Equal time for ducks: More on washing farm-fresh eggs

Thanks for all your comments and feedback on my recent post about whether homegrown eggs should be washed. It occurred to me (after the fact, as usual) that when I wrote it, I was really just thinking about chicken eggs. Probably this is because we wash more chicken eggs every day than anything else, and probably also because every single thing I've ever read on the subject of washing eggs referred only to chicken eggs.

As you know, we raise laying ducks as well as chickens. Right now we're collecting an average of 28 duck eggs every day. The ducks have let me know, in no uncertain terms, that they want their moment of Internet fame; their eggs are not the same as chicken eggs, and washing them is also somewhat different from washing chicken eggs.

In my last post, I referred to the "bloom" on fresh eggs. Well, with duck eggs, this bloom is apparently not the same as the bloom on chicken eggs. First, I've found it takes more effort to clean the bloom from duck eggs. The WSDA recommends using a medium sandpaper (100 or 120 grit) to gently clean eggs when warm water alone is not enough.

Also, the bloom on duck eggs has a very distinct, uh, aroma. Even when the eggs look fairly clean, they still have a bit of a barnyard smell to them (I'm trying really hard to be diplomatic; our ducks are very sensitive). This alone is good reason to clean off that bloom.

Duck egg shells are quite a bit stronger than chicken egg shells, which may account for the fact that duck eggs have a longer shelf life. So again, the argument that removing the bloom shortens shelf life doesn't seem to apply.

With laying ducks, keeping the area where they lay eggs clean is just as important as with chickens. It's a little trickier, though, with ducks, as they don't seem all that inclined to lay in nest boxes. They also are quite messy little things, and it takes some effort to keep the bedding in their coops clean and dry. I mentioned that I sometimes find a chicken egg that doesn't require cleaning; this is pretty much never true of duck eggs, at least in our experience.

Our organic duck eggs are sold in the Sequim area at Sunny Farms, Nash's Organic Produce, The Red Rooster Grocery, and at Dungeness Valley Creamery. And of course they are also featured at the wonderful Alder Wood Bistro. If you've never eaten a duck egg, do try ours, if you're in the neighborhood. They are super-fresh, and I swear they're clean.

Farm-fresh eggs: To wash or not to wash

Nice clean eggs, ready to be weighed and packed.

I would not have believed how much strong feeling this particular subject stirs up. Some people assert that eggs should always be washed, preferably sanitized too. Others insist that any washing or cleaning is somehow detrimental to the quality of the egg.

If I tell you what I think, will you promise not to send me nasty e-mails or (horror of horrors) un-friend me on Facebook? Okay, here goes. First let me say that since we got our egg dealer's license in 2008, we have been obliged to follow the guidelines of the Washington State Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Program. I have also done a lot of research on this subject, and I must say I think the WSDA's guidelines are quite sensible.

Because eggs are perishable, and under certain circumstances, subject to bacterial infection, the idea is to collect, clean, dry and refrigerate them as quickly as possible. We use warm water and an old soft toothbrush to clean them. The water should be warmer than the eggs. Why? Because the shell of an egg is porous. The theory is, if there is mud or chicken poop or whatever on the egg shell, and you wash the egg in cold water, the contents of the egg will shrink away from the shell, bringing with it anything lingering on the outside of the shell. Since some eggs have just been laid when they are picked up, and a hen's body temperature is 103°F, we try for a wash-water temperature of around 110°F.

But, you never-wash-an-egg advocates are shouting, washing the egg removes the "bloom!" I know, I know. And I am going to take my social-networking life in my hands and ask you, "So what?"

The "bloom," as I understand it, is some kind of coating that is applied to the outside of the egg's shell right before it exits the hen's body. I have occasionally picked up an egg that has been so freshly laid that it is still wet; presumably this is the "bloom." The argument I always hear about the "bloom" is that removing it results in a shorter shelf life for the egg. First of all, unless that coating is somehow completely sealing the entire eggshell, I don't see how this can be true. Remember that the shell is porous; probably if it was coated thickly with wax or something, the contents of the egg wouldn't evaporate. I don't know what the makeup of the "bloom" is, but I doubt it is actually sealing the egg to that extent. 

And frankly, if simple washing in warm water is enough to remove it, how well do you really think it's sealing the egg shell?

In addition, we deliver our eggs several times a week to our customers. We know they are being consumed when they are quite fresh. So honestly, shelf life is of no real concern to us.

Even if we weren't subject to the WSDA requirements, we would still be cleaning our eggs. Occasionally I see an egg that is so clean that I don't bother washing it. This is perfectly acceptable under WSDA rules. However, I rarely find an egg to be so pristine that it can't be improved by at least a light cleaning. I can see no advantage in leaving mud, chicken poop or bedding stuck to an egg, for fear of compromising the "bloom." And since we are talking food safety here, honestly now, why take chances?

