The egg has come under fire
because of its relatively high cholesterin content. But recent research has corrected this and shows that in healthy people there is little correlation between dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol; This is even shown in studies where several eggs per day and a person were on the menu. In the egg, cholesterol is found exclusively in the yolk fat; it can only be influenced insignificantly by breeding and feeding. And contrary to a popular opinion, which is occasionally misused to provide misleading consumer information, eggs from Araucana chickens (the only “green layers”) or from quail (speckled eggs) do not have a lower, but sometimes even higher cholesterol content. This apparently ineradicable wishful thinking can be easily refuted; Cholseterin-free eggs would not be able to hatch chicks, which would automatically cause such breeds to become extinct
What about the color of the shell?
The usual quiz question “who lays white eggs, who brown eggs?” is always answered incorrectly. Because with the plumage color, as one might assume, there is no connection. Rather, it is a question of a genetic freak of nature, in that the color of the eggshells is combined with that of the chicken’s earlobes: breeds with white earlobes lay white-skinned eggs, breeds with red earlobes lay brown-skinned eggs.
The widespread opinion, however, that brown eggs are healthier or even more ecologically produced, is based on an old wive’s tale.
The Yolk and Egg White
Contrary to popular belief, the color of the yolk has no connection whatsoever with the nutritional value, taste, or way of keeping the chickens; it all depends on the feed. While the Swiss prefer more intense yellow yolks, the Americans (also with health concerns) prefer it pale yellow.
Very Nutritious, and Versatile
Eggs are a valuable staple food. One egg covers around 10 percent of the daily protein and mineral requirement as well as a quarter of the vitamins A and D. In addition, it has ideal kitchen qualifications: foam formation and stability (whipped egg white), emulsion stability of the egg yolk (mayonnaise), baking and cooking properties (emulsifying, stabilizing, coagulating, liquid binding), not to forget the coloring effect of the egg yolk (baked goods and pasta). The protein content of three eggs corresponds to that of 110 grams of steak (with a big market price difference).
In Switzerland we consume approximately 200 Eggs per person; in America about 295 per person.
All of this justifies finally thinking again about those who lay these eggs: the chickens.
Original story by Heini Hofman, Urner Wochenblatt, April 3, 2022
