Egg yolk

Some people say that the colour of the egg yolk says something about the health of the chicken. It’s been said, for example, that the darker, rounder and firmer the egg yolk, the happier the chicken that lay it. This chicken will have had the opportunity to walk around outside and had a rich diet as well. A lighter egg yolk has been said to mean that the chicken in question had an unhealthy life. But it turns out that all of this is untrue. So, what causes the differences in colour in egg yolks? And what does it mean?

Diet

An egg yolk can indeed have different colours: its colour can range from light yellow to dark orange. But this colour doesn’t say anything about the lifestyle of the chicken. It also doesn’t say anything about how healthy the egg yolk is for you. What it does tell you is what the chicken has been eating. If the chicken ate food with a lot of wheat in it, it will lay an egg with a light yellow yolk. On the other hand, if the chicken had a balanced diet with, for example, corn and alfalfa, then it will lay an egg with a dark yolk. That’s because corn and alfalfa contain carotene, which is the same stuff that causes carrots to be orange.

Taste

The nutritional value of the egg isn’t influenced at all by the colour of the egg. Whether the egg is organically sourced or comes from a chicken that’s kept in close captivity doesn’t matter in the sense that both are equally healthy. Egg yolks contain vitamins A, D, E and K, no matter its colour. Plus, eggs with differently coloured yolks all taste the same.

Source: Ei Ei Ei | Image: video still