In article
>
,
Cindy Fuller > wrote:

> In article >,
> Janet Wilder > wrote:
>
> > Mark Thorson wrote:
> > > JW wrote:
> > >> I bought some of these eggs the other day. Never seen them before.
> > >> Mind you, they were close to the best before date, but I've never
> > >> seen dark orange yokes before. Should I be concerned?
> > >
> > > Only if it bothers you that the chickens were fed
> > > marigold petals. This is a common practice in
> > > South America, but it is also practiced in the U.S.
> >
> > Didn't the late Frank Perdue advertise that his chickens ate marigold
> > petals? I seem to recall that from a previous life in the North.
>
> Marigold petals are a source of the carotenoid lutein. Farmers figured
> out that consumers like yellow chicken fat and orange egg yolks.
> Chickens absorb lutein better than beta-carotene. Lutein is the
> predominant carotenoid in the retina of the eye.
>
> Several years ago a former student brought me some eggs from her
> mother's free-range chickens. The yolks were good and dark. In
> addition, the shells were sturdier than supermarket eggs. (She was
> already acing my class on her own merits, so this gift was not a
> kiss-up.)

In my experience free-range eggs are much less likely to crack when
boiled due to the tougher shells.

Miche

--
Electricians do it in three phases