Eggs are such regular items in your everyday meals that you hardly think of them as out of the ordinary. However, paying closer attention to the modest egg will reveal how fascinating it is. Perhaps these facts will give you more appreciation for the egg the next time you are eating a sunny-side-up for breakfast.
- Eggs are very rich in quality protein while being low-calorie, at only 70 calories per egg. They are very good sources of several essential nutrients such as Vitamin D, niacin, riboflavin, Vitamin B12, lutein, choline, magnesium, potassium, sodium and sulfur.
- In the past, people were advised to limit their consumption of eggs because of their high cholesterol content. However, recent studies have proven that eating eggs does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- There are very few ingredients that can top the versatility of the egg in the kitchen. Aside from being eaten as a main course, eggs can be used to garnish, bind, emulsify, thicken, or glaze other dishes.
- The substance that makes up an eggshell is calcium carbonate. The shell is porous, allowing for the passage of gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide in and out of the egg. The number of pores in an average-sized eggshell is approximately 17,000.
- Contrary to what other people believe, shell color is not indicative of the amount of nutrients found in an egg. It is the breed of the hen that determines egg color; hens with white feathers have white eggs while those with reddish feathers produce brown eggs.
- The number of eggs that a hen lays in one year ranges from 250 to 270.
- According to statistics, a total of 1,200,000,000 eggs are produced annually, and approximately 40 percent of this number is consumed in China. Globally, an average person eats 173 eggs per year.
- As a hen matures, so does the size of her eggs; hence, an older hen will have larger eggs than a younger one.
- Century eggs are eggs that have gone through a preservation process popularized by the Chinese. It involves coating eggs with a mixture of salt, clay, ash, rice hulls and tea for several weeks or months, altering the eggs’ appearance, taste and texture. Century eggs are considered a delicacy in Chinese cuisine.
- “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” is an age-old question that has baffled many for centuries. Very recently, scientists who used super computers to study egg formation claim to have solved the puzzle. According to these scholars, egg shells can only be formed by a specific type of protein that is found in the ovaries of chickens. Thus, the answer is: the chicken came first.
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