‘Delicious, affordable everyday eating': supermarket free-range eggs, tasted and rate
The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.
When it comes to welfare, forest-reared chickens are the gold standard, so when an egg packer commits to planting trees or providing meaningful canopy cover, as several UK egg brands do, I know the quality is likely to be superior. It's also worth noting that, while free-range chickens gain outdoor access at only 21 weeks, organic hens are allowed out from 12 weeks – an important distinction in their welfare.
This was one of the toughest taste tests I've done so far. When judging egg quality, I look at shell strength, the viscosity of the whites and the richness of the yolk, but freshness affects the albumen, and yolk colour is now largely engineered through beta carotene-rich feeds such as maize, paprika and marigold. Interestingly, the organic options all had classic sunshine-yellow yolks, in contrast to the vivid orange seen in several non-organic brands. A bold, marigold-orange yolk might be striking, but ultimately it doesn't tell us all that much about the egg's flavour.
With freshness varying by the box, I boiled all the eggs and scored them instead on what truly counts: taste, provenance and welfare. If you want the best flavour and nutrition, choose eggs with the longest sell-by date in the store. Just be warned, the fresher the egg, the more stubborn it is to peel when boiled. To overcome this, cool it under running water and peel immediately.
£3.20 for six at Ocado (53p each)£3.20 for six at Tesco (53p each)★★★★☆
Speckled brown shells and deep orange yolks give these Cornish eggs a strong visual appeal. The taste is subtle, savoury and well balanced. St Ewe leads in provenance, sharing producer stories on its website and becoming the EU's first B Corp-certified egg packer, which means it must meet rigorous social and environmental standards. A premium ethical splurge with rich flavour and standout transparency.
£1.80 for six at Waitrose (30p each)★★★★☆
One of the more economical, yet the eggs are high quality. Classic brown shells with rich, orange yolks that are sweet, jammy and full of flavour. Laid by British blacktail hens, these eggs have a loyal following. The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare ranks Waitrose as a tier-two leader, and while no specific farm origin is listed, the breed itself is impressive. Outstanding value with premium taste and trusted sourcing.
£1.80 for six at Ocado (30p each)★★★★☆
Thick, deep brown, speckled shells with glowing orange yolks and the most layered flavour in the bunch – rich, savoury and complex. RSPCA Assured, M&S's egg range consistently offers quality at an accessible price. Its farming standards and welfare credentials are good, and this egg proves it. Delicious, affordable and my top pick for everyday eating.
£3.45 for six at Sainsbury's (58p each)£3.75 for six at Ocado (63p each)★★★★☆
A handsome box of varied eggs, from speckled beige to classic tan, with rich, golden yolks. The flavour is simple but satisfying, with subtle, grassy notes. Certified organic for more than 20 years and Soil Association approved, their maize-enriched feed is completely GMO-free – a key organic standard and a reminder that maize and soya bean feeds are frequently genetically modified. Though on the pricier side, these eggs offer dependable quality with strong sustainability credentials. A solid organic choice.
£3.48 for 10 at Asda (35p each)£4.10 for 10 at Sainsbury's (41p each)★★★★☆
Classic brown shells with a few paler ones in the mix. The yolks are a deep orange-red, thanks to natural feed. Rich, sweet and satisfying flavour, and great for a soft boil or a showy scramble. RSPCA Assured and a two-star winner at the 2024 Great Taste Awards. Freshlay works with independent British farms and makes clear its commitments to higher welfare and free-range standards.
Sign up to The Filter
Get the best shopping advice from the Filter team straight to your inbox. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.
after newsletter promotion
£4.78 for 10 at Asda (48p each) £5.10 for 10 at Tesco (51p each)★★★★☆
A naturally varied box, with shells ranging from white and mottled to classic brown. The yolks are a soft sunflower yellow with a clean, sweet flavour. Purely Organic is the UK's first organic egg brand to be certified carbon neutral. Its farms include forested areas for enriched hen welfare, with clear transparency around its organic and sustainability commitments.
£2.20 for six at Sainsbury's (37p each)£2.20 for six at Tesco (37p each)★★★★☆
Classic speckled brown shells and golden yolks with a lovely, well-rounded flavour. These eggs come from farms that go well beyond the basics, with four times the tree cover required by RSPCA Assured standards and daily enrichment kits for the hens. The UK-made feed is formulated to boost vitamin D, and just two eggs provide roughly 94% of your daily intake. An intriguing initiative.
