The Difference between Brown Eggs and White Eggs

[Caribbean girl]

Most people seem to believe that brown eggs are the best ones to buy. There is a belief that they are better for you than white eggs. I have, however, learned that white eggs have the same nutritional value as brown ones. The only difference lies in the size of the egg; the white ones are usually smaller than the brown ones. The reason for this is that they usually come from the white-feathered fowls who are smaller than their brown dark-feathered counterparts. The larger brown dark-feathered birds lay the bigger eggs - the brown eggs. This is also the reason why the brown eggs are usually more expensive to buy than the white ones.

I was also of the opinion that the white eggs were more fragile and would break easily, while the brown eggs had a harder shell. Apparently, this is not the case.

I have eaten both brown and white eggs, but the brown ones are what I always buy these days. I don't think there is any difference in taste between the two though. Maybe I will start buying the white ones again sometimes, since they do sell at a more affordable price. Which ones do you usually buy and why?

 

[DancingLady]

I have no idea why people think brown eggs are better. Brown egg laying hens seem to be the more common variety of hens chosen by organic egg farmers and many people who keep their own chickens, but really the egg is as healthy as what the chicken eats, regardless of color.

One thing that you can tell about an eggs nutritional value is that if the shell seems thin to you when you are cracking them open, the hen did not have enough calcium in her diet. This is a sign of low nutrients in the egg as well, because generally a calcium deficient diet is also low in many other things, basically they are probably using cheap feed, therefore the eggs are cheaper and less nutritious.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I have done a little digging into this one and in know in the UK at least that the myth surrounding brown eggs started soon after all the salmonella issues back in the 80's iirc.

So some facts:

• The color of brown eggs is a natural pigment placed by the hen on the surface of the shell during the final stages of egg formation.

• The two different colour egg shells also have more or less the same shell thickness. The differences in shell thickness has to do with the age of the chicken - young chickens lay eggs with shells that are typically harder than older chickens’ eggs, (I think it is fair to assume as mentioned above this is most likely a calcium issue but not necessarily one of poor diet)

• white eggs are most often laid by white or light coloured hens with white ear lobes, while brown eggs are most often laid by red-feathered or brown / dark-feathered chickens with red ear lobes. (This is not a universal truth, just a general rule. Further, the chicken’s ear lobes are really the indicator here, not the feathers, but there is a very strong correlation between ear lobe colour and feather colour, so feather colour can be a decent indicator too.)
• Red-lobed chickens tend to be larger than their white-lobed counterparts, which is why they eat more. The farmers need to get reimbursed for the extra feed somehow, so they up the price of the brown eggs.
• Chicken eggs aren’t all brown and white. For instance, the Araucana and Ameraucana, rare breeds of chicken, actually lay “Easter eggs”—light blue and light green eggs. Both breeds originated in South America and were likely the cross between a few other blue egg-laying breeds.

 

[Caribbean girl]

One thing that you can tell about an eggs nutritional value is that if the shell seems thin to you when you are cracking them open, the hen did not have enough calcium in her diet. This is a sign of low nutrients in the egg as well, because generally a calcium deficient diet is also low in many other things, basically they are probably using cheap feed, therefore the eggs are cheaper and less nutritious.

Well this is very interesting. I never knew that the thickness of the egg shell had anything to do with the nutritious value of the egg. The problem is that when purchasing eggs, it is not always easy to tell whether the shell is thin or not. It is only when actually cracking open the egg that it is discovered how thin the shell really is, so that is when we will know whether it has a lot of nutritious value or not.

 

[sorrowscall]

I normally buy the white eggs because they are the ones I can bake most easily with. They also happen to be the dozen that I can afford on my budget. Though I do feel like the brown eggs has a slight bit more substance to them when cooked. However, that's more than likely my stomach or mind overcompensating for the fact I haven't had them in a while when I do eat them.