Monday, October 19, 2009

Unscrambling Eggs – Part 1

What makes The Incredible Edible Egg so incredible? I asked the American Egg Board back in 1997. This is the first time I’m sharing this 2-part correspondence with the public…

Dear Egg Head:

It used to be that an egg was an egg. Now it’s all gotten so complicated. Maybe you could clear up some egg related questions for me. First, where do those brown eggs come from? Eggs were always famous for being white. Do they come from brown chickens? Or is this just a shell game egg companies are playing to improve race relations?

Next, what’s with these different size eggs like large, jumbo, medium and small? How big a chicken do you have to sign up to produce a jumbo egg? Exactly how big do you see eggs getting in ten years time? Will they ever get to be the size of lemons or baseballs?

Finally, do eggs always come out oval? Surely you must get a defective chicken every now and then that only lays round eggs. And when are you going to start selling eggs with the logos of sports teams on them? Just think … over-easy Philadelphia Eagles eggs, scrambled Seattle Seahawks eggs, poached Baltimore Orioles eggs — man, I’m getting hungry! Sound yummy to you, or what?

P.S. By the way, hear any good chicken jokes lately?

A Consumer Information Coordinator with the American Egg Board responded with:

Thank you for your recent letter. We hope the following information answers your questions.

The color of the shell comes from pigments in the outer layer of the shell and may range from white to deep brown. The breed of the hen determines the color of the shell. Breeds with white feathers and ear lobes lay white eggs; breeds with red feathers and ear lobes lay brown eggs. White eggs are most in demand among American buyers. In some parts of the country, however, particularly in New England, brown shells are preferred. Since brown-egg layers are slightly larger birds and require more food, brown eggs are usually more expensive than white. There is no difference in the nutrients or quality of eggs with different shell colors.

Several factors influence the size of an egg. The major factor is the age of the hen. As the hen ages, her eggs increase in size. Other factors include the breed and weight of the hen. Although some eggs are more rounded than others, eggs from fowl are always oval.

We hope this information is helpful. Thank you for your interest in The incredible edible egg.

Final Thoughts: That’s a pretty incredible response. So incredible that I sent the American Egg Board a follow-up letter for even more information, which will be the subject of my next post. Here’s where you can learn more about The Incredible Edible Egg. And whenever you need more details about a product, never be chicken to Write The Company.

Now read Unscrambling Eggs – Part 2

Share|

Tags: American Egg Board, brown eggs, egg shell color, egg shells, eggs, The incredible edible egg, white eggs

1 Response to "Unscrambling Eggs – Part 1"

LadyHawk

October 19, 2009 at 11:06 pm

I learned how to like brown eggs while living in the UK. There were no white eggs there. It took some doing, but now I rather prefer them. They do have a much better flavor. Although, I always thought they were the “cheaper” counterpart to the others.

Also, I read somewhere that XL, L, Medium, etc. has to do with the spreading capacity of the egg yolk and not the actual size of the whole egg per se. When you think about it, that’s almost impossible. How would one know the spreading capacity unless the egg was broken?

Can we expect any reference to free range eggs in your next post? That would be interesting.

KEEPING COMPANIES HONEST ... RIGHT DOWN TO THE LETTER

A candid collection of crazy correspondence containing comments, complaints, criticisms, critiques and confessions that categorically captures and conveys the confusion, complications, curiosities, compliments and consequences consumers and customers constructively confront, creatively contemplate and/or continuously consider. Comprende?