Egg Facts

Kat of Our Adventures in Japan posted this picture on her blog of these HUGE eggs that she usually buys in Japan. I was intrigued. What determines egg size? What makes eggs brown? So, I googled it.





Several factors influence the size of an egg. The major factor is the age of the hen. As the hen ages, her eggs increase in size. The breed of hen from which the egg comes is a second factor. Weight of the bird is another. Environmental factors that lower egg weights are heat, stress, overcrowding and poor nutrition.

The color of the shell is determined by the breed of hen. Both brown and white eggs are equally as nutritious.

The white stringy strands inside eggs are called chalazae. The chalazae anchor the yolk in the center of the thick white. They are neither imperfections nor beginning embryos. The more prominent the chalazae, the fresher the egg.

Eggs are a perishable food and should be stored in their carton in the refrigerator. For every hour eggs are kept at room temperature, they age an entire day.

Eggs with a visible blood spot on the yolk are safe for consumption. The spot can be removed with the tip of a knife. Blood or "meat" spots are occasionally found on an egg yolk. These tiny spots are not harmful and are caused by the rupture of a blood vessel during formation of the egg.

The symptoms of Salmonella are abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, chills, fever and/or headache within 6 to 72 hours after eating. The symptoms usually last only a day or two in healthy people but can lead to serious complications for the very young, pregnant women, the elderly, the ill and those with immune system disorders. Anyone who has had salmonellosis may pass along the bacteria for several weeks after recovering, but salmonellosis is seldom fatal.

Raw or hard boiled? Spin them carefully on a countertop. The hard-boiled one spins and the raw one doesn't. This is because the hard-boiled egg is solid so everything spins in one direction, while the inside of the raw egg sloshes in different directions and, therefore, doesn't.

Eggs are inspected and graded according to their freshness and quality. The grading system established by the USDA is AA, A, and B and refers to the egg's exterior and interior qualities, not the size of the egg. Grade AA means the egg has a firm yolk and a thick white, which does not spread. Grade A eggs have round yolks, thick whites, but have more thin whites than Grade AA. If the egg carton is labeled "fancy fresh" this means the eggs are less than 10 days old .