An egg lover shouldn’t go through life only eating chicken eggs. Duck eggs are a real delight. Larger than chicken eggs, these oval packages contain a higher concentration of fat and cholesterol than their smaller companions but also more omega-3 fatty acids and protein. Their taste is richer and their consistency naturally creamier.
There are a few places to buy duck eggs locally. First, try the farmer’s markets. Clifford Farm and Old Home Place sell some duck eggs at the Downtown markets (Winter Market at the Rio Grande concludes April 20; the Summer Market at Pioneer Park begins June 8.) A few Asian grocery stores about town also carry them, though they are pricey.
Another option is raising your own backyard ducks. It’s about as easy as keeping chickens. They don’t need any special food, just your regular chicken mash (they also love snails). But ducks absolutely need constant access to clean water. They have a tiresome habit of dirtying their water in a matter of hours, so the most time-consuming part of caring for ducks is changing out their water bucket/bath bin twice daily. Check the local IFA for ducklings in the spring, they usually sell a few duck breeds along with chicks and rabbits.
Duck owners can mark the beginning of spring when their quacker starts to hide her brood somewhere behind a bush. The egg hunt is on!
Speaking of egg hunts: The shells of duck eggs are thick, strong and kind of rubbery. This makes them great Easter eggs.
As Easter approaches save your whole duck eggs by pricking the top and bottom of the shell and blowing out the insides. Save these hollow shells for decorating —they will be much easier to handle than chicken eggs and less likely to break.
Katherine Pioli raises ducks in her 9th & 9th neighborhood