Eggs 101: 5 Must Know Egg Facts

 

I literally can not have enough eggs in my life – for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even as a snack.  Eggs are delicious, protein-packed, cost-friendly, and most importantly very versatile.  They can be prepared in so many different ways, found in so many dishes, and used by all cultures all over the world.  Although I’ve eaten my fair share of eggs, I realized that I didn’t really know much about them.

 

Eggs Un-shelled

1. Shell color doesn’t matter

Wait, what? Aren’t brown eggs healthier?  But they’re brown? I mean brown rice is healthier than white rice, right?  For years, I always opted to get the brown-shelled eggs thinking that they were healthier.  Actually, the color of the shell does not affect the nutrient value of an egg.  The only difference between white and brown eggs is the breed of the hen laying them. 

 

2. Yolk color doesn’t matter either

Similar to the shell of an egg, the yolk color also has no significance on its health benefits.  In fact, the color of the yolk will depend on what the chicken feed contains.  Side cool fact: World-Famous Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill Farm actually feeds his chickens red peppers to produce a red-yolk and it is beautiful.  I’m sure it tastes just as good.

 

3. Yolks and eggs whites both have nutrients in them

For years, I always thought that the yolk had ALL of the bad crap, and the egg whites had ALL of the good stuff.  But in fact, both have something to offer.

• In the whites: more than half of the protein, sources of selenium (antioxidant), Vitamin D/B6/B12, minerals such as zinc, iron, and copper
• In the yolks: more calories and fat than the whites, a source of cholesterol (some cholesterol is okay for you, so don’t worry), fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K

If you want to learn more about the nutrients and the good cholesterol in eggs, I would recommend reading this article by Healthline, Top 10 Health Benefits of Eating Eggs.

 

4. Blood spots are OK!

I always had a mini freak-out whenever I saw blood spots on my eggs.  However, blood spots are totally fine.  They are simply the result of a blood vessel popping.  They are completely harmless and will not affect the taste or the quality of your eggs.

5. Is it fresh?

If I was ever unsure of an egg’s freshness, I always did the sink or float test (sink-good, float-bad).  However, there are 2 other ways you can check an egg’s freshness:

1. the more prominent the chalaza is, the fresher it is.  Chalaza what?!? The chalaza is the twisted white membranes attached to the yolk of the egg (pictured below).  You’ll also notice that if the chalaza is present, the whites will have a thicker consistency.
2. a plumper yolk, a fresher egg.  If you crack a fresh egg, that yolk is nice, round, and plump. However, an older egg will have a flatter yolk and its whites will be thin and runny.

 

Hope you learned some cool things about eggs.  Let’s get crackin’!