On my tour of Whole Foods, I found something that wasn’t a bargain but sure was notable for its local goodness which is in fact why many people shop there.

The store’s culinary specialist and local product forager, chef Holly Dion, said of this product, “They are the jewels of our dairy section.”

They are Azuluna eggs and they are light blue, and their yolk is 5 percent richer than that of other eggs, so they produce a creamier flavor. Supplying them to Whole Foods at University Heights is Pine View Farm in North Scituate, and the chickens are raised by Frank Martinelli. The eggs cost $2.99 for six.

“When these eggs are in the store, they are the only ones I buy,” said Dion. They impart a richer texture, she noted.

Martinelli explained he has about 75 hens bred from Araucana chickens, a rare poultry breed that originated in Chile. But he said the flavor profile isn’t simply because of the breed, “but the way we raise them.

“I let them out daily and they are pasture-raised, they are pecking at whatever is on the ground,” he said. “Every night I lock them in because of predators.”

“It’s basically raising them the way they were meant to be raised,” he said. They are given no antibiotics.The Araucana is not as domesticated as Rhode Island Reds, and they fly higher than any New England bird,” he said. He also has another 75 brown-egg laying chickens.

But the creamy Azuluna egg has spoiled him.

“I can only eat eggs at home now,” he said.

Martinelli works with the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Mass. and Dr. George Saperstein who was integral in breeding the Ameraucana chickens as they are called in America. It’s part of a program aimed at bringing family farmers added revenue streams by changing the way they raise livestock and market their products. He founded Azaluna Brands to bring the eggs (and locally raised veal and other meats) to market.

After a year with the chickens, “I can’t keep up with the demand,” Martinelli said.

Mark and Deb Derby also raise the Araucana chickens on their farm in Harrisville and supply the Whole Foods store in Providence on Waterman Street, said Ted Kolota, marketing director for Azuluna Brands. On Saturday, they will begin supplying the Whole Foods Market in Cranston as well.

Azuluna Brands is in the process of finding more farms and farmers who want to raise the chickens on the natural diet, which contributes to the flavor. The success of the Martinelli and Derby farms is encouraging.

Kolota agreed with Martinelli that raising local chickens outdoors on a natural diet makes all the difference.

“They are eating bugs and grubs which is why their eggs taste so good,” he said. “They have access to a natural chicken diet.”

Eggs labeled as cage-free may only mean they come from chickens living indoors and eating traditional chicken feed, said Kolota.

Johnson & Wales University did a tasting test, working with Tufts and the Azuluna eggs, said Steve Shipley, director of development at J&W.

His verdict: “They are absolutely amazing.”

“When you first look at them, they really are blue. But what’s unique is the yolk content,” he said.

The taste too was remarkable, he said.

“We made everything from sunny-side eggs to custards and the creamiest crème brulee you ever had in your life,” he said.

With such a high yolk content, you could also reduce the amount of eggs in the recipe and cooking times are less, he said.

Ultimately, Kolota said Azuluna Brands is “trying to bring back the egg man.”

The nutritional profile of the eggs differs slightly from brown eggs with a bit more cholesterol, fat and calories but slightly less sodium. But Kolota said the values are within the margin of error for calculating nutritional values.

Learn more at www.azulunabrands.com.

gciampa@projo.com