I was going to call it "The Sustainably-Raised Egg and I," but...

What can I say. I've never been very good at coming up with names for things.

However, it is now official: my first book, "Pure Poultry: Living well with heritage chickens, turkeys and ducks," is on its way to being published! The manuscript is now in the capable hands of New Society Publishers, a British Columbia-based company which specializes in "Tools for a world of change, books to build a new society." They have an impressive book list. Take a few minutes to check it out on their web site.

Have you read Betty MacDonald's 1945 classic "The Egg and I"? It's the hilarious tale of how Betty, at age 18, marries Bob, a man 13 years older, whose dream is to run a chicken ranch. He buys an off-grid piece of property in the Chimacum valley, not far from Port Townsend, WA. It's quite an adjustment for Betty, who isn't nearly as thrilled as Bob at having no electricity or running water in the house. She perseveres, though, having been raised to believe that if her husband can do what he really wants to in life, he will be happy and therefore she will be happy too.

I recently re-read The Egg and I, while I was in the middle of revising the first draft of Pure Poultry. This time, somehow I noticed things about Betty and Bob's experiences that closely paralleled those of David and I. Our farm is off the grid. It's located only about a 45-minute drive from the Chimacum valley. We're surrounded by the beautiful Olympic Mountains. Bob was certainly more knowledgeable about poultry than we were when we got started, but still, like us, he evidently had plenty to learn.

Betty, who died in 1958 at the age of 49, was a very witty writer. Her humor reminds me a lot of Erma Bombeck, whose books I have loved for years. Although she has many moments of feeling lonely on their isolated ranch, Betty has a way of describing the mountains, trees and even the clouds as if they were living things. I love her use of language.

We don't have colorful neighbors like Ma and Pa Kettle here, and our egg operation is tiny compared with Betty and Bob's. Still, there is plenty of humor and real-life experience in Pure Poultry. We certainly share some of the challenges of living off the grid, although I'm thankful to say that our wood stoves don't misbehave like "Stove" in The Egg and I. And in case you're wondering, we do have indoor plumbing and running water.

Pure Poultry is a memoir of our first five years of raising heritage chickens, turkeys and ducks. There is plenty of advice and tips based on our experiences, but I believe that you will enjoy reading it even if you don't raise poultry. It might inspire you to start a little food garden in pots on your apartment's deck. Maybe you'll connect with a friend in the suburbs who has chickens and is willing to barter for fresh eggs. And if you do decide to start raising poultry, I hope that Pure Poultry will convince you to think about choosing beautiful, sustainable heritage breeds.

Time-sensitive material: Call for submissions!

If you follow me on Facebook, you already know that I recently received a draft contract for my first book. It stipulates a tight time schedule: the finished manuscript is due on February 1, 2013. Obviously I've got my work cut out for me in January, especially since our business taxes and the renewal of our organic certification are also due by the end of the month.

When I originally was planning my first book project, I was envisioning the possibility of including first-person anecdotes from people who grew up around heritage-breed poultry. I would love to hear your stories, or even stories you might have heard from your grandparents or other relatives. Particularly valuable would be stories dating to before World War II; this was before modern production hybrids were generally available.

I have a great anecdote from my mother, who grew up on a farm in Illinois. She was quite young during the war, but remembers that virtually everyone had chickens in those days. Her family raised New Hampshire Red chickens for eggs and meat. The "egg money" from farm egg sales was an important supplement to many families' income during the lean war years.

This is the kind of story or recollection I'm looking for: location, type of poultry, what purpose they served (food, money, etc.). Please contact me through Facebook (Victoria Redhed Miller) or post a comment on this blog with your contact information if you'd like to submit a story for possible inclusion in my book. Don't wait too long, though; I'll need to hear from you no later than January 10, 2013.

Thanks a lot, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Chicken broth and meat: Making the case for pressure canners (Part One)

We slaughtered some chickens yesterday, and we'll be doing more Monday morning. The roosters we slaughtered yesterday are all between 1-1/2 and 2-1/2 years old, so they're definitely stewing birds (I feel a pot of coq au vin coming on...). As my supply of homemade chicken broth is dwindling, and winter is a short step around the corner, my plan is to cook up those 4 birds and can the meat and the broth. The roosters to be slaughtered next are younger, all hatched this spring, but they will probably all be cooked and canned as well.

You may be wondering why I would bother canning the meat and broth rather than freezing it. Well, as you know, we live off the grid. This means (among other things) that we do not have full-time electricity. Our house runs on propane, including a small propane refrigerator. How small? A total of 8 cubic feet, of which barely 1 foot is the freezer. We have about enough freezer space for a couple of ice cube trays and a few packages of meat. Honestly, though, even if we had the space for a chest freezer, I'd be inclined to do without, and stick with canning. Here's why.

