Have you ever stared at the different eggs at the grocery store and wonder which ones are better?  Does shell color have anything to do with the nutritional value of an egg?  Do one color of eggs taste better than another color? 

 

Egg Colors – What do they mean?

Eggs can come in many different colors.  The most common colors are brown and white.  Other eggs can be cream, pink, blue, green, or even speckled. 

There are different reasons why eggs are different colors.  They are camouflage, protection from predators, and signal individual identity. 

Egg shell color is based on genetics.  Basically depending on the breed of hen depends on the color of the egg shell.  The egg shell color comes from the pigments that each different type of hen produces. 

Other factors that can cause egg shell color change are the chicken’s environment, diet, stress level, and age.  These factors will change how light or dark an egg shell is.  These factors cannot change what the actual color of the chicken egg shell will be. A chicken who lays brown eggs that gets a little older in age, may start laying brown eggs that are a little bit paler. 

Medications can also cause chickens to lay paler eggs and so can disease.  

 

Chicken Breeds

The breed of the chicken decides what color of egg shell the egg will have.  There are some ways you can almost predict what color the eggs will be. 

The first thing to do is to look at the hen’s earlobes.  The earlobe is a small flap of skin under the ear canal, on either side of the hen’s head.  Roosters have more prominent ones than chickens in some breeds.  Looking at a chicken that has white earlobes they are most likely to lay white eggs.  Blue earlobes the chicken will lay blue eggs.  Red earlobes the chicken will lay brown eggs. 

There are some exceptions to this rule.  Breeds that lay white eggs and have red earlobes are Crevecoeur, Dorking, Redcap, and Sumatra.  Breeds that lay blue eggs and have white earlobes are Araucana, and Ameraucana.  And the breed that lays brown eggs and has white earlobes are Pendesenca.  

 

Egg Nutrition

Regardless of the shell color all eggs are similar in nutritional value.  Size, grade, or color do not change the nutrition of an egg.  All eggs are a source of high quality protein, and lots of vitamins and minerals.  The color of the shell does not change the nutrition. 

There are some factors that can change the nutritional value of an egg.  Those are the environment, the amount of vitamin D a chicken can have and the type of feed the hens are given.  The environment, such as a chicken being free range, can increase the nutritional value of an egg if the chicken is given daily access to the outside and sunshine.  Feeds that are enriched with omega 3 fatty acids, or enriched with vitamin D can also cause an egg to be more nutritional than others.  

 

Egg Flavor

The color of the egg does not change the flavor of the egg.  Brown eggs taste no different than white eggs.  What can change the taste of an egg is the breed of the chicken, freshness of the eggs, type of feed the chickens are given, how you cook your eggs, and how you store your eggs. 

Chickens who are given an omega 3 fatty acid enriched food may give off a sulfur taste when the eggs are hard boiled. 

Conventional eggs go through processing and shipping, where eggs from your backyard or local eggs don’t have to go through either of these.  Having the eggs from your backyard or getting them locally may increase their taste due to freshness. 

Storing eggs in the refrigerator may also help keep them fresher for longer.  

 

Egg Costs

Brown eggs still tend to be more expensive than white eggs at the grocery stores.  This is because the breed of hens that lay brown eggs tend to be larger, and tend to not lay as many eggs.  The increase in pricing is because there aren’t as many chickens or as many eggs so they make up for those factors in pricing.  Another reason that brown eggs tend to be more expensive is because they usually tend to be free range chickens or organic chickens, which allows companies to raise the cost as well. 

 

Egg Yolk Color

The color of the yolk has no difference in the nutritional value or taste of the egg.  Yolks of any color are the same.  Double yolks, for some are considered lucky, but in reality it is just a hen who has ovulated twice usually within an hour of the first ovulation.  This is most common in younger hens.  

 

Egg Labeling

When an egg carton says natural, or naturally raised, it means nothing.  There is no definition for this word in the food community. 

Organic eggs are just eggs that have only been fed organic feed.  They are also chickens that haven’t been given any extra hormones, or antibiotics unless the chicken is sick. 

Cage free is not the same as free range.  Cage free means that the chickens aren’t kept in individual cages alone.  They may be kept in a large room or warehouse.  Cage free chickens usually don’t have access to the outdoors. 

Free range chickens have daily access to the outdoors, but are still kept in some kind of barn. 

Omega 3 enriched chickens have just been given omega 3 enriched feed. 

Backyard or local eggs are from local farmers.  These eggs can be better especially if the flock has access to grass, may make the nutritional value of the eggs slightly better.  Backyard or local chickens do not have a standard for hygiene.  So make sure you are buying these eggs from sources you know have good hygiene practices in place for their chickens.  

 

READ MORE:  Nutritional Facts And The Many Egg Health Benefits 


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *