The Chicken and the Egg : When Was the Last Time You Had a Really Fresh Egg? : Eggs: They don’t get better with age. But you can preserve quality and taste by proper storage.

There are a lot of things I like about my friend Paul’s hens. I like the way they look, especially the Anconas with their white-tipped black feathers, which give them an almost Art Deco quality. And I like their biological efficiency--it’s wonderful to see them turn Japanese beetles into both food and fertilizer.

But what I like best about Paul’s hens is that there are so many of them. As a result, I get lots of fresh eggs.

I mean genuinely fresh eggs, only a day old--eggs from hens that enjoy air and exercise, hens that eat greens as well as grain, so the yolks are bright yellow and flavorful. Scrambled, these eggs attain such a delicious creaminess that more than one overnight guest has sworn that I added a secret ingredient to the breakfast skillet, when there was nothing in it but Paul’s good eggs and butter.

So tasty are these eggs that one of them, soft-boiled, makes a perfect snack with no embellishment other than a little salt. These eggs seem to improve the quality of any dish made with them.

Are they really better than those laid in a windowless barn full of cages and conveyor belts? It would be difficult to set up a fair contest. The home-grown egg is bound to be fresher than its mass-distributed counterpart, and freshness is pretty much the whole ball game where quality is concerned.

Certainly, there is little nutritional difference. Regardless of what chicken it comes from, a large egg provides substantial amounts of most of the micronutrients essential to health, as well as six grams of protein, in a high-quality, easily assimilated form, making it close to a perfect food.

It wasn’t always considered so. The high-cholesterol content of eggs caused many scientists to warn against eating more than three eggs a week, and taking that advice to heart, Americans gave up eggs in droves, cutting their consumption in half since the ‘70s.

Recently, estimates of cholesterol in eggs have been revised downward, from 274 to 213 milligrams. (Some evidence suggests that happy hens may lay eggs that contain less cholesterol.) Studies have shown, however, that eating eggs does not raise blood cholesterol in people with normal levels, and most nutritionists say that the saturated fat we eat, not the cholesterol, is the thing to watch.

Although the egg yolk contains about six grams of fat, about two-thirds of that is unsaturated. “If your blood cholesterol is reasonable or low, you can probably eat more than four eggs a week without any problem. I wouldn’t see anything wrong with an egg a day, though two eggs might be too much,” says Lynn Carew, professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Vermont.

The thing to be immoderate about is freshness. When a fresh egg is broken onto a flat surface, it stands up, with the yolk above the white, which is cohesive and inclined to stay in one place. As an egg ages, the white thins out and the yolk slouches. In an old egg, the yolk actually rests against the shell.

But there is no reason to let eggs get that old; there are too many good things to do with them. The first day or two after a delivery, I eat eggs plain, sauteed in butter or, most often, poached in the soup of the day. A fresh egg poaches effortlessly in just about any liquid, staying nicely rounded and plump with no trailing flags of white.

I also use the fresh ones to make berry brulee or French vanilla ice cream--doubly smooth because the yolks inhibit the formation of ice crystals. Avoid hard-cooking eggs that are less than three days old, since they are nearly impossible to peel.

To help eggs stay fresh as long as possible, you should store them at 40 degrees, a temperature at which they will stay usable, albeit not splendid, for as long as five weeks. The warmer they are, the faster they deteriorate.

Eggshells are porous and absorb odors easily, so keep eggs in their cartons at the bottom of the refrigerator ( not in the door) so they are protected from strong-smelling foods. The wide end of the egg contains the air bubble, so store eggs with this end up for longest life.

To test for freshness, simply lower an egg into a bowl of cold water. A fresh egg sinks to the bottom and lies on its side. As the egg shrinks with age and the air bubble expands, the wide end starts to lift. An egg that stands on its nose or that barely floats is still fine for general cooking, but I wouldn’t use anything more buoyant than that.

Lovers of good food who would enjoy cooking with fresh eggs can try roadside stands, farmers’ markets or natural-foods stores. But if all else fails, put up a sign in a local feed store and you may find a back-yard producer, like my friend Paul, with eggs to spare.