In the fall of 2009, I had the opportunity to participate in an intensive training course to be a Master Food Preserver. Part of this course was learning about freezing food. I heard story after story about how wonderful chest freezers were, how you could put so much food in them, how easy it was, etc. I also heard (from the same people) how it was inevitable that some food was thrown away because it had gotten "buried" in the freezer and forgotten. By the time some of this food was unearthed, if the label could still be read, it wasn't unusual for it to be 2 or 3 years old, or even older. Then, fearing it was no longer any good, the person would discard it.

Also, when there is a power outage, there's all that frozen food to worry about. If the power is out for any length of time (think SuperStorm Sandy), and the food thaws, it can quickly become unfit to eat.

So that's one reason for not freezing food: to avoid potential waste.

Another big factor for me is convenience. During these short fall and winter days, it's simply delightful to go to the pantry, grab a jar of homemade minestrone, or spaghetti sauce, or whatever, pop the lid and heat it up. In a few minutes (less for you on-gridders who have such things as microwaves) you have a meal on the table. I also have jars of smoked local tuna, smoked brisket, corned beef, and tongue. If we have leftover baked or boiled potatoes, my husband David loves to cut them up and make hash with smoked brisket. If we're in the mood for chili dogs (see the relevant post on the Canyon Creek Farms blog), it's great to be know there's jars of it ready to heat and eat. You get the idea.

But wait. I know what you're thinking. How do you can meat and fish and chicken broth? I thought you could only can things like pickles and tomatoes and jam at home. Well, that's true, if you limit yourself to canning only high-acid foods. But trust me, if you're really into food preservation, you'd be doing yourself a favor to expand your horizons as far as canning low-acid foods.

Yes, you'll need to use a pressure canner. And yes, I know, you have anxieties about it. I've heard lots of pressure canner horror stories too. Every single one of the stories I've heard seemed to me to trace back to not following directions. It took me a few sessions before I stopped worrying about making a disastrous mistake, but I kept at it, and now I am canning year-round, not just in the summer.

Have you ever used a pressure canner? Would you like to? Please post your comments and questions, and I will be glad to address them on this blog. It's my hope to convince you to get out that pressure canner that's been languishing, unloved, in the back room, or get together with someone who has one, and give it a try. In my next post, I'll go over the process for canning chicken meat and broth, just to give you an idea of how simple --and rewarding--it can be.

I-502: A good example of why you should get the facts before you vote

 [Disclaimer: The following is an op-ed piece. All opinions are mine alone, and unless otherwise indicated, are expressed as generalities. I welcome your feedback, but ask that you please read this article in its entirety before you contact me.]

Two weeks from today, Washington state voters will decide on 3 Initiative measures, 1 Referendum, 1 Engrossed Senate Joint Resolution, 1 Senate Joint Resolution, and 2 Advisory Votes. Of course, there are also a few state and federal candidates to pick from as well, but I really don't want to talk about them right now.

No doubt my position will seem harsh to some (possibly most) of you, but I am frustrated with the apparent ability of voters to be influenced in their choices mainly by advertising. In advertising, he who spends the most wins. And it seems to me that voters are perfectly content to allow someone else to tell them how to vote.

Here's a recent example. If you voted in favor of privatizing Washington State liquor sales, believing that a "yes" vote would result in lower liquor prices, how do you feel about that now? Why do you think Costco spent well over $20 million in advertising in favor of this measure? Because they knew that ultimately it would pay off, in a big way, for them. And look -- it worked. The measure passed, and my favorite Irish whiskey went from about $21 per bottle to about $35. (I've refused to buy it ever since.) Yet most people I know voted for this measure, and it passed by a comfortable margin.

We live off the grid. We have neither a television nor full-time Internet service. We don't subscribe to a daily newspaper, and choose to listen to public radio. Think I feel deprived? I do not. Of course, I'm missing out on all the attack ads, the biased sound bites that conveniently leave out critical details, and the bold-face headlines that purport to accurately summarize the issues (or the candidate's position).

So, you may be asking, how in the world do I make an informed decision when it comes time to cast my vote? Here it is: I read the Voter's Pamphlet. I study the Explanatory Statements, read the Argument For and the Argument Against (and observe who actually wrote those arguments -- very illuminating), discuss anything I'm confused about with someone I trust who won't judge me, and make an informed choice.

I think an example from the upcoming election is appropriate here. Please understand that my intent is not to influence your vote; I simply wish to illustrate the frequently vast difference between the headline (the short description on the ballot, and, incidentally, in the advertising) and the way the proposed law actually reads.

