Does the Colour of Your Egg Yolks Matter?

It may be jarring to crack an egg and see a shiny orange yolk as a substitute of the anticipated pale yellow, or vice versa. People eat on common almost 300 eggs a yr, making it seemingly you’ll stare down an uncommon (for you) shade of yolk sooner or later. 

Whereas poultry researchers notice that an orange yolk isn’t essentially higher than a yellow one, the shade can point out how the hen may need been raised. We tapped 4 poultry specialists to clarify what’s behind the spectrum of egg yolk shades, and what every one means. 

What colours can egg yolks be?

There are loads of potentialities with regards to egg yolk colour. “Egg yolk colour can vary anyplace from nearly white to a blood-red colour,” says Richard Blatchford, PhD, a poultry researcher and affiliate specialist in Cooperative Extension: Small to Business Scale Poultry on the UC Davis Division of Animal Science. “However the extremes are fairly uncommon to see.”

Grocery retailer eggs normally have a shiny yellow or pale orange yolk, however there are variations inside these colours, he says. 

Poultry specialists and farmers even hold observe of yolk colour. The DSM Yolk Colour Fan is a 16-scale colour index that distinguishes yolk colour and is broadly used within the poultry business. Beneath the size, every quantity corresponds with a distinct shade. Primary, for instance, is a pale yellow, whereas 16 is a deep shade of orange. “Individuals actually have a tendency to love the wealthy, dark-colored yolks,” says Blatchford. 

What influences the colour of an egg yolk?

There are loads of elements that may affect the egg yolk colour a hen produces, and most of it comes all the way down to weight-reduction plan, says Sunoh Che, DVM, PhD, assistant professor of poultry administration at College of Maryland. These are the most important elements, in accordance with specialists:

• The composition of the hen’s feed: The quantity of yellow-orange carotenoids [plant pigments], like lutein from alfalfa meal and zeaxanthin from marigold flower extract, “considerably impacts yolk colour,” says Che.
• The quantity of corn within the feed: Corn can affect how yellow a yolk is, says Blatchford. “Hens that make grocery retailer eggs are normally fed a corn-based weight-reduction plan,” he says. “That’s why most of our grocery retailer eggs are a yellow colour, however not likely shiny.”
• Xanthophyll content material: Xanthophyll is a yellow compound that influences egg yolk colour, says Hillary Ayers, household and client sciences agent with College of Florida, Institute of Meals and Agricultural Sciences Extension Orange County. “Xanthophyll is discovered all through the world, however is usually present in leaves and grain,” she says. “Not all plant materials is equal with regards to containing xanthophyll — some have larger concentrations and differing types.” The kind of xanthophyll-containing crops a rooster eats can affect the colour of the yolks, she says.
• Entry to a contemporary pasture: “Hens with entry to contemporary grass and pasture have a tendency to provide eggs with extra vibrant yolk colours,” says Che. That’s as a result of these hens typically have a extra diversified weight-reduction plan with sources of protein from bugs and carotenoids and xanthophyll from crops. 

What does the colour of your egg yolk imply?

The colour of your egg yolk can recommend a number of issues in regards to the hen that laid the egg. Once more, quite a bit has to do with what the hen ate. “A hen’s weight-reduction plan is very specialised, and most egg farms make use of animal diet specialists to supervise these diets,” says Jen Houchins, PhD, RD, director of diet analysis at The American Egg Board’s Egg Diet Middle. “Egg-laying hens are fed a high-quality, nutritionally balanced weight-reduction plan of feed, usually made up principally of corn or different grains, soybean meal, nutritional vitamins, and minerals so as to produce high quality eggs.” However the precise substances within the weight-reduction plan might differ primarily based on what crops find yourself within the feed, she says.  

Right here’s what the shade of your egg yolk would possibly imply:

• Pale yellow: This colour suggests the hen had a weight-reduction plan heavy in wheat, barley, or white cornmeal, says Houchins. 
• Brilliant yellow: A shiny yellow or yellow-orange yolk normally means that the hen ate loads of corn and/or alfalfa meal, per Houchins.
• Orange: Just a few elements can clarify an orange yolk. “This colour might be achieved by including marigold petals or pink pepper to the rooster feed,” says Houchins, noting that synthetic colour components are usually not allowed within the U.S. “A deeper orange colour might also replicate a weight-reduction plan that features foraging, the place hens can entry completely different crops and bugs whose pigments can influence colour,” she provides. 

One other affect is perhaps the season by which the egg was laid. “Within the spring and summer season, the hens is perhaps exterior extra,” says Blatchford. That may elevate the chances of foraging, resulting in a extra orange yolk. 

A hen’s age might also play a task in yolk colour, though that’s nonetheless up for debate. “The connection between hen age and yolk colour just isn’t easy,” says Che. “Whereas some research point out that older hens produce darker yolks, others present extra advanced patterns.” 

Are orange egg yolks extra nutritious? 

Yolk colour doesn’t essentially point out that the egg is extra nutritious. “The dietary content material of eggs — together with fat-soluble nutritional vitamins A, D, E, and Ok — relies upon extra on the hen’s weight-reduction plan, well being, breed, age, and setting than on yolk colour,” says Che. “Pasture-raised hens usually produce eggs with larger ranges of vitamins like omega-3 fatty acids and nutritional vitamins as a result of their various weight-reduction plan, not the depth of yolk colour.” 

That stated, yolk colour can point out how a lot carotenoids are within the egg, says Houchins. Carotenoids are linked with good eye well being, together with a lowered threat of most cancers, diabetes, and bodily irritation. “Most egg yolks within the U.S. are shiny yellow or yellow-orange as a result of carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, that usually come from the corn within the hens’ weight-reduction plan,” says Houchins. Usually, deeper orange egg yolks recommend the next focus of carotenoids. “Past carotenoids, although, yolk colour doesn’t point out a roughly nutritious egg,” she says.

Ayers agrees. “Regardless of the colour of the yolk, the dietary worth is similar. “[Eggs are a] nutrient-dense meals that comprises excessive quantities of vitamin A, D, E, Ok, in addition to different important vitamins,” she says.

Do orange egg yolks style higher?

The reply is probably going sure. The various bug- and plant-rich weight-reduction plan of pasture-raised hens tends to lead to a richer and extra flavorful egg yolk. With that stated, you may’t know from an egg yolk {that a} hen was pasture-raised.

“One of the best tasting eggs come from completely satisfied hens that get to forage free-range on grass, bugs, and vegetable scraps,” says F&W senior meals editor Breana Killeen, who raises egg-laying hens at Killeen Crossroads Farm in Shelburne, Vermont. “Rooster feed can create yolks with an orange colour, however the taste doesn’t examine to yolks from chickens which can be truly foraging.”

Your greatest wager for flavorful eggs? Purchase ones labeled pasture-raised, instantly from a farmers market or farmer if you happen to can.