On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 17:59:15 -0500, jmcquown > wrote:
> Preface: I don't have access to free-range eggs. There are no farmer's
> co-ops or anything like that near me and I've never seen them in the grocery
> stores near me.
>
> I went to buy some large eggs. I always open the carton to make sure they
> aren't cracked or broken. I noticed in every single instance, random
> checking of the cartons, all the *large* eggs appear to be quite a bit
> smaller than usual. Has anyone else run across this? Any idea why?

I've had the same experience, but the difference in size
doesn't appear to be consistent. When I've bought cartons from
different sources, one Extra Large will definitely look smaller on
average than the other. No idea why. I always assumed that grading/packing
was not a foolproof process and that there'd be natural variation in size.

Oh, and I'd be surprised if there were genuinely no free-range
eggs to be found near you. Wild Oats would certainly carry them, and
they're generally found in many natural/organic health food places.
Looks like these aren't that far away from where you a

Wild Oats
5022 Poplar Ave.

Good Life-Natural Health Foods
3175 Poplar Ave.

Honeysuckle Health Food
734 Mt Moriah Rd.

Midtown Food Co-Op
2158 Central Ave.

Square Foods Natural Market
2094 Madison Ave.


Organic/natural foods are a lot more commonplace than they used
to be, even in regular grocery stores. Having only tried free-range
eggs once or twice, I can't really vouch that they'd be any more
consistent in size than the ones you recently purchased. But they're
most definitely available in your area.

Ariane