If I had to guess, I would imagine that the most common farm-type animal among homesteaders would have to be a chicken. More and more they can be found in urban settings and it seems that everyone knows at least one person with chickens, and with chickens come....eggs! Fresh eggs are great, but everyone wants a hardboiled egg once in a while whether it's egg salad sandwiches or a farm fresh Cobb Salad with uncured bacon.
To be honest, in a blind taste test, I have zero idea as to the differences between a farm fresh egg and a store bought one. To me, they all taste the same. When I can tell the difference, however, is when they're hard boiled. I can't actually taste the difference, but when it comes time to peel them, the distinction is clear: an older egg sloughs it's shell easily and cleanly, a farm fresh egg is impossible to peel uniformly and half the egg white ends up still stuck to the shell. (If you're curious as to why this happens, a quick google search will let you know.)
So what do you do when you want a hardboiled egg for a snack when you're bucking logs? You could keep a carton of eggs you let “age” in the back of the fridge but that requires planning. The better answer: steam them. I'm not entirely sure where my wife read about it, but if you steam fresh eggs for 20-25 minutes, you'll be able to peel them just like the well seasoned eggs you buy at the grocery store, but without all the planning! There are other techniques, (like a vinegar soak), but so far as we've experienced, steaming them is the easiest thing going.