£2.85 for six at Sainsbury's (48p each)★★★☆☆
Classic, dark brown shells with the palest yolks in the test group – sunflower yellow, but still rich and sweet. RSPCA Assured, with a unique tree-planting initiative: Sainsbury's donates 1p from every dozen sold to the Woodland Trust. A thoughtful, ethical touch, and a product I trust thanks to the Soil Association Organic Certification, which has high standards and rigorous implementation.
£1.89 for six at Aldi (32p each)★★★☆☆
Uniform, dark beige shells with deep, rich orange yolks that look and taste luxurious. The flavour is sweet and full, thanks to the extra-rich yolk. Limited provenance details beyond being British, free-range and RSPCA Assured, though they carry a Great Taste Award. Aldi is known for strong sustainability credentials, giving this affordable option added appeal. Great value for rich-tasting, good-looking eggs.
£1.75 for six at Tesco (29p each)★★☆☆☆
Classic brown shells with a pale yellow yolk (the palest in the test) and a fairly plain flavour. RSPCA Assured and sourced from Northern Irish farms. Customer reviews are mixed, with several complaints about shell colour changes, though the eggs themselves seem consistent. Affordable, but unremarkable.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
28 minutes ago
- Times
Southend airport: four killed in medical transport plane crash
Four people died in the plane crash at London Southend airport on Sunday, officials have confirmed. The Times understands that all four people were crew on the plane, which crashed seconds after leaving the runway at the airport in Essex. Sources said that the pilot and co-pilot were both Dutch men. The medical team was made up of a female nurse from Chile and a male medic, thought to be German. The nurse has been identified as Maria Fernanda Rojas Ortiz, 31, a German citizen born in Chile who was reportedly working on her first day as a 'flight nurse.' One of her friends described her as the 'kindest soul' and said: 'She was so excited for this new job — it was her first day. 'She had a giving heart and was humble, and chose a profession that reflected that. 'She was just lovely. She was outgoing. She was fun. She wanted so much more with her life,' her friend Anna Smith told the BBC. Maria's loved ones were said to have set up a Go Fund Me to bring home her remains to be buried next to those of her father. Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin of Essex police said: 'Yesterday afternoon, an aircraft which had landed here earlier in the day took off bound for the Netherlands. 'Shortly after take off, it got into difficulty and crashed within the airport boundary. Sadly, we can now confirm that all four people on board died. We are working to officially confirm their identities. At this stage, we believe all four are foreign nationals. 'Our thoughts are with the families and their colleagues at this tragic time. I can promise that those who have passed away will be treated with the utmost care and dignity.' He confirmed that the Civil Aviation Authority had put a significant air exclusion zone around the crash site. The airport will remain closed until further notice as air accident investigators scour the site. The twin-engine Beechcraft King Air B200 crashed seconds after taking off at 3.48pm. It was equipped with medical systems for transporting patients and was operated by Zeusch Aviation, a Dutch company that specialises in medical evacuation services and transplant flights, as well as private charters. The plane had arrived from Pula in Croatia and dropped off a patient. It was returning to Lelystad in the Netherlands, where it was based. A spokesman for Zeusch Aviation said: 'It is with deep sadness that we confirm there were no survivors among people on board flight SUZ1. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the victims, their families, and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.' According to the latest filed annual accounts, Zeusch Aviation had 15 employees. The company is owned by Con Zwinkels, a tech millionaire and a former Boeing 747 pilot. He made his fortune with his company Leaseweb and became active in business aviation a few years ago. 'This is a dark day for aviation. We wish those involved strength and our thoughts are with the victims,' said Ton van Deursen, chairman of the Dutch association of small aviation companies. 'Zeusch Aviation is only a small company and the accident has put a lot of pressure on them. This could lead to years of investigation into the circumstances. Business jets are subject to the same safety requirements as airlines like KLM and Transavia. These are closely monitored.' Jude Winstanley, the chief executive of Southend airport, said: 'Our staff are working closely with the emergency services and air accident investigators to support their work. I would like to thank them for all of their hard work during this period.' Lisa Fitzsimons, of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, said that 'it is too early to speculate' on what may have caused the crash. A 'multi-disciplinary team including inspectors with expertise in aircraft operations, human factors, engineering and recorded data' arrived at the crash site on Sunday, she added. Witnesses told of seeing a 'fireball' when the plane crashed. It had banked sharply to the left after taking off before 'nose diving' into the ground at the perimeter of the airport. John Johnson, who was at the airport with his children and wife on Sunday, said that before the plane took off, 'we all waved at the pilots, and they all waved back at us'. He added: 'It took off and about three or four seconds after taking off, it started to bank heavily to its left, and then within a few seconds of that happening, it more or less inverted and crashed just head first into the ground.'There was a big fireball. I'd say that we're pretty shaken up. I just feel sad for the people who were on the plane and, of course, their loved ones and their family. Our thoughts are with them.'
