It's January.  Everyone is in need of some sun and feeling frugal.  Carbohydrate consumption is at an all time low after indulgent festive feasting.  Thankfully, British eggs, one of the cheapest sources of protein and rich in vitamin D, will see us through.

Britons eat 31 million eggs every day and you can see why.  They are so utterly versatile.  An egg is the noblest of ingredients whether as a key component of a dish or as a meal in its own right. Regardless of what time of year it is, what is more comforting than a beautiful soft-boiled egg with soldiers? In winter there is nothing more delicious than a poached egg oozing over some smoked British haddock and mustard mashed potato, or in the summer months, hard-boiled egg scattered in slices over a salad, the yolk flame orange and tender.  When I was a child and would complain that there was nothing in the house to eat, my Granny would exclaim “There is always eggs”.  Nothing could be truer! Scrambled egg is the epitome of fast food and pancakes are great fun to make and eat.

Ensuring the eggs you consume are British should be of utmost importance.  Eating a Scotch Egg made with a Spanish egg surely defeats the point. The knowledge that your egg is fresh and was laid not that far away in good welfare conditions is fundamental to its taste.

If you are concerned about exactly where your egg comes from, the best thing you can do is buy it from the farm gate. Eggs bought directly from the farm cost only slightly more than standard supermarket ones.  Alternatively buy eggs from farmers' markets or your local butcher and interrogate the vendor about the eggs provenance.    If you are looking for British eggs from specialist breeds look for Araucana, Ebony Penhale, Chaucer Gold, Speckledy, Columbian Blacktail, Burford Browns and Black Rock. Companies such as Clarence Court puts the name on the egg box of the variety of chicken that reared them.

If you are buying your eggs from the supermarket, scour the packaging – the more information the better.  Don't just be content with a photograph on the box of chickens in a rural idyll.  The first thing to look for when buying eggs away from a shop is the British lion mark.

The British Egg Industry Council has just launched judicial review proceedings against the government for its refusal to ban the imports of illegally produced battery cage eggs.  An EU ban on battery cages came into force on 1 January.  British farms have invested £400m in phasing out battery cages and nearly all British lion-marked eggs now come from colony cages.  Recently the press has reported that a further 30 British farms still need to convert but Defra has assured that they too will be compliant by Febuary.  However, producers in 13 other EU countries have not fully complied with the new ban.  The government has said it will conduct checks of shell egg imports but has no plans to verify imported egg products or products containing eggs such as quiches and scotch eggs.  So it remains up to the consumer to verify where the eggs in the ingredient list have come from.

British egg farmers have been lobbying the catering trade for some time to stop using imports.  The red lion logo does not simply mean that the egg is British and not produced in a battery cage. It also means that a chicken that has been vaccinated against salmonella laid it.  Salmonella is directly connected to intensive farming systems and the Food Standards Agency has reported a serious problem in the catering trade with the use of imported eggs that are contaminated with salmonella.  The remedy for ensuring British eggs are used in ready-made products and sauces lies, it seems, with the consumer.  So, if you are concerned that a ready-made meal or sauce may contain imported eggs then don't buy them and see it as a challenge to make the product from scratch at home.

To assist you with your British egg purchasing - free range means no more than 11 un-caged chickens per square metre indoors or 1,000 hens per hectare outdoors.  Soil Association standards for organic eggs insist on no more than six hens per square metre.  There is a myth that the darker the yolk the better the flavour.  In fact, the colour of the yolk reflects the breed and/or feed and has no bearing on the flavour.  The taste of the egg is dependent on a balanced diet that includes vegetable protein.

Of course chickens aren't the only egg layers. Duck eggs have the same issues of welfare as chickens plus ducks need access to water for swimming not just to drink.  So for 2012 resolve to be extra vigilant in ensuring your eggs are British, whatever form they come in. And don't forget to pass the message on.

For the British Egg Information Service website [click here]
For British egg recipes [click here]
For what to think about when buying British eggs [click here]

This month, The Sauce tests out Delia Smith's Traditional English Custard…

The Sauce

Delia Smith's Traditional English Custard

• What ingredients did you use and how readily available were they?
  
  • 1 vanilla pod - I already had this in my store cupboard
  • 3 large egg yolks - bought from my local farm shop
  • 10 fl oz double cream - bought from my local farm shop, from the local dairy.
  • 1 oz caster sugar - I already had this in my store cupboard
  • 1 teaspoon of cornflour -  from the store cupboard


• What was the sum total cost of this meal?
  £3.45


• How many people did it actually feed?
  A jug of custard served 8 people.


• How long did it take and how easy was it?
  When I first saw the recipe I was a little overwhelmed. It seemed really complicated and I re-read it a couple of times before I fully understood what I was going to do.  It seems as if no time passed before I was at the final stage and whisking all the ingredients together over a low heat.  I found that part the most rewarding and exciting. It probably took 20 minutes from start to finish.


• What did you and your guests think of the sauce?
  Really comforting and delicious.


• Would you cook it again?
  Definitely.  Everyone was really impressed that I had made my own custard, to go alongside an apple crumble I had made.  By making it myself, I guaranteed that that the custard was made with British eggs.

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