What's The Actual Difference Between White And Brown Eggs?

The incredible, edible egg has become a popular topic of conversation with prices soaring high. Businesses are dealing with eggflation in various ways, from some grocery chains limiting how many folks can purchase to some restaurants remaining firm in their commitments to not charge extra for eggs. Still, none of these companies seem to differentiate between brown and white eggs, and the reason is that they are virtually the same.

Although there is a color discrepancy on the outer shell, cartons of white and brown eggs are nutritionally and compositionally identical. That is why when a recipe calls for a large egg, it doesn't specify whether it should be brown or white. The contrast in color lies in the type of hen that lays them, and it is easy to predict what you will get by simply looking at the hen: White hens will lay white eggs, whereas brown or red hens lay brown eggs.

An egg laid by any hen starts out white — just crack a brown egg open, and you'll see that the inner shell is white (if you want a perfectly cracked shell every time, this Zoklu Stainless Steel Egg Cracker Tool keeps errant pieces of shell out of your mixing bowl). With darker-colored hens, a layer of pigment is produced on the outer shell before coming out, altering the color permanently. However, despite the yolk and whites being exactly the same in each egg, there is one slight difference between them that people will want to bear in mind: price.

Although no meaningful inequalities exist between brown and white eggs, the price does vary between them. The brown ones tend to cost more than white, and it has nothing to do with what is within the shell. The hens that lay white eggs are often White Leghorns, whereas brown ones are generally laid by Orpingtons or Rhode Island Reds. The latter breeds consume more feed because it takes more energy for them to lay eggs than their Leghorn counterparts, and the cost of that feed is inherited by consumers at the checkout line.

Marketing also plays a role in browns costing more. Industry experts have figured out that — despite there being no significant difference between the two — people often view brown eggs as the superior choice. That can contribute to their markup along with elevated production costs. Each color tastes just as good as the other, so unless you prefer your eggs to have a darker hue while they sit in the fridge for aesthetic purposes, you can save yourself a little dough by opting for white eggs on your next grocery run.