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
The Sycamore Gap felling could help rescue British woodland
James Canton spent two years sitting beneath an 800-year-old oak tree near his home in Essex, watching acorns fatten and butterflies land on the massive knurled grey trunk. Sometimes he sat in the branches a lecturer at the University of Essex, recalls how it helped him feel a "sense of connection". "We're happier sat in an oak tree ten foot from the ground, watching blue tits feeding on caterpillars – involved and immersed in that natural world." He went on to write a book called The Oak Papers about that time spent studying the Honywood years, it was easy to forget that we used to be a woodland nation: around 6,000 years ago untouched swathes of oak, hazel, birch and pine blanketed an estimated 75% of the UK. But in recent months the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree next to Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland has put our relationship with trees, and the natural world more widely, back under the men are due to be sentenced today for the crime that has been called a "mindless destruction". Canton calls it a "symbolic" moment. The felling of the Sycamore Gap has prompted calls for stricter legal protections for trees, not only to help prevent similar crimes in future but also to help the public appreciate the value of trees at a time when many of our woodlands are in poor health and targets for tree-planting are not being met. But even if the government were to back calls for greater legal protections, other questions remain - namely, which trees should be afforded greater legal protection? And arguably even more pressingly: should Britain be thinking more broadly about how to save our depleting woodlands - and is legal protection enough or is a fundamental rethink required? UK's 'odd relationship' with trees The Sycamore Gap wasn't a particularly ancient tree, nor a native species, but its position gave it a totemic status. Tucked into a fold of the hills in an area of outstanding beauty, the tree was famous around the world. People went there to have picnics, propose marriage, scatter ashes and to seek solace during at Northumbria University say the single tree's "dramatic and photogenic setting made it a culturally significant landmark", and it was often used as a symbol of the surrounding Northumberland region. Local people spoke of their sense of devastation at its loss, while Northumberland National Park Authority received thousands of emails, letters and messages. And yet despite being a nation of tree lovers, we live in one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth - while we still aren't planting enough trees, despite calls by successive governments. The UK has 13% woodland cover, compared to an average of 38% in Europe, according to Prof Mary Gagen of the University of been planting more woodland in recent decades, with woodland creation rates much higher now than they were in the 2010s, yet even they remain off track, according to statistics from Forest Research. The target set by the previous Conservative government was to plant 30,000 hectares a year by 2025 across the UK, in line with the heyday of tree planting in the show that 20,700 hectares of new woodland was created in the UK between April 2023 and March 2024, a big achievement. However, this fell to 15,700 hectares over the year to March 2025, largely as a result of a drop-off in planting in Scotland. Rates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland went up – though from a low base. And the woodlands that already exist aren't in great shape. Only 7% of it is in good ecological health, says Prof is among those who think that this all nods to an "odd relationship" with trees – one of "simultaneously adoring and denuding woodlands".Andrew Allen of the Woodland Trust warns there could be a knock-on effect: "While money goes into getting new trees in the ground, we continue to spend very little on looking after the trees we already have - and this risks serious consequences." 'Why would a tree older than Stonehenge go unprotected?'' Ancient trees provide a home to hundreds of different bird, insect and mammal species, yet they have no automatic right of protection. This is unlike some other countries, including Italy and Poland, where so-called "heritage" trees have specific legal UK trees are protected through being in a nature reserve or a site of special scientific interest, while Tree Preservation Orders can be made by a local planning authority to protect specific trees or woodland from deliberate damage or destruction. Yet many fall through the gaps. Only a fifth of our "oldest and most important veteran trees" are in protected areas, says Prof Gagen. Veteran trees are trees that through their own decay act as a habitat for other species, promoting Tree Council charity has written a report calling for greater protections for the country's "most important trees", such as at the Sycamore Gap. The outpouring of emotion and anger after the felling of the tree shows how valued these "socially, culturally and environmentally important trees are", says