I'm hoping that this can be a re-occurring feature here - things that I think would be useful or have something interesting and pleasant about them - specifically related to food and food things - but that I will probably never have the chance to actually use.
The thing in this case is an ACME Egg Grader:
What is an egg grader you ask? This type of egg grader was used by small egg producers to determine the weight of a dozen eggs. When you put an egg on the scale, the scale reads the number of ounces 12 eggs of the same size and weight would weigh.
This would allow a small egg producer to pack a dozen eggs of roughly the same size and weight.
In this case, 12 of these eggs would weigh 26 ounces. Here's a handy chart of how many ounces specific egg sizes weigh (think jumbo, extra large,large, etc).
Egg GRADES are actually different. Go look at the carton of eggs in your fridge. Most likely, you've got either Grade AA or Grade A eggs. There is such a thing as Grade B eggs, but those usually aren't sold in stores, but are sold to bakeries and food processors instead. What's the difference between grades? Looking at the egg grader, you would think that an egg's grade is determined by it's weight - but grades are about the quality and freshness of the egg - measured in Haugh units.
A Grade AA egg "will stand up tall. The yolk is firm and the area covered by the white is small. There is a large proportion of thick white to thin white." A Grade B egg "spreads out more. The yolk is flattened and there is about as much (or more) thin white as thick white." (And just in case you were wondering, "traffic in eggs is regulated under the federal Egg Products Inspection Act (1970).")
I found this egg grader at a flea market in Pennsylvania, and what I really like about this it actually has nothing to do with eggs. I really like the way it looks, and I makes a really nice sound when you push it up and down.
Obviously, commercial egg concerns use automated machines to sort and grade eggs. Of course, there are a few videos of this on YouTube - I like this one because it's sort of arty and mesmerizing (though I agree with the commenter that they really need to clean their grader!)
Props to whoever can tell me what the eggs spell out at the end.
jajaja "grading eggs by tim". nice article
Posted by: Mauro | Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 10:17 AM