When we first started collecting the eggs from our pasture raised chickens, in the interests of keeping with our zero waste policy, we didn’t grade them. Whatever arrived in the trays was transferred to the cartons and sold to customers. However, partnering with discerning chefs was soon to change our process slightly.

We are so blessed to be supported by and supporting local businesses to do what we all love; share fabulous food with our communities and customers. So when the feedback came from the chef and owner of Chauncy that his recipes were no longer getting consistent results, we wanted to see how we could help. Neither of us thought that the egg size would make much of a difference to how the food appeared. Certainly the taste would remain amazing due to the high quality ingredients, but if social media has taught us nothing else, it’s that the look is equally as important as the flavour when it comes to food.

So we stepped in to start grading our eggs and wow, was it eye opening! While we could visually see that there was some difference in the size, after weighing it became very clear why Louis’ recipes were in trouble. Our eggs regularly range in size from 50g up to 80g! That’s roughly a tablespoon’s worth of additional liquid that might be going into any recipe, so of course it would make a difference.

Eggs in Australia are graded according to average weights of the carton contents:

I’m not sure why they’re referred to as “King Size” when I’ve yet to see a rooster lay an egg . . . (Image source)

In Europe, eggs are grouped into “sizes” by the weight of individual specimen, with the largest being Size 1 (70g or more) and stepping down in size by 5g intervals (Size 2 is 65-70g, Size 3 60-65g etc). Our hatch of the day works out to be roughly 33% less than 63g (Large), 45% weighing between 63-69g (Jumbo) and 22% over 70g (“Queen” Size by our reckoning). Now, not all of that weight is edible, of course, as the shell must be taken into account. But the beauty of fresh pasture raised eggs is that you know the bit that you do eat will be nutrient dense and full of flavour.

But what did this new grading practice do for our zero waste policy? Actually, very little. We don’t waste eggs. Most of our other supply outlets are cafes, and so far they haven’t cared whether or not the eggs are graded. However, if you’re looking to serve a poached egg on toast, my experience is that your customers will be more than happy to receive the whoppers! So by pulling out the smallest for consistency in recipes, we have consolidated the rest into the Jumbo and Queen Size categories and we know that we’re giving great value for price to all our customers.