favourite egg colour

shane9689

mines gotta be spotty brown or pure white (simple because we dont have many pure white unless its organic)

KeithM89

Creme.





Geddit??

Nevermind....

King George VI

I honestly didn't know eggs came in any other colour than that familiar light brown/beige.

Ihatecuddles-old

St. Jimmy wrote: »

I honestly didn't know eggs came in any other colour than that familiar light brown/beige.

In America they're white!

shane9689

St. Jimmy wrote: »

I honestly didn't know eggs came in any other colour than that familiar light brown/beige.

watch american tv shows, if theres egss in in, i bet theyll be white...for some reason they use white eggs more (marketing purposes i think)

Sauve

Keith wrote: »

Creme.





Geddit??

Nevermind....

...Now I want one

kneemos

St. Jimmy wrote: »

I honestly didn't know eggs came in any other colour than that familiar light brown/beige.

Brown or white.Can't say I've ever thought about it.

policarp

Cadberies Cream Egg
for sure. . .:P

King George VI

How cool would it be if you could get designer eggs?

"Half a dozen eggs please"...
"What colour?"....
"Gimme 2 purple, 1 glow in the dark and 3 red"
"That'll be 70 quid please"
"shit!"

King George VI

Ihatecuddles wrote: »

In America they're white!

shane9689 wrote: »

watch american tv shows, if theres egss in in, i bet theyll be white...for some reason they use white eggs more (marketing purposes i think)

Actually now that you mention it I recall seeing white eggs in TV shows. Never put much thought into it.

kneemos

In old Western movies you'll often see the actors sitting and eating,could never make out what it was they had on the plate.

policarp

You could fry an egg on the stones,
if you had an egg. . .:P
Sally said. . . .

MadsL

Believe it or not, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) graded eggs would be illegal if sold in the UK, or indeed anywhere in the European Union (EU). It’s all to do with the fact that commercial American eggs are federally required to be washed and sanitized before they reach the consumer. EU egg marketing laws, on the other hand, state that Class A eggs – those found on supermarkets shelves, must not be washed, or cleaned in any way.

“In Europe, the understanding is that this mandate actually encourages good husbandry on farms. It’s in the farmers’ best interests then to produce to cleanest eggs possible, as no one is going to buy their eggs if they’re dirty, ” explained Mark Williams, Chief Executive, British Egg Industry Council in a phone interview.

According to the USDA, despite how conscientious and thorough modern day farm-management practices might be, there will still be a small percentage of “dirty eggs” produced. Dirt almost always equates to chicken manure and, if the eggs are produced in a free-range system, other raw agricultural commodities that hens might pick up from roaming freely.

Any feces on the exterior of an egg shell poses a food safety threat from potential cross-contamination if, say, a consumer cracks open an egg then proceeds to prepare a salad with those same bacteria-riddled hands. Since egg shells are porous, there’s also the possibility of micro-organisms migrating inside the egg under certain conditions.

A Thorough Clean

The USDA requires producers to wash eggs with warm water at least 20°F warmer than the internal temperature of the eggs and at a minimum of 90°F. A detergent that won’t impart any foreign odors to the eggs must also be used. After washing, the eggs must be rinsed with a warm water spray containing a chemical sanitizer to remove any remaining bacteria. They are then dried to remove excess moisture.

This last step is crucial because bacteria cannot penetrate a thoroughly dry egg shell. Add a thin layer of moisture, however, and not only is there a medium that promotes bacterial growth, but the water also provides an excellent vehicle for pathogens such as salmonella and other critters to pass through via the tens of thousands of pores on the surface of the egg shell.

It’s in part because of the above risk that the EU has ruled out egg washing, asserting that careless washing procedures can lead to more damage than good. A critical scenario would be if a facility wasn’t prudent in regularly changing the washing water and eggs were left to sit in a dirty bath – ideal conditions for bacteria to infiltrate through to the inside of the eggs. Worst still, would be if cold water was used. A washing solution colder than the egg could cause the contents of the egg to contract, so drawing polluted water in through the shell (hence the USDA’s thorough guidelines for water temperature).

Then there’s the matter of the cuticle. Just as a hen is about to lay an egg, she applies a liquid coating around it that naturally protects against contamination. It also helps prevent moisture and carbon dioxide loss that in turn leads to an overall degradation in the quality of the egg. This layer, called the cuticle or bloom, is still wet when the egg emerges, but quickly dries after a few minutes.

According to the text of the EU egg marketing regulations this cuticle provides “an effective barrier to bacterial ingress with an array of antimicrobial properties.” It goes on to add that washing is prohibited because it could damage the cuticle making eggs even more vulnerable to contamination from pathogens and other micro organisms rather than providing an additional safety net.

