Eggs are a staple in every nation and have been so since the beginning of time. The age old question of “Which came first the chicken or the egg?,” is still awaiting an answer. In the 1990’s there was a television commercial, where praises were sung unto the incredible edible egg. The adds however, did not indicate which eggs, brown, or white were more or less incredible.
When I was a young girl, I asked my grandmother what the difference was, between brown eggs and white eggs. She told me that white eggs were for eating, and a good breakfast food. She said that brown eggs were the best for baking. I do recall, that whenever my great grandmother baked a cake, she always added two brown eggs to the other ingredients.
At a glance, the only visible difference between white and brown eggs is their hue. It always seemed to me however, that the brown ones were larger and heavier than their lighter counter part. I do not ever recall seeing brown eggs sold in small, medium and large, only large.
Some people say they can taste a difference in the flavors of white eggs and brown eggs and I agree. I find the brown eggs have a smoother flavor. The question is, whether or not this is true, or only a figment of the imagination?
I have read, that the only real difference between these eggs is the chickens who lay them. White eggs come from white hens, and brown eggs come from the red hens. In studies, where people were given both white and brown eggs to eat, no one truly could say they tasted a difference.
This would seem to imply, that those of us, who believe white and brown eggs have different flavors were projecting because we knew what color eggs we were eating. Recently one of my children gave me a carton of brown eggs, and commented that they tasted different than white ones.
The next morning I cooked brown eggs for breakfast, and it seemed to me that they did have a flavor that was not identical to the white eggs I had been eating. My husband however, ate his breakfast without indicating that his eggs tasted different.
Whether or not there is a distinct difference between these eggs, they are good for our health. Both brown and white eggs have about 70 calories for a medium sized egg and 7 grams of fat. White and brown eggs both contain 12 grams of protein and 210 mg of cholesterol.
Both are rich in B vitamins as well as minerals such as choline and phosphorus. The only real nutritional difference is that eggs which come from Aracauna chickens, ( those with a blueish color), contain more cholesterol than brown and white eggs. Brown eggs do tend to cost more than white, because of where the chickens are bred, and what they are fed.
