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Why are some egg yolks so orange?

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Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#21
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because store bought eggs are not fresh.

Not fresh is an understatement in many parts of the world. In the U.K., it’s up to 60 days - and in the U.S., it’s common for eggs in grocery stores to have been laid 6 months previously.

I get nauseous eating most store bought eggs, and it took me years and a couple of Reddit threads to realise this was the reason, as opposed to an allergy or whatever. Buying fresh I never have a problem.

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#22
post #4

I have a few ex-battery hens and what I now view as a good egg is one you can crack into a pan of boiling water and it holds together, giving you a perfect poached egg in a couple of minutes. Store bought eggs tend to fall apart in water.

[deleted]

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#23
post #18

A brand in the UK called Clarence Court started producing a range of eggs (maybe a decade ago?) that have an intensely orange yolk [1] and this became a real differentiator, in some ways an indicator of quality. I know when an egg is Clarence Court in a restaurant for instance (and have confirmed numerous times). They are also delicious eating. The effect is so profound that supermarket own brands have now also start…

I buy these regularly but i always though it was down to the specific breed of chicken, in Clarence Court's case the use of a Burford Brown.

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#27
Extra bit of trivia: the article mentions that southern Europe prefers darker orange, and indeed it's not uncommon in Italian to hear the egg be divided in "bianco e rosso" (White and red).

In recent years it seems the yellow color has become more common though.

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#28
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because store bought eggs are not fresh.

Not fresh is an understatement in many parts of the world. In the U.K., it’s up to 60 days - and in the U.S., it’s common for eggs in grocery stores to have been laid 6 months previously.

Do you have a citation for this? I find this to be surprising given that I have heard the exact opposite: That efficient supply chains lead to eggs too fresh to easily deshell when hard boiled.

When I had my own hens I would deliberately age the eggs I intended to hard boil.

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#29
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because store bought eggs are not fresh.

Not fresh is an understatement in many parts of the world. In the U.K., it’s up to 60 days - and in the U.S., it’s common for eggs in grocery stores to have been laid 6 months previously.

Wow, 6 months?! Why? Supply is pretty continuous, can keep them pretty much anywhere (even if there was just one county in one state suitable for rearing hens.. you could post them to any other faster than that?), what introduces such delay?

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#30

Extra bit of trivia: the article mentions that southern Europe prefers darker orange, and indeed it's not uncommon in Italian to hear the egg be divided in "bianco e rosso" (White and red). In recent years it seems the yellow color has become more common though.

I have seen eggs marketed specifically for pasta making which were darker orange to guarantee yellower pasta.
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