This makes a rich, light, golden bread.

EGG BREAD

1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon water

2 packages dry yeast

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

3 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon salt

6 to 7 cups unbleached bread flour

1 egg yolk

Dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar in 2 cups tepid water in bowl. Sprinkle yeast over surface and let stand 10 minutes or until frothy. Whisk in eggs, butter, oil, remaining 1/3 cup sugar and salt.

Using wooden spoon or dough hook of electric mixer, gradually beat in enough flour to make stiff dough. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead, adding remaining flour as needed, about 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. If using mixer, kneading may be completed in bowl by machine.

Place dough in lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise about 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down.

Divide dough in 3 portions and roll each into 30-inch long rope. Braid ropes together and place loaf on lightly oiled baking sheet. Pinch ends together to form ring. Cover and let rise about 1 hour, or until doubled.

Beat remaining egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and brush half of it over loaf. Bake at 375 degrees 20 minutes. Brush remaining egg mixture over loaf and bake 20 minutes longer or until surface is golden brown and bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on rack. Makes 1 large loaf.

Of all the international egg-bound vegetable dishes, this simple potato, onion and egg mixture is perhaps most appealing. Served hot, cold or (best) warm, it is a popular snack, lunch or hors d’oeuvre in Spain.

TORTILLA ESPANOLA

1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

7 large eggs

Heat oil in heavy, 10-inch non-stick skillet over low heat. Add potatoes and cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add onion and continue cooking 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently, until potatoes are tender but not browned. (They will begin to break apart.)

Remove potato mixture from skillet and drain in strainer, reserving 4 teaspoons oil. Transfer potato mixture to medium bowl and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Wipe skillet clean.

Beat eggs with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper in separate bowl. Add to potato mixture and mix well. Heat 2 teaspoons reserved oil in skillet over low heat. Add potato-egg mixture and spread evenly across pan. Cook 5 minutes until omelet is browned underneath and firm enough to turn. (It should still be slightly soft in center.)

Invert plate same size as skillet over omelet and turn out onto plate. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to skillet and slide omelet back into skillet. Cook 2 minutes longer, or until underside is brown. Omelet should be firm but moist. Transfer to platter and serve hot. Makes 6 servings.

BERRY CREME BRULEE

3 cups whipping cream

8 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries or blueberries

1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

Heat whipping cream in saucepan over medium-low heat until steaming. Whisk egg yolks in separate bowl along with sugar. Gradually whisk in hot cream and vanilla. Skim off foam. Divide berries among 8 (3/4-cup) ramekins. Pour in warm cream mixture.

Place ramekins in 2 large shallow baking pans. Gently pour boiling water into pans to halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake at 350 degrees 40 to 45 minutes, or until edges are set and knife inserted in center comes out creamy. Remove from water and let cool on racks. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight or until chilled and set.

Fill 2 shallow pans with enough ice cubes to surround ramekins. Nestle custards among ice cubes. Pat surface of each custard dry with paper towel. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over top. Broil in broiler 2 to 6 minutes, or until sugar bubbles and turns dark brown. Chill, uncovered, at least 10 minutes or up to 3 hours. Makes 8 servings.

This version uses eggs that have been cooked and so meets current safety recommendations.

EGGNOG

4 cups nonfat milk

2 large eggs

2 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/4 cup dark rum or brandy, optional

Freshly grated nutmeg

Heat nonfat milk in heavy saucepan until steaming. Whisk together eggs, egg whites and sugar in bowl. Gradually whisk in hot milk. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, 4 to 6 minutes, or until custard thickens enough to coat spoon. Do not overcook or custard will curdle.

Immediately remove from heat and pour through strainer into bowl. Stir in vanilla. Cover and refrigerate overnight or until chilled.

Before serving, pour 1/2 of custard into blender. Add 2 ice cubes and 1/2 of rum. Blend until frothy. Pour into glasses and sprinkle nutmeg over top. Repeat with remaining custard and rum. Makes 6 servings.