Jess Allan, science and research projects manager at the the back of a Heritage Trees Bill, introduced in December 2023 as a private members bill in the House of Lords, the charity is calling for legislation to create a statutory list of the most valuable trees and to impose stricter penalties for damaging them, mirroring the system for listed this could protect trees that are much-loved and culturally important because of their place in the landscape, as well as protecting ancient trees that are vital in preserving nature. Jon Stokes, the charity's director of trees, science and research, points out that in Portugal, the maximum fine for destroying a notable tree is €500,000 (£433,000).He says protecting our "most celebrated trees" is a no-brainer. "There are yew trees in this country that are older than Stonehenge – nobody would ever contemplate not protecting Stonehenge so why would a living thing that's older than Stonehenge not receive some protection?"He hopes something positive could come out of the felling of the Sycamore Gap: it's made people realise that some of the UK's trees are "truly vital to our culture and heritage and history – and our biodiversity - we should be looking after them better than we are at the moment".The Tree Council's report is currently being assessed by the government, but there is no date on when any decision will be released. 'You can't stop reckless acts' There are some who believe legal reforms are not enough. Even the proposed new measures might not have saved the famous sycamore: its felling involved trespass onto land owned by the Northumberland National Park. And a Tree Preservation Order wouldn't have made a difference either, says Sarah Dodd of Tree Law in Barry, Wales, a law firm that specialises in legal issues involving trees."Ultimately, you can put all the protection you want on trees, but some people are just going to break the law, you can't stop some people doing some reckless acts," she says. The bigger question, she says, is how we get people to appreciate the value of trees and therefore not want to fell them. She hopes that giving trees special legal status will raise their profile, and therefore make people recognise their Stokes, of the Tree Council, says if we are to maximise the biodiversity value of our trees we've got to celebrate and protect the old ones. And we need to build up new trees next to our older ones, so that wildlife can flow "from these ancient bastions into the new woods and hedges and individual trees that we're planting", he says.A recent report by the Woodland Trust found that the current health of our woods and trees is "concerning", and proposed solutions include more woodland creation, better woodland management, agroforestry (combining agriculture and trees), ancient woodland restoration, and natural flood management, whereby trees are planted to slow down water flow. Difficult choices ahead This will not be easy and Prof Gagen of Swansea University says saving the UK's woodlands is a complex problem that demands difficult choices around building."Unfortunately, for most people if asked if they'd like more new, cheaper housing or faster transport, or to protect nature, they are going to sacrifice a woodland," she says there is a need to ensure people are aware of the "true value of nature"."A single big tree in the right place is providing thousands of pounds worth of carbon store, flood protection, free air conditioning, habitat, wellbeing provision, pollution control and a hundred other benefits, and no one is asked to pay those costs if the tree is felled for development. That needs to change to save UK woodlands." As for Canton, he stills visits the Honywood Oak near his home, and is involved in projects to turn around the fortunes of the "forgotten forests", areas of ancient woodland that were historically turned into timber plantations and now need to be hopes that years from now we will have learned from the loss of the Sycamore Gap tree and others like it, and changed our attitude."I'd really like to think that in a generation's time, there will be rights for trees – trees that are over say 100 years old that you cannot do this, and you get much worse punishments than currently exist," he says."Hopefully in time we will gradually get there – our society is naturally catching up with our natural emotional connection with the natural world."Top image credit: Joe Daniel Price via Getty BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. And we showcase thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. You can send us your feedback on the InDepth section by clicking on the button below.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed for the first time in the damning words of the Family Court judge, the litany of violence, drugs and selfishness that show in horrifying detail why Constance Marten and Mark Gordon... should NEVER have been parents
From the dock of the Old Bailey, Constance Marten repeatedly insisted that she and Mark Gordon were good parents. 'There is literally nothing I would not do for my children,' she said, adding: 'Mark and I love our kids more than anything in the world.'
