Foodies will have noticed that towards the end of 2009 duck eggs reappeared on the menus of several top end restaurants and were featured by various celebrity chefs including Jamie Oliver, Delia Smith and the Hairy Bikers.
However, a survey of 13 supermarkets carried out by Watercress Lane found just three listing duck eggs, and, out of those, only two were actually stocking them and even these only had them at selected stores (survey data is available on request).
The Norfolk based company is now targeting high street retailers by launching a major marketing campaign to take advantage of consumers’ appetite for new and innovative products by promoting duck eggs’ affordability, superior flavour and, because of their alkaline content, health properties.
Watercress Lane is the UK’s leading producer of duck eggs, supplying more than four million each year to the wholsesale, retail and catering trades. There is room for significant growth and the company aims to achieve this with the help of its high-profile publicity push to establish duck eggs as a more commonplace food.
This growing interest in a gourmet alternative to the everyday hen egg is a reflection of both the public desire for a more flavoursome and individual product and of the capability of producers such as Watercress Lane to provide duck eggs of a consistent quality and condition throughout the year.
Duck eggs are packed with vitamins and minerals - a single egg provides around 15% of the adult protein recommended daily allowance. Though similar to hen eggs, their larger size and slightly deeper flavour makes them especially useful in baking. Custards and meringues made with duck eggs are richer, creamier and tastier and cakes have a superior texture and hold their shape and moisture far better.
The production facilities at Watercress Lane have been developed to ensure that its eggs are fresh, safe and consistently delicious. Watercress Lane breeds and farms Pekin Ducks (a special strain) for egg production and currently manages 28,000 birds producing over 10,000 dozen eggs per week.
Eggs are collected manually and shipped the following day after washing and drying. They are all sanitised, rather than bleached, in order to preserve the integrity of the eggs’ thicker shells and ensure a longer shelf life and are hand inspected, candled and graded prior to delivery.
As there is currently no duck
egg equivalent of the British Lion quality mark Watercress Lane has developed its own ’Blue Duck’ standard to guarantee the quality, freshness and safety of the eggs and the welfare of the ducks, which are managed in accordance with the RSPCA’s ’Freedom Foods’ code of conduct for hatcheries.
Duck eggs are versatile and tasty cooking ingredient, from a simple fried egg to a delicious palova, but are often perceived as a novel addition to the more run of the mill kitchen staple.
By hatching plans to make duck eggs more available on supermarket shelves, Watercress Lane will be giving consumers a real choice for their cooking, dietary and fast food requirements. If some of the country’s top chefs believe in going to work on a duck egg, then why can’t everyone else!
