In Memorium

I've been feeling out of sorts for a few days now. I realized why when my eyes started tearing up at the farmers market this morning: I would never again see my friend Tom.

Tom Hubric, retired commercial airline pilot, free-range egg farmer, mentor, activist, and insatiable jokester, has been my friend for nearly a decade. He was raising happy hens on Maryland's Eastern Shore before I had ever even heard of free-range eggs, and was one of the original farmers selling at the now prestigious Dupont market. When I started shopping for eggs at the Waterview Foods stand -- gosh, 10 years ago? -- I remember Tom smiling no matter the weather, telling me silly jokes -- sometimes the same joke for three weeks in a row, but I always looked forward to it. We became friends, and during our market chats and periodic phone calls I learned not only more jokes but also about the changing agricultural landscape and policies in Maryland and DC, about the rewards and challenges of raising chickens outdoors, and different ways to enjoy chicken and duck eggs.

After returning from my round-the-country bike trip in 2010, I began to learn more about Tom's work, including his mentoring of Ned and Eileen, a pair of egg farmers transitioning from a conventional to a free-range operation not far from his place in Nanticoke. After a series of calls and follow-up emails, my friend Jeff and I ventured out to the farms to photograph Tom and his protégés for a feature article in  the sustainable farming journal, Acres, USA. When the print issue came out, I'm not sure who was more proud of the other, Tom or me! He continued to encourage me to write, and despite his declining health in recent years remained a mainstay at the market and a thoughtful friend. In recent weeks, his mentee Ned has been helping at the market stand, and today it was only Ned selling eggs....

Tom died this past Thursday, after a multi year battle with cancer. I know his memory will live on within many of us that he has fed -- both intellectually and literally -- during his lifetime. Still, I will miss our chats terribly.

Not exactly walking on eggshells

I’ve gotten quite a food education talking with my main egg supplier, Tom Hubric, over the course of the past few years. He’s shared some pretty thoughtful ideas on things like egg regulations. It’s actually kind of fascinating. And a bit scary. For instance, lthough one cannot legally sell anything less than “grade A” eggs – those less than 40 days old – in Maryland or DC farmers’ markets, there is a bit of a habit of egg farmers from West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania selling mixed sizes of eggs as “unclassified” (no date stamped on the package) and “ungraded” (no uniform size requirement) in DC.

And that’s just at farmers’ markets. I was startled when I learned of the common practice of supermarkets to denote “fresh eggs” as those that had been on the shelf for up to nine months! NINE MONTHS?? Even before becoming a devoted local foodie that shelf life would’ve scandalized me.

In fact, it is standard practice in large-scale operations – aka egg factories – to remove the thin protective coating on the egg (known as the “cuticle” or “bloom”) using a power washer before spraying each egg with a light coating of vegetable oil to seal the egg’s shell. In grocery stores, such eggs usually stay on the shelf from 6 weeks to 2 months before they’re sold… but they can still be sold as “Grade A Fresh” for up to nine months. (Sorry for the repetition here, but I am still flabbergasted.) Tom, in contrast, cleans but doesn’t “wash” his eggs, and because the shells are not made porous by removing the protective cuticle, they could theoretically keep for longer. However, my egg farmer’s wares are consistently grade AA (less than 21 days old, according to Maryland grading standards), and labeled accordingly.

You can read more about Tom (and his mentee farmers, Ned and Eileen – my other favorite local egg farmers) in the February issue of Acres, USA. Yup, next month marks my fourth article for Acres. Guess that makes me officially a food writer. Or something. (Dang, did I not even mention the article on gourmet garlic that I wrote for the January issue? Guess it's tough for us food writers to keep track of all of our writings.)

Should you want to meet these local celebrity farmers and understand what the hullabaloo surrounding farm-fresh, pastured eggs is all about, you can pick up a dozen eggs of your very own, even during the winter months, from Ned in front of Meridian Pint (Feb 4 & 18 from 11am-1pm) or from Tom at the Dupont Circle farmers' market (any Sunday from 10am-1pm). Maybe I’ll see you there. I’ll be the short person bundled up against the winter chill and invariably talking about recipes... including the one for a familiar and much-beloved flourless chocolate torte (using 5 pastured chicken eggs) in the upcoming Acres article....