFORE microwaves! Still love Stoeffer’s frozen lasagna to this day.
Why does it matter, in 2000ish the government decided a LARGE EGG, isn’t a LARGE EGG as it has been declared for decades.... 12 “LARGE” eggs now just means all 12 add up to a certain weight, and size has nothing to do with it....
And to my knowledge not one single consumer demanded this, or even likely knew of this change.
We’ve been buying large eggs for years. About a year ago, the “large” eggs got noticeably smaller, although at the same price as the formerly large ones. It seems that that’s being done across the board, with most products.
You can’t use older recipes now. Some recipes call for a can of x-oz. of soup. Now that soup can has fewer ounces. A recipe (Watergate Salad) using a box of pudding has to be modified because there is less pudding in a box.
Heard that in the old days, they didn’t even refrigerate eggs....kept them in a bowl on the counter.
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That is fine if they are fresh out of the chicken, I don’t refrigerate mine ... but USDA regs require that commercial eggs be washed with high pressure soap and water ... that removes a thin waxy outer coating off the eggs... so you must refrigerate them.
“Cuts calories” by reducing the content.
Also it allows the manufacturer to raise prices (by shrinking the size) without the public getting wise.
Open a Kit-Kat pack and get 3 bars instead of 4. That’s a 25% loss.
Some beer bottles are only 11.2 oz.
Remember the bachelor cook’s motto:
Hot grease kills germs.
Turn your thermostat down! it must be setting on 98 degrees in the refrigerator!;-)
In the colonial days before refrigeration people would store eggs in a bucket of water to which a few handfuls of slaked lime had been added. The eggs could be kept fresh and ready to use for up to a year or longer and they did not go bad.
When I was a kid, the Grade A eggs were smaller than the Grade AA eggs.
When did that change?
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Never... grade and size are two separate things.
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