Even the USDA’s official Egg-Grading Manual concedes that research has shown that washing removes most of the cuticle. To compensate for this, egg producers in the US commonly used to spray eggs with a thin layer of odorless, colorless mineral oil. Today, this practice is only used on about 10 percent of commercial eggs in the US. It was much more prevalent ten to twenty years ago because eggs were held in cold storage for much longer then before distribution – often up to a year after lay, explained Howard Magwire, Vice President of Government Relations, United Egg Producers, in a phone interview. Consequently eggs needed to be well preserved and effectively guarded against contamination

Such long storage periods were necessary because egg production was not consistent with seasonal variations. In the height of winter, cold temperatures slowed the rate of lay as hens sought to preserve their energy. In summer, they grew lethargic in the heat and again produced fewer eggs. Today, with sophisticated controls in place, production is consistent year round, and most Grade A eggs find themselves in consumers’ homes within weeks, if not days, of lay.

To Fridge of Not to Fridge?

Another important distinction between European eggs and American eggs is how they are stored, and this ultimately leads back to the question of egg-washing.

Go to buy eggs in Britain, France or Italy and you’ll find them sitting on an unrefrigerated shelf, often near the baking supplies in an aisle in the middle of the store. Head to an American supermarket however, and eggs are always held in refrigerated units, like milk and cheese and other dairy products.

EU law actually stipulates that eggs “ should in general not be refrigerated before sale to the final consumer.” The regulations explain how “cold eggs left out at room temperature may become covered in condensation facilitating the growth of bacteria on the shell and probably their ingression into the egg.” Hence if a consumer picked up a carton of chilled eggs then transported them home in the car, the change in temperature would cause the eggs to sweat.

With precisely this scenario in mind, EU regulators considered it more judicious to maintain eggs in an ambient environment that resembles a “cool” room temperature from lay to shelf. In the UK, guidance set out by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers recommends supermarkets maintain a temperature of between 66.2°F to 69.8°F in the winter and between 69.8°F and 73.4°F in the summer. Room temperature is generally considered to be between 68°F to 77°F.

The USDA is just as concerned about keeping processed eggs that move from a packing facility to a store shelf to the domestic fridge at a consistent temperature. However, on this side of the waters, that consistent temperature across the board should be 45°F or lower. As a point of contrast, in Britain, the Lion Quality Code of Practice – an egg quality assurance scheme established in 1998, recommends that consumers keep their eggs below 68°F.

Why the difference? Howard Magwire of United Egg Producers suggests that the British might consider the cuticle as providing adequate protection for their eggs and so are less concerned about the need to chill them. But there’s also another vital reason. An egg isn’t just at risk from salmonella contamination when its shell is sullied with feces. Salmonella can make its way inside the egg in the reproductive tract of a hen before the shell is formed. Once this happens, no amount of washing of sanitizing post-lay will rid the egg rid of contamination.

Since the late 1990’s, British farmers have been vaccinating hens against salmonella following a crisis that sickened thousands of people who had consumed infected eggs. Amazingly, this measure has virtually wiped out the health threat in Britain. In 1997, there were 14,771 reported cases of salmonella poisoning there, by 2009 this had dropped to just 581 cases. About 90 percent of British eggs now come from vaccinated hens – it’s required for producers who want to belong to the Lion scheme. The remaining 10 percent come from very small farmers who don’t sell to major retailers.

In contrast, there is no such requirement for commercial hens in the US. Consequently, according to FDA data, there are about 142,000 illnesses every year caused by consuming eggs contaminated by the most common strain of salmonella. Only about one-third of farmers here choose to inoculate their flocks. Farmers cite cost as the main reason not to opt for vaccination –FDA estimates say it would cost about 14 cents a bird. The average hen produces about 260 eggs over the course of her lifetime.

What’s this got to do with refrigeration? In the 1990’s research showed that eggs containing salmonella did not experience any prevalent growth in the number of salmonella cells when kept at room temperature for up to 21 days after purchase. Post 21 days however, and the eggs were heavily contaminated. Further research has shown that storing contaminated eggs in cooler temperatures prohibited the growth of bacteria within the egg over a considerably longer period of time.

Without the assurance that American egg-laying hens have been vaccinated against salmonella, it’s prudent to store our eggs in the fridge, just in case.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/nadiaarumugam/2012/10/25/why-american-eggs-would-be-illegal-in-a-british-supermarket-and-vice-versa/3/

JonSnuuu

Duck eggs are green and blue. So cool

Ted_YNWA

The colour of eggs depends on the pressure the hen is under at the time its being laid. Iirc hens are more relaxed with brown eggs.

On phone so can't confirm.

Ted_YNWA

JonSnuuu wrote: »

Duck eggs are green and blue. So cool

Blackbirds eggs are blue.

MadsL

Ted_YNWA wrote: »

The colour of eggs depends on the pressure the hen is under at the time its being laid. Iirc hens are more relaxed with brown eggs.

On phone so can't confirm.

Bollox. Depends on the breed, but the colour of eggs has been used as propaganda for years;

In some parts of the northeast of that country, particularly New England, where a television jingle for years proclaimed "brown eggs are local eggs, and local eggs are fresh!", brown eggs are more common.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_(food)#Color_of_eggshell