Perhaps you woke up and are really craving an egg scramble. You go to your fridge only to realize you’re all out of chicken eggs. But your neighbors recently gave you a handful of duck eggs from their pets, and you wonder if you can use them like you would use a chicken egg?
All eggs are typically weighed against their familiarity with chicken eggs. This is because chicken eggs are some of the most widely consumed eggs in the world, followed closely by duck eggs. Chicken eggs taste the same regardless of the color or size of the egg.
While some eggs, such as duck and quail, taste very similar to chicken eggs, others, like reptilian eggs, taste very different.
Do different colored eggs taste different from white eggs? What impacts the taste of an egg? Keep reading and learn more about all the different egg varieties!
Do Different Color Eggs Taste Different?
Color does not directly impact the way an egg tastes. Rather, color indicates different stages of the egg lay process, which impacts the pigment of the egg after it’s laid. All chicken eggs are made of the same essential vitamins and building blocks designed to feed the chick before it hatches.
White hens, commonly known as leghorn chickens, are usually white with red portions on their faces. Their lack of pigment impacts the white or blue coloration of their eggs.
Hens with darker coloration, such as black, brown, or spotted feathers, are more likely to produce dark eggs. These hens produce brown and green eggs more commonly than white or blue eggs.
Pigments are usually passed to the egg later in the laying period. This means brown eggs are inside the hen for longer than blue and white eggs. Blue eggs are the earliest variety, followed by white, brown, and green.
While the color is impacted by the hen and incubation periods, it has no impact on the egg’s taste.
What Impacts the Egg’s Taste?
The diet and activity level of a hen is the primary influence on the taste of an egg. Hens that receive more exercise and eat insects and grain usually produce healthier, robust eggs. Caged hens fed corn and soy primarily have less healthy eggs with a weaker, softer taste.
Diet is the main impacter on an egg’s taste. This is because the body breaks down our food and rejuvenates the body’s cells. This impacts everything from our reproductive organs to the way our sweat smells.
Therefore, the taste of an egg is impacted by the flavor of the food a hen eats. However, the diet and health of the hen can also impact the nutritional content of her eggs.
Hens who have a robust, diverse diet and an active lifestyle have healthier eggs. Insects provide the hen with much-needed proteins to create eggs which are also rich in protein. Grains such as flax add omega fatty acids to their diet, meaning they lay heart-healthy eggs.
Other things that can impact the taste of an egg include:
- The cleanliness of the hen’s home
- Fresh air
- How we store them in the fridge
- Washed versus unwashed eggs
- How the egg is prepared
Do Organic Eggs Taste Different?
Organic eggs do not taste better or different by default. This means the fact that they’re organic will not make them taste different from regular eggs. However, other factors more common to organic eggs can impact the egg’s taste, including diet, activity, and environment.
Organic eggs have several distinctions from regular eggs (generally speaking, though this varies on the brand):
- Fluffier
- Smoother texture
- More Nutrients
- Fewer bacteria
- Healthier fats
- Healthier cholesterol
- Healthier hens
However, these benefits can be impacted by the hen’s lifestyle. Just because a hen is fed only organic feed doesn’t automatically mean it’s healthier or the eggs will have more nutrients.
Legally speaking, cage-free eggs can refer to hens raised indoors on an open floor. Some brands go the extra mile and allow hens time outside, where they hunt for various insects. However, this isn’t necessary to qualify as “cage-free,” nor are organic eggs required to be cage-free.
True cage-free eggs raised on a mixed protein and grain diet are the best for your health. They’re also typically considered the more flavorful.
While organic eggs usually taste better and are healthier for you, this isn’t always the case. Each brand raises their hens in different conditions and on different diets which heavily impacts their well-being.
Do All Bird Eggs Taste Like Chicken Eggs?
All bird eggs do not taste like chicken eggs. This is similar to how most meats taste similar, but each variety differs because every animal is different. However, eggs can taste more similar to chicken eggs if they’re fed and raised similarly to chickens.
As stated above, diet and environment are the most significant factors for egg texture and taste. This is true for other birds as well.
While duck, goose, ostrich, and other bird eggs have their unique make-up, diet can impact their taste. If you feed your birds a diet similar to a chicken, these other bird eggs will resemble a chicken egg more.
However, they’ll still retain their own unique taste. For example, ducks tend to live in a wilder, wetter environment where they feed primarily on insects. They don’t tend to eat grain unless they’re kept in captivity.
Therefore, most duck eggs tend to have a much stronger taste than chicken eggs. The wet, swampy environment combined with the protein-based diet makes their eggs have a mild iron taste.
What Do Other Eggs Taste Like?
Ostrich
Ostrich eggs are much larger than chicken eggs. While chicken eggs typically weigh in at under a pound, the average ostrich egg can weigh between 3-5 pounds.
