Egg prices are beginning to come down in my area. (keeping fingers crossed this trend holds)
About a week ago, Walmart had their 60-ct cases of Great Value eggs priced at $26 -something. Today, those same cases were $24.60 (works out to $4.92/dozen). Last week, Fred Meyer had a dozen Kroger large eggs for $7.49. Today, those same eggs are priced at $6.49. Our other grocery chain is Safeway/Albertsons. Their eggs are even more expensive at $6.99/dozen. These are historically high egg prices for ordinary white eggs.
Chickens have to be cage-free in my state. But that's not the same as pastured chickens (much more expensive eggs). Cage-free chickens may still spend their entire lives indoors, never seeing actual sunlight. So these egg prices are for the least expensive eggs in my stores.
This morning I shopped at a small NW chain grocery, Town & Country. They're not terribly convenient, but they do carry some items I can't find in my local stores and they have a nice gift section. (I was shopping for a gift for someone today.) I've become obsessed with egg prices lately. So of course I checked the egg cooler there. T & C tends to be on the pricey side for many items. Imagine my surprise when I saw eggs priced at $3.99/dozen for cage-free brown eggs. $3.99 per dozen is a fabulous price on eggs for my area right now. It gives me hope that eggs will be even more affordable as we inch closer to spring. I bought 1 dozen eggs while there this morning.
I had used my last fresh egg over the weekend. So I was glad to find the T & C eggs today priced so favorably. The plan is to use the frozen eggs that we have on hand, with an occasional fresh egg when I only need one at a time or need a hard-boiled egg for something. I searched through the various freezers and found 32 frozen eggs. They're spread out between 6 containers of 4 to 6 eggs each. I can make these eggs stretch for perhaps 6 weeks, using 1 container per week. I'm hoping that the price of fresh eggs will be lower when I've exhausted my frozen supply.
As I judiciously use the eggs I have, I'm using egg substitutes in baking and cooking as much as possible. I made pancakes Monday morning, substituting 1/2 teaspoon additional baking powder plus 1/4 cup of applesauce for the egg in the recipe. The pancakes turned out really well. I've baked no-egg cookies as well as this no-egg cake for my family in recent weeks. I'll give no-egg waffles a try this Friday morning. It goes without saying, having an egg for breakfast is off limits for now, unless it's a special day, such as this coming Valentine's Day.
What are egg prices like in your area this week? Have you noticed any price trends, up or down, since late-January? Have you tried any no-egg or less-egg recipes lately?
