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Why are some egg yolks so orange?

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Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#161

Post by drost »

js2 wrote: post #98
TecoAndJix wrote: post #57

I got five chickens last year and now have more eggs then I know what to do with (so we give a lot away). Everyone that has them says they are so much better and I have wondered if that is just due to them being able to see the chickens and their home. It is near impossible to hard boil the eggs they lay because the “membrane” (layer between the shell and egg-stuff) is so thick. The yolk is a darker yellow as well. I…

I recently started using a pressure cooker (instant pot brand) to make hard cooked eggs. I use a 4 minute cooking time, instant release the pressure, then plunge the eggs right away into cold water to stop their cooking. Even fresh eggs peel perfectly.

I poach eggs for breakfast in my InstantPot. 3 eggs for 5 minutes on steam. I've found that eggs with orange yolks tend towards a jammy texture, but yellow yolks tend towards a drier texture.

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#162

Post by jjeaff »

taneq wrote: post #143
steeps wrote: post #17

J. Kenji López-Alt has a bit in his Food Lab book where he explores the effect of yolk colour on taste. Paraphrasing, the takeaway is that people generally perceive redder/deeper yolks as more flavoursome, but if you remove this factor (with food colouring, say), then people can't tell the difference. He summarises this in a twitter thread: [1] [1]: https://nitter.net/kenjilopezalt/status/1176542696724320256

Reminds me of the studies which show that wine connoisseurs are describing the colour, not the taste, of the wine. I've always found this highly suspect because I guarantee anyone who drinks wine regularly could fairly accurately judge what price bracket a wine came from, at least within a factor of 2-3. You could mistake a $10 wine for a $15 wine or vice versa but a $50 wine is noticeably different.

That is not in line with the blind taste tests I have seen. The vast majority of people not only can't pick out the more expensive wine, they also tend to prefer the cheaper wines.

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#163

Post by euroderf »

xd wrote: 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.

As a kid I raised chickens and in the morning I could wait in the coop for an egg to drop. This egg always stood up in the pan. All fresh eggs stand up. The whites in store-bought eggs tend to be watery and spread out quickly, indicating that they've been sitting outside the chicken for an extended period.

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#164

Post by jgerrish »

stickfigure wrote: post #146
TecoAndJix wrote: post #57

I got five chickens last year and now have more eggs then I know what to do with (so we give a lot away). Everyone that has them says they are so much better and I have wondered if that is just due to them being able to see the chickens and their home. It is near impossible to hard boil the eggs they lay because the “membrane” (layer between the shell and egg-stuff) is so thick. The yolk is a darker yellow as well. I…

Kenji covered hard boiling eggs with scientific rigor: https://www.seriouseats.com/the-secrets-to-peeling-hard-boil... We have backyard chickens and hard-boil a lot of eggs. The biggest effect on peel-ability: Start with boiling water, do not start the eggs in cold water. For years I started with cold water because that's what Alton Brown said to do in Good Eats. And for years the eggs were a pain to peel. When I rea…

I've been stuck in Egg Hell for years, and old cookbooks and Good Eats (which is so great and engaging on so many other topics).

And it was the Internet that just now added more votes for pre-boil and peel-ability.

Cool Internet, Cool.

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#165

Post by ipaddr »

tastyfreeze wrote: post #117
wincy wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My friend had some eggs from his chickens in his backyard and I was surprised I didn’t like them as much as the Happy Egg Co. Heritage Breed eggs I buy at Sprouts. The eggs are $8 a dozen and the only eggs I’ll eat now. Everything else tastes off. Maybe the flavor is from the breed of chicken? The eggs are brown and blue. They definitely have the same hard boiling issue with a strong membrane. I want it to be placebo…

Dude get some chickens. My cost per dozen is around $3 at current feed prices and 60% laying rate. If you feed them your kitchen scraps the feed cost is even lower. The eggs you get that dont peel well are fresh. Less than 2 weeks old. Home grown eggs are the same way until they age and dry out a bit.

How long do they keep producing eggs and what do you do with the chickens after?

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#166

Post by ipaddr »

TheSoftwareGuy wrote: post #120
twic wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The eggs are $8 a dozen [...] and I spend a few hundred a month on them You eat over 300 eggs a month?

It’s not that crazy the more I think about it. If he has a spouse and 2 kids (so 4 people in this house), and each person eats 3 eggs for breakfast everyday for 30 days that’s 360 eggs

That could become a health issue if this is longterm.

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#167

Post by ncmncm »

drost wrote: post #161
js2 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently started using a pressure cooker (instant pot brand) to make hard cooked eggs. I use a 4 minute cooking time, instant release the pressure, then plunge the eggs right away into cold water to stop their cooking. Even fresh eggs peel perfectly.

I poach eggs for breakfast in my InstantPot. 3 eggs for 5 minutes on steam. I've found that eggs with orange yolks tend towards a jammy texture, but yellow yolks tend towards a drier texture.

When poaching eggs in water the usual way, a tablespoon of vinegar in the water keeps them together, not scattered all over the pan.

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#168

Post by datguacdoh »

TheSoftwareGuy wrote: post #120
twic wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The eggs are $8 a dozen [...] and I spend a few hundred a month on them You eat over 300 eggs a month?

It’s not that crazy the more I think about it. If he has a spouse and 2 kids (so 4 people in this house), and each person eats 3 eggs for breakfast everyday for 30 days that’s 360 eggs

also other cultures eat many savory egg dishes as well that makes egg use outside of breakfast quite common. my family of 4 goes through about that many eggs because of many lunch and dinner egg dishes we eat. I've been personally shocked by how many eggs we go through a week, but buying flats at local farmers markets has helped quite a bit.

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#169

Post by tastyfreeze »

ipaddr wrote: post #165
tastyfreeze wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dude get some chickens. My cost per dozen is around $3 at current feed prices and 60% laying rate. If you feed them your kitchen scraps the feed cost is even lower. The eggs you get that dont peel well are fresh. Less than 2 weeks old. Home grown eggs are the same way until they age and dry out a bit.

How long do they keep producing eggs and what do you do with the chickens after?

They will keep producing their whole life. However, production drops way off after 3 years. My wife isn't keen on butchering or I would make soup with old hens. I have some freeloading birds right now that will get to live out their life while only giving me manure and an occasional egg. When they die they become compost.

I do keep dual purpose birds in the event that food supplies require a sacrifice to feed my family. It costs a little more to feed heavier hens but the security is worth it.

Re: Why are some egg yolks so orange?

#170

Post by Mikeb85 »

steeps wrote: post #17

J. Kenji López-Alt has a bit in his Food Lab book where he explores the effect of yolk colour on taste. Paraphrasing, the takeaway is that people generally perceive redder/deeper yolks as more flavoursome, but if you remove this factor (with food colouring, say), then people can't tell the difference. He summarises this in a twitter thread: [1] [1]: https://nitter.net/kenjilopezalt/status/1176542696724320256

I mean, you can definitely tell the difference between, say, a mass-produced egg and one from a naturally raised chicken. The latter often has more orange-y yolks. That being said, some large-scale producers add stuff to the diet to get more orange yolks and some naturally raised eggs aren't super orange so yes, colour alone doesn't mean much.
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