Ask anyone on the street about Initiative Measure 502, and they will likely say, "Oh, that's the one that will legalize marijuana." I have heard one or two ads (when I inadvertently landed on an AM radio station in my car) that emphasize all the new revenue that will gush into the State treasury from related licensing fees and new taxes. They say that too many law-enforcement resources are being wasted on such minor crimes as marijuana possession, and we should be prioritizing those resources to deal with more major crimes and criminals.

[For the record, I don't use marijuana. I've never even tried it. I have no personal axe to grind here. I simply believe this is a badly-written initiative that will set some disturbing precedents if it's passed.]

Here's the headline: "This measure would license and regulate marijuana production, distribution, and possession for persons over twenty-one; remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it authorizes; tax marijuana sales; and earmark marijuana-related revenues."

I was frankly appalled when I read the statement explaining the effect of this measure if approved. If you don't have the time to read the whole thing, please read the "Argument Against" following the Explanatory Statement in your Voter's Pamphlet. It does a good job of summarizing the numerous red flags in this measure; among others, the one detailing the changes to the present DUI laws. And at the very end of the explanatory statement, hanging out there with no additional information, is this amazing sentence: "Federal marijuana law could still be enforced in Washington."

Huh? So, let's say this initiative passes. If you're over 21, you can now legally buy and use marijuana (although you can only buy it from a state-licensed producer, processor or retailer). But wait! Start getting used to looking over your shoulder, because the Feds could swoop in at any time and charge you with a felony. The "Argument Against" further explains that "[I-502] conflicts with federal law, voiding the possibility of any newly-generated tax revenue."

Supposedly the money to pay for the additional administrative costs involved in processing license fees, taxes and penalties will come from these revenues themselves (you know, the ones that are void under federal law). However, in "License Revenue Assumptions", we read: "We lack sufficient data to estimate the number of marijuana producers and marijuana processors who will apply for a license." In other words, the best they can do is guess.

There's a lot more to I-502, and the other issues up for consideration on the November 6 ballot. I believe that voting is a privilege as well as our right in this country, and privileges come with responsibilities. Who or what you vote for is up to you. Whichever way you vote on I-502, for example, please consider carefully exactly why you're voting that way.

What if voters had to pass a test before each election, to show that they understand what they're voting for or against? Realistically, many people simply don't have the time to read the entire text of proposed laws (the text of I-502 goes on, in small print, for over 17 pages). Here's an idea: Turn off your TV. Turn off your iPhone. Pick up the Voter's Pamphlet. If you want to know what you're really voting for or against, you'll have to put in some effort.

As I said, my intent is not to persuade you to vote one way or another on I-502 or any other issue or candidate. As a society, we are far too easily influenced by advertising, even when it comes to issues of civil rights and personal privacy. I'm suggesting we shut out the noise for a minute, and think for ourselves. It's our responsibility.

If you missed the Mother Earth News Fair in PA...

...well, let me tell you, you really did miss out. I hear there were over 15,000 visitors over the three days of the Fair, and the energy and atmosphere were consistently positive. If I'd been swift enough to bring a camera, you'd see one picture after another of smiling faces, families having fun with each other, and altogether a sense of eagerness to learn and connect with other people aiming to live life more sustainably and meaningfully.

As for me, I had a terrific time. The Seven Springs Mountain Resort is quite an amazing place: 5,000 acres of ski slopes, golf courses, tennis courts, indoor swimming pool, even an indoor arcade. I stayed in a large and beautiful condo with three other women: my friend Jeannette Beranger from the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, her colleague Alison Martin, and Pat Foreman, author of Chicken Tractor and City Chicks, among other books. It was lovely seeing Jeannette again, and getting to know Alison and Pat a little was wonderful. I learned a lot just hanging out with these three women, and they all have been generous in their encouragement of my writing projects and ambitions.

My two presentations, one on raising turkeys and the other on raising ducks, went quite well. Considering it was raining occasionally on Saturday afternoon, I was surprised at the crowd that showed up to hear about turkeys. I really enjoy the interaction with the audience; in each of the three times I've done presentations at the Fair, I've learned something new. Even if you raise the same kind of birds that I do, something about your situation or experience will be different from mine, and this is where I think events such as the Mother Earth News Fair are so valuable. There are more and more people who, for various reasons, wish to start taking control of their own food supply, and no matter how many books or Internet pages you read, it's always helpful to connect with someone with  real-life experience. (This, by the way, is just as true for me as for anyone who attended my presentations.)

Thanks to James Duft and those of you at Mother Earth News whose names I don't know, for offering me this opportunity once again. Your generosity in arranging for housing, as well as a ride to and from the airport, is truly appreciated. Thanks also to those of you who attended one or both of my presentations; I loved having the opportunity to share and learn with you.