Sure, that one friend of yours with chickens always tells you that their multicolored, all-natural eggs are simply beyond compare — but until you manage to install a coop in the backyard, is it really worth shelling out the extra cash at the store to bring your breakfast from caged to pasture-raised? The answer will, of course, depend on your budget and preferences, but there are definite differences between the two.

Nutritionally, farm fresh eggs tend to have a higher nutritional content, including more vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids, owing both to their diet and methods of preservation. There are also differences in texture and color of the yolk, which can impact flavor, unlike shell color — despite what you may have heard, there is no functional difference between brown- and white- shelled eggs. Because they're preserved differently, there can also be differences in how long store bought and farm fresh eggs last, depending on how you store them once purchased. And of course, beyond flavor differences, some buyers' preference might be based solely on treatment practices for the birds. It's important to note that this varies widely even between, say cage-free versus free-range store bought eggs — so if this is something that's important to you, although buying farm fresh eggs can be a good way to ensure good animal treatment practices, there are certifications and labels that you can use to find ethical eggs even at your local Trader Joe's or Safeway.