what is the deal with white eggs?

[EricaNernie]

i buy them from waitrose, purely for a novelty value
i did half catch a jeremy vine radio discussion about them but didnt learn much.

is it just waitrose? or are they making a come back
i know in some respect they are aesthetically pleasing > but didnt they go out of fashion in the 70s?

I keep hens and I keep different breeds specifically for the different egg colours. My favourite is the Maran breed which produce beautiful deep chocolate brown coloured eggs.

It’s true people can be influenced by egg colour though. I’ve had people be very suspicious of green/blue coloured eggs in the past because they thought they’d gone off!

When I was little we had mixed punnets of eggs. I refused to eat anything but white because I associated eggs with bread and I didn't like brown bread. Bear in mind I refused to eat chips because I didn't like fish and I was convinced chips were baby fish. Now, I tend to prefer brown. When visiting Germany, Austria and Switzerland, however, I have noticed that eggs seem to be white. I've bought them and used them and there has been no difference, but I have had to get beyond the ick factor. I no longer rthink that chips are baby fish by the way.

It sounds silly, but I live in the US and for some reason hadn't clocked the white egg thing. I just went and checked my eggs to find that they are brown, which I'm certain is normal.

I'm wondering if it's because I'm buying free-range, organic ones and they choose a brown laying variety to signify the difference. Thinking about it, the cheap eggs are white.

i cant believe americans think the brown egg is dirty

I can't believe British people think that brown eggs are healthier. They're the same inside and no-one eats the shells.

We usually just get whatever standard free range eggs the shop has. Waitrose ones have always been white but it always surprises me when I open the box.

I keep lots of chickens, Brown egg layers, white ones, blue ones. They all taste the same. Some breeds of chickens are more friendlier than others but some friendly breeds lay white ages and some lay brown eggs. No overall trend on colour vs friendly chicken.

And funnily enough. Wouldn’t categorise most shop eggs as white or brown, in my mind they’re in between.

In the fifties, a farmer friend used to dip the white ones in tea as brown ones were far more popular.

Nutritionally they are the same. Different breeds lay different colours and the colour is only in the cuticle ( top layer).
White egg laying flocks are used to provide Kosher for Passover eggs as the pale shells are easier to candle than brown ones, so even tiny blood spots can be picked up.
Outside of passover, these eggs normally go for breaking ( liquid pasteurised egg for factory production of cakes, pasta etc) as white shells aren't popular in the UK.
I imagine these are now in the shops due to extra demand for eggs at the moment.
New flocks can't be laid on or housed instantly, so existing flocks being utilised.

Waitrose and Costco sell blue eggs too - I did find they had a slightly richer taste but that might be due to specific feeds rather than the hens themselves.

Different breeds of chickens lay different coloured eggs...

My Isa browns lay anything from a murky white to a brown, my bantam lays white eggs.

I can't believe British people think that brown eggs are healthier.

I don't, never have. I just didn't clock that most eggs are brown, although I have bought some blue eggs before simply becuase I liked the colour.

And egg is an egg.

I am sure Waitrose didnt used to sell white essential eggs before March2020

Nope Waitrose has always sold white, brown and blue eggs

Really interesting story behind this. Robert Young, now widely considered to be the inspiration for Don Draper, had a huge argument with his 2nd wife which culminated in her throwing 6 white eggs at him. He left for the nearest pub and coincidentally met an up and coming egg producer, Les Fairburn, who was in London to promote his brown eggs. The rest is history.

@Allnamesaregone Hens that produce white eggs are less aggressive so it's actually more ethical to buy white eggs

Nonsense. I have had several chickens over 6yrs, and none of them have been aggressive.

@BigusBumus White hens lay white eggs, brown hens lay brown eggs etc Not always. My bantam is black. She lays white eggs.

@Poppyismyfavourite they're like tiny dinosaurs Well they are thought to be a decedent of the T-Rex, right!!

@YippieKayakOtherBuckets As an interesting aside all eggs in America have to be washed and sanitised before they can be sold ... whereas in the EU washing of eggs is banned. The theory is that when eggs can't be washed you can't conceal poor farming

When you wash an egg you remove the protective bloom that is on it, once that's gone it exposes the pores of the shell which allows bacteria in. You soul never wash eggs and them store them.

EricaNernie how much were your neighbours expensive ones?
I used to charge £1 for six for years. I don't sell many now, but when I do I charge £1.50 for six which appears to be the going rate round here.
Mostly I just gift excess to people who gifted me other excess things.
My friend brought over a load of polyanthus she'd due our for a new veggie bed and went away with six eggs.
My dad gave me a tub of green fence paint he'd got sitting around with no use for when I needed some, and got six eggs. To be fair my parents can have eggs for free whenever they want when we have an excess.

When you incubate eggs the brown have a tougher shell. So Maran eggs occasionally need a little help to hatch BUT the thicker shells are supposed to be more resistant to salmonella. I always assumed that's where the 'brown eggs are healthier' came from. Taste is no different.

We bought blue eggs from Iceland. Tasted exactly the same as the brown ones.

Washed eggs in the US have to be kept in the fridge and therefore have plastic packaging, unwashed eggs can be kept at ambient temperature and therefore can be in a cardboard box as they don't accumulate so much condensation while you're in the (surprisingly humid) supermarket; so the box doesn't go soggy and the eggs don't fall out and break.

When you wash an egg you remove the protective bloom that is on it, once that's gone it exposes the pores of the shell which allows bacteria in. You soul never wash eggs and them store them.

Yes, which is why washed American eggs must be kept refrigerated (and are to be found in chiller cabinets in the supermarket) whilst the unwashed UK ones can be safely stored at room temperature and are sold from the open shelves.

I wanted to buy some large eggs today, the only ones I could get in Waitrose were white. There were many brown medium ones

I’ve kept poultry for 30yrs and currently have white, brown and blue egg layers. It depends entirely on their breed and it’s not strictly true that white eggs are laid by white hens - I have black, lavender (pale greyish) and all sorts of other colour bantams that lay white eggs.

The reason that most eggs in the shops are brown is that the most prolific laying hens, bog standard brown cross breeds found in large scale egg production, happen to lay brown eggs.

I have also never noticed a difference in temperament between brown and white egg layers - this is a myth.

@Chasingsquirrels

They were £1.20 but I am on a budget and bought from asda instead

Bigus beat me to it with the ears=egg colour

We used to have chickens and had white, blue, buff, brown and the darkest chocolate colour shells from the girls.

People think it is feather colour as generally only the white feather chickens have the light colour ears, but chickens are complex little critters

...also concur with the pp who said they are basically feathery little dinosaurs...and can be vicious with it

Never associate with free ranging chickens when you have flipflops on and red painted toenails!