They tend to taste similar to chicken eggs. However, their yolks can have a much stronger iron taste, making them somewhat resemble an organ. Their egg whites can feel more gelatinous, especially when boiled.
Ostrich eggs are a delicacy worldwide in places such as Russia and certain African cultures.
Emu
Emu eggs are slightly smaller than ostrich eggs. A singular emu egg equals about two chicken eggs, whereas an ostrich egg is closer to four hen eggs.
However, emu eggs are a popular delicacy in Australia. Wild emu usually eats a variety of native herbs, grasses, and insects, making their eggs unique. However, farmed emus are typically grain-fed, making their eggs taste similar to chickens.
Similar to ostrich eggs, their yolks are sometimes described as slightly over-powering.
Duck
Duck eggs tend to have a more intense flavor than chicken eggs. Some people really enjoy the robust flavor; however, it can be overpowering to others.
Duck egg yolks are typically much darker than hen eggs and have an orange or red hue to them. The duck’s protein-rich diet makes their eggs taste a bit gamier than the average chicken’s egg.
Most people prefer to use duck eggs in baking over scrambled.
Goose
Goose eggs have a similar taste to duck eggs since they both live in swampy environments. They’re slightly larger and more oblong-shaped than the average chicken or duck egg.
Although, they’re not typically described as quite as gamey as a duck’s egg. Some chefs prefer goose eggs thanks to their silky-smooth texture and taste.
Swan
Swan eggs are not widely consumed because of their designation as a protected species. However, on feasting days, they were once consumed, as well as the bird itself.
Their eggs are typically described as similar to chicken eggs but stringier. This means their texture is not smooth and not highly regarded.
Quail
Quail eggs have been consumed for years in most Eastern cultures. However, they’re quickly gaining traction in the West as well.
They taste essentially the same as a chicken’s egg. Though their cute size and speckled appearance make them an appealing addition to any dish. They’re typically boiled or pickled in Asia and eaten with noodles, such as ramen.
Sturgeon
Sturgeon eggs, also known as black caviar, has a sweet, nutty, and buttery flavor. Although extremely different from a chicken’s egg, various fish eggs are consumed across the globe.
Red caviar, or salmon eggs, are loved for their tangy, rich, and salty flavor. While not consumed as the main dish, like bird eggs, fish eggs are a delicious addition to toast, meats, and other dishes.
Shark
Shark eggs can actually be consumed, but it’s not widely practiced. This is because shark eggs are actually quite hard to find and don’t have the hard shells that chicken eggs have.
Shark reproduction is fairly complex and varies based on the type of shark. Sharks reproduce in one of four ways:
- Oviparous
- Ovoviviparous
- Viviparous
- Intrauterine cannabalism
While we won’t dive into the details of each method, neither makes for a great egg scramble. Most sharks actually give live birth (viviparous), but some small breeds lay eggs (oviparous).
These eggs can be seen on the beach. This discarded casing which once held the baby, is usually referred to as a mermaid’s purse. However, these aren’t commonly eaten.
Platypus
The platypus is by far one of the weirdest creatures on earth. With the body of a beaver and the bill of a duck, many explorers thought it was a strange chimera when they first laid eyes on it.
While the platypus does lay eggs (one of the few mammals that do), these shouldn’t be consumed. Platypus is a highly venomous species, and their eggs are potentially hazardous to consume.
Echidna
Echidnas are the only other egg-laying mammal species known on the planet besides platypus. While they lay eggs, their eggs aren’t considered good for human consumption.
They lack many basic nutrients, such as sufficient quantities of protein, which we’d hope to find in an egg. They’re very small and don’t merit consumption.
Alligator/Crocodile
Crocodile and alligator eggs are a delicacy in many cultures. Some ice cream shops in Asia sell it as an ice cream flavor!
While they look remarkably similar to chicken eggs (only larger), they taste quite different. Most describe it as having the texture of a chicken’s egg with a powerful fish taste.
This might be an acquired taste, but many people across the globe enjoy them scrambled, boiled, or mixed in ice cream!
Snake
Snake eggs are similar to crocodile eggs in their taste. They have a similar texture to chicken eggs but also a powerful fishy flavor.
There are several precautions you should take before consuming a snake’s eggs. They have high levels of salmonella and other bacteria, which can cause gastrointestinal issues. Always wash and thoroughly cooked before consumption.
Additionally, snakes gestate quickly. You must consume their eggs very soon after they’ve been laid, or else you could risk eating a little snake!
Iguana
Iguana eggs are widely consumed by people in Central and South America. However, they don’t taste like chicken or crocodile eggs.
The best description of an iguana’s egg is it tastes similar to hard cheese. It has a fleshy exterior and resembles hard cheese, such as cheddar.
Turtle
Turtle eggs, especially sea turtle eggs, are said to taste very similar to chicken eggs. However, they have an underlying fish taste.
Although, we don’t recommend consuming turtle eggs since they’re all members of an endangered species.