"Did you know that the size of the yolk stays the same no matter what the size of the egg. Is it time we fell out of love with large eggs?
Many of us don’t think twice about buying large or very large eggs. They’re popular among cooks, with lots of recipes calling for them. Industry experts agree greater popularity of boxes of mixed-weight eggs would be good for farmers because it would prevent smaller eggs being devalued. But some campaigners argue it would benefit chickens too. What are the issues and should you worry?
Chickens naturally lay eggs in a variety of sizes, often producing small eggs when they’re young and increasing in size as they age. Eggs are graded by weight into four categories – small, medium, large and very large – with large and very large being the most popular in the UK.
“When it comes to eggs, size matters”, argues Jane Howorth, founder of the British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT), which is behind a campaign to raise awareness of welfare issues it believes are associated with large and very large eggs in the UK. It is campaigning with the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA), whose CEO Robert Gooch says almost half the eggs their members’ free-range hens lay are large or very large.
Poultry veterinarian Ian Jones explains that in a commercial environment many hens are encouraged to lay larger eggs through selective breeding, their feed, and the number of hours of light they get. The large eggs some lay can cause stress and lead to health problems and even death, he continues. Jones says he regularly sees chickens that have consistently laid medium eggs over their lifetime look better and healthier than those laying “just two or three grams more – it’s almost obvious, they’ve worked less hard, and produced something that’s easier for their bodies.”
No conclusive research has been conducted into the connection between large eggs and health in chickens, so it is difficult to draw conclusions. Jones says all chicken farmers are aware of the issue. “I can consistently relate to having more health and welfare issues in hens with a larger egg size”, he explains. He’s embarking on research about the relationship between hen mortality and egg size.
But Andrew Joret, chairman of the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC), which represents the interests of the UK’s egg industry, says “we do not believe that egg size has an impact on the health and welfare of the vast majority of hens. Today’s breeds of hen have a good body weight and are robust, meaning that they are able to lay eggs of all sizes without any welfare issues.”
Nonetheless, Joret agrees mixed-sized boxes are the “most helpful for the farmers, as they can manage the demand and supply more easily”, and notes they are often the best value option in the supermarket.
Benefits of smaller eggs for farmers and cooks
Some chefs and food writers have decided to eliminate large eggs from their recipes. Food writer and president of the Guild of Food Writers, Orlando Murrin, has taken them out of his new cookbook, explaining “small and medium eggs have numerous all-round advantages”, including to farmers, who don’t have to sell small eggs at a discounted cost if they can sell boxes of mixed eggs. There are benefits for the cook too – yolk-lovers may prefer a smaller egg as the size of the yolk stays the same no matter what the size of the egg.
How to weigh eggs for cooking
The weight difference between each egg size category is about 10g – a medium egg (in its shell) weighs between 53-63g, a large egg 63-73g. “It will make little difference to the end dish to substitute medium eggs for large ones, but for recipes that require several large eggs (more than four), add an extra medium egg”, advises Joret. Murrin agrees that you often won’t notice the difference, but he advises if you’re making meringues, you weigh your egg whites and add the equivalent amount of sugar.
It’s easy to adapt your approach to suit the eggs you have. Weigh them and check the results against the British Egg Information Service’s scale to work out the difference. If you’re baking and have slightly less egg than specified, you can make up the shortfall with milk, oil or even mashed fruit where appropriate."
Above words from article here
Related Post
American Egg Sizes : Read it here
We do like eggs in our house and I usually purchase free range medium size.
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All the best Jan
All the best Jan
43 comments:
This was so very interesting and a much needed education. Well done. I learned so much.
I'm so glad there are people and organizations that care about the welfare of poultry and animals. I really hate suffering of any kind and am often worried about chickens in very small cages. I seldom buy eggs as they are not my favourite thing to eat but when I do buy them, mainly for baking and the odd salad, I just buy regular sized eggs. I think that means medium though they often look small.
Uy no lo sabía gracias por compartir. Te mando un beso
...interesting, we buy large eggs and the size of the yolks seem to vary.
I agree, interesting post.
I don't know what the regulations are here in America for grading egg sizes. I do know that eggs labeled large are small, as in any smaller, they'd fit on a tablespoon. Extra large eggs are also small.
