Hen Eggs
Hens have been domesticated and used for egg production since at least the early Roman era; today hen eggs are big business, with about 240 million laying hens in the U.S. producing 66 billion eggs every year. But not all of those ova are created equal: Many chefs and foodies contend that eggs from small farms and pasture-raised hens taste far better than those laid by their industrially-farmed counterparts, and that pastured eggs work better in baking, too. And research has shown that hens fed a natural diet lay eggs that are much richer in healthy omega-3 fats and other important vitamins, like beta-carotene (which helps explain the vibrant orange-yellow color of their egg yolks). —Christy Harrison
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