Fried eggs with peppers is a favourite dish of Juan Mari Arzak, one of the greatest chefs in the world and one of the pioneers of New Basque Cuisine. It’s no coincidence. This apparently simple product is a kitchen essential both as the main event as well as an indispensable ingredient for different recipes and is present in the kitchens of the world’s finest restaurants.
We have gone from the simple egg and chips of the 90s to see these products sharing the bill with high quality seafood on the menus in top-class restaurants in Ibiza and Formentera… and also a little further afield. «I learnt to make lobster with fried eggs here and I included it on my menu at Lobito,» the chef Dani García told us on a recent visit to Ibiza.
«In Ibiza it’s normal to keep chickens and country eggs are highly regarded»
In an everyday context, saying you have prepared your Spanish omelette with farmers’ eggs makes all the difference. However, it is necessary to know the origin of the eggs well to avoid health problems. «In Ibiza it’s still very normal for people to keep egg laying chickens in the countryside and these eggs are highly appreciated, resulting in an unauthorised trade» explains Josep Lluís Joan the Agricultural Technician from Consell d’Eivissa’ (Ibiza Island Council).
«Last May, an omelette served at a restaurant in Palma that hadn’t been cooked for long enough, caused an outbreak of food poisoning affecting seven people who had to be admitted to hospital,» the expert added, stating that for this reason, it was only permitted to commercialise eggs originating from duly controlled farms.
Know the origin
Eggs that are often sold in bags or bulk without identification are not only illegal, but are «sold under the innocent image of a farm product where there is a significant risk to the health of the consumer,» he adds.
Ibiza island currently has eight farms authorised to sell eggs
Ibiza currently has eight farms authorised for the commercialisation of eggs, among them the Sa Posta, Ecofeixes and Es Nostro Camp brands, all of which are organic, as well as the conventional farm of Es Fornis. The Cáritas Foundation has the Can Pep Xico farm, where they sell their eggs directly to the consumer.
All the eggs are stamped with the number that first identifies the way the chicken has been raised, according to type: (0 for organic eggs, 1 for free-range eggs, 2 for coop raised chicken eggs and 4 for caged chicken eggs), followed by the country code (ES for Spain) and the code that identifies the farm.
For proper storage, it is preferable to keep eggs in the fridge.
These are farms that follow a salmonella control programme to prevent outbreaks of salmonellosis, which can cause serious infection in people, especially during the summer with high temperatures.
Production for own consumption
«In the case of producing eggs for your own consumption, it is important not to wash them with water, as this removes the protective layer of the egg,» comments Josep Lluís Joan. In addition, eggs are best eaten as fresh as possible, within the first 15 days after laying, although legally it’s authorised to consume them up to 28 days after laying.
It is preferable to store them in the fridge, especially in summer.
The egg in Ibizan history
Traditionally, the houses in Ibiza kept a handful of hens with their respective rooster to provide themselves with eggs and, occasionally, meat. Because of its nutritional value, the egg was highly appreciated and, although it seems strange now, their consumption was very limited precisely because most of them were destined for sale outside the island.
That’s why the eggs were often kept under lock and key and only consumed on special occasions: birthdays of the youngest family members, or festivals (such as carnival, with the truitada, (omelette festival)). «It also had medicinal properties attributed to it and therefore a boiled egg was offered to children with gut problems,» explains the technician.
Lots of eggs are used in traditional Ibizan cuisine, either as main ingredients, in dishes like the guisat d’ous (egg stew) or carnival truitada (omelette), together with sobrasada and bacon, or as an ingredients in sponge cakes or flaó (a local version of a crème caramel).
A healthy product
«Currently, owing to the problems linked to the Western diet and monitoring of cholesterol levels, eggs have been regarded as unhealthy for their high cholesterol content, when they are actually a healthy and highly nutritious product,» explains Josep Lluís Joan.
According to the FEN (Spanish Nutrition Foundation), eggs are high in quality protein. It only contains 84 kcal per unit and is also rich in group B, A and D vitamins. What’s more, most fats contained in an egg are unsaturated.
That’s why the Spanish Heart Foundation recommends consuming between three to five eggs a week.
Is this egg fresh?
We often wonder if the eggs we’ve had for a few days in the fridge are kept really fresh. «A characteristic that identifies a fresh egg is that, when it breaks, the yolk stays firm without breaking,» explains the technician from the Consell d’Eivissa. Over time, the small air chamber at the top of the egg increases in size, which is why when immersed in water the egg does not settle horizontally at the bottom of the bowl but lifts up at one end.