This is totally new info to me, thanks for sharing this with us. I will definitely be buying smaller eggs from now on!
Very interesting. In Canada we keep our eggs refrigerated, and tend to get large eggs. Did not know the yolk was the same size!
I never knew that. I had three hens for years and the largest hen laid the largest eggs. I assumed her egg laying parts were larger than the egg laying parts of the small hen who laid small eggs.
Eddie this is a wonderful post. Lots of great info here. In my house we eat a lot of eggs and being in the US we do keep them in the fridg. Have a nice evening.
Free range is much more important to us than the size of the egg. I don't think that mixed boxes are even available in stores here. I will look. Thank you.
An interesting article. I usually buy medium eggs but always free range.
Interesting article. I just make sure I buy free-range eggs. Valerie
That's very interesting I usually buy medium eggs and will continue to do so I never even thought about large eggs and the impact on the poor hen laying them but it makes sense when you think about it.
The eggs in England with that bright orange yolk taste so good. I am American and when I visit England , I enjoy the eggs as much as Fish & Chips! Also, my Dad had chickens and he used to give me eggs from his "pullet" hens, I think he called them? The eggs were small and no one wanted them. I loved them, I would just use another extra one one baking or made up the difference in applesauce or olive oil. Sure miss my Dad and his joy at giving away eggs from his chickens.
In the store they are not cooled, but I do at home (salmonella).
I take care to buy eggs where they state the males are not killed. Hm. Who knows?
Now that all is interesting.
I buy everything small, including eggs. Small is tastier, healthier.
I remember staying at a place in India where we used to get large eggs which had 2 yolks in each egg. They were more expensive than the normal eggs.
I've used the smaller eggs in recipes and never noticed any difference.
I never knew that yolks were the same size. I usually purchase large eggs because that's what most of the recipes call for. However, I've noticed the large eggs aren't as large as they once were.
That's an interesting post about eggs. I typically buy large eggs because I eat the white only. I have a yolk intolerance.
I was taught that "egg" in a recipe meant "large egg". I've substituted extra-large but never smaller. Interesting. Thanks.
Interesting about egg size. I knew that in baking size/mass can matter, but I didn't know about the breeding to geting different size eggs. Thanks for sharing!
Very interesting! I will suggest to our grocery buyer (my wife!) that medium eggs are OK. I usually microwave eggs for 35 seconds in special little containers with a screw-on top. I think that's the healthiest way - no cooking medium.
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Interesting info, Jan. I never knew that the yolk is the same in the different sized eggs. I usually big large eggs.
Interesting and informative post..Thanks for sharing..Have a Happy 4th..
I didn't realise that the yolk was the same size - it's definitely the best bit! Take care and have a great weekend, Sue xx
Really didn't know that!
Very interesting information. I usually buy large or extra-large eggs. We live at a high elevation and when I bake the larger eggs add much-needed moisture and volume to the batters.
Plus I love eggs prepared all different ways and the bigger the better to eat :)
I knew chicken diet has a lot to do with eggs.
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I did not know that.
I have five chickens laying medium to very large eggs. They are all brown chickens, all fed the same and lay white and brown eggs, and yes, the taste is delicious whatever the size or colour.
Didn't know that the yolks were all the same size. I buy large eggs.
Interesting to read about the refrigeration of eggs.
Interesting and you learn something every day. Eggs are not like they used to be. As a child my dad fed the chooks good food and the yolks were a beautiful deep yellow/colour, now you buy them and they are pale....even if they are 'free range' xx
I never knew that yoke was the same size. But this would make a difference if you were using the whites to whip up a meringue.
Such an interesting post about eggs!
Wonderfully informative post about eggs ~ Xo
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I wish eggs were graded like that in the states. I feel for poor hens that must lay such large eggs.
Mis gallinas a veces ponen huevos grandes y otras veces más pequeños. Besos.
Definitely learned something new today. Thanks for sharing this educational post.
You know I usually buy large eggs but not really sure other than most recipes call for them. I never knew that the yolks were always the same size.
Excellent post! Thank you Jan! So interesting about the size of the yolk!! Big Hugs!
That's very interesting. I remarked lately how the eggs we buy from Aldi seem to be getting smaller yolks. Maybe I'm mistaken but now it seems it is better for the chickens which is OK by me.
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