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Ever Wonder Why Some Eggs Are Brown?

  • Spence Cooper
  • March 27, 2012

No matter the color, eggs are inexpensive, high in protein, and contain only 70-80 calories each.

As Blanca has pointed out, egg yolks — while feared for high cholesterol levels — should be revered for their richness in minerals, vitamins and fats.

The lecithin in the yolk acts an emulsifier, enabling the creation of sauces such as Hollandaise. Corn feed can give the yolk a yellower color.

Blanca adds that egg whites, or the albumen, the nutritive and protective gelatinous substance surrounding the yolk, contains more than 50% of the protein in the egg as well as riboflavin — “a great option for those who need to watch their cholesterol while obtaining their protein requirements.”

The shell of the egg is made of calcium carbonate which protects against microbes and maintains internal egg moisture.

The color of egg shells depends on the breed of the hen. There are white, brown, blue, and speckled chicken eggs.

According to the Huffington Post, “White-feathered chickens with white ear lobes lay white eggs and red-feathered ones with red ear lobes lay brown eggs.”

Brown eggs are more expensive because the chickens that lay brown eggs are larger than those that lay white eggs and their feed costs are higher. No matter what color the egg shell, nutritionally there is no difference.

Chicken eggs come in different sizes. For example, bantam eggs come from a small chicken breed and are half the size of a conventional chicken egg. Their eggs can be a variety of colors — white, brown, blue or green depending on the breed of bantam chicken.

Refrigeration

This may be surprising to many, but eggs need not be refrigerated. Blanca has lived and traveled to may other countries in which people never store eggs in a fridge.

“I keep my eggs away from the sun in the coolest place in my kitchen. They keep for about a week and I get better results when cooking. You can always test for freshness by placing the egg in water to see if it floats. If it does, the egg should be thrown out. Eggs will absorb smells, so keep them away from strong smelling foods.”

These are some of Blanca’s favorite egg recipes. You will find some basics as well as some more complex recipes:

Ever Wonder Why Some Eggs Are Brown?Scotch Eggs

Mock Eggs Benedict

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

Changua

Croque Madame

Spicy French Toast

Avgolemono

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