Getting back to large eggs

[Moopheus]

I also question when the "Large" egg became the standard in recipes.

I don't know when "large" became standard, but I do know that the USDA standards for egg sizes were set in mid-1950s. "Large" eggs are defined as a minimum of 24 ounces per dozen eggs. I have some older commercial ice cream books that cite an average of "usable edible content" of a dozen eggs as being around 18 ounces--which doesn't seem inconsistent with a "medium" whole egg of 21 ounces per dozen. Clearly not calling for what we call a large egg. Which suggests that people were, indeed, expecting that a normal, average egg would be smaller than a large egg. I don't remember the last time I saw "medium" eggs in the store--I wasn't paying that much attention, but I'd be reasonably sure it was within the last five or ten years.

[Darienne]

Our house has this special library section in the bathroom.

Just looking at the verso of my new potato book, a gift from a friend, Potato: a celebration of the world's most versatile vegetable. Alex Barker & Sally Mansfield, Hermes House. London. There's a note stating that all recipes use medium eggs unless otherwise stated.

[annecros]

I have a recipe tucked back that calls for "butter, the size of a hen's egg" - hand written and probably dating back to the turn of the century.