Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
It’s not warm when she’s away
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
And she’s always gone too long
Anytime she goes away
(with credit to the wonderful Bill Withers)
For the last few weeks I’ve been in Canada. And for the last few weeks I’ve missed Mexican food. But probably not the food you’d guess I’ve missed.
Carnitas, chiles rellenos, barbacoa, mixiote. No none of those. With over 200 Mexican restaurants in Toronto, those dishes are easy to find. What I most crave is something that Mexicans eat more of than any other nationality in the world. Eggs. Yes, eggs. Sunshine on your plate. Except, in Toronto, where there’s constantly cloudy weather.
If you live or have spent any extended time in Mexico, you will know that Mexican eggs are different. The most noticeable thing is color. In the U.S. and in Canada, egg yolks are yellow. In Mexico, egg yolks are orange.
I have wasted many hours of my life determining why the yolks have a richer, redder color. When I first started spending time in Mexico, I was young and impressionable, still in my fifties. And in those days I heard it was because Mexican chickens were fed marigolds and, when I saw all of those altars with all of those marigolds every Semana Santa, I guess I believed it.
Then I became older and slightly wiser and, after doing a little research and discovering that marigold petals would cost about fifty times more than the corn and soybeans that are usually fed to chickens, I decided that must be a myth.
Also a myth I’m reasonably sure is that the yolk color comes from annatto, the seeds from the achiote tree that are used to add sunshine to cheddar cheese. Annatto seeds might cost even more than marigolds.
I’ve read about other potential reasons for the rich, orange color.
One person wrote that it’s a natural occurrence caused by the breed of hens, just like some eggshells are white, some brown. But I found that the exact same breeds are used in the U.S. and Mexico.
Han Jianlin, a geneticist at the International Livestock Research Institute says the color in egg yolks, as well as yellowish chicken skin and fat, comes from pigments found in plants called xanthophylls, primarily lutein.
Now that fact I do believe and I do know it can be caused by both natural occurrences (yellow corn for instance) and synthetic additives that are included in poultry feed to brighten the color of yolks. In some countries, The Egg Marketing Board encourages producers to achieve a 10 to 12 on the 15 stage DSM yolk color fan by adding lutein in the belief that the eggs will be more appetizing in appearance (and people will of course eat more).
So is there more lutein in Mexican poultry feed than U.S. and Canadian feed? From what I can find out, no. Purina, who is a mega supplier in all three countries, doesn’t seem to use different ingredients for different markets.
So what does make the difference? Well I have a theory. Now it’s a totally undocumented theory. And egghead types may roll over in laughter when they hear it. But I think it has something to do with what happens to the egg after it’s laid.
But first I have to talk about something more important than the color of the yolk. After all, it’s just as enjoyable to share the company of a blonde as it is a redhead. Next I’d like to talk about something very personal and I need your help in a little survey.
Please raise your hand if you think Mexican eggs taste better than the eggs in Canada or the U.S. Sorry, I can’t see it. Could you hold the computer screen in front of your arm. There, that’s better. OK, now let me do a count. Don Day’s Wife has her hand up. Don Day has his hand up. You have your hand up. It’s unanimous. Well, even if you didn’t put your hand up, the YEAs still win it by a 2-1 margin.
Yes, I definitely think Mexican eggs taste better, richer. And I think the majority of people who’ve eaten Mexican eggs agree. And why? Well I think for the same reason that Mexican egg yolks are orange.
So back to my eggcentric theory.
As everyone is now well aware, eggs these days don’t come from farms, they come from factories. CAFOS or concentrated animal feeding operations is their unappetizing official name. In CAFOs, egg-laying hens are often crammed into tiny quarters with less space to stand upon than the computer screen you are looking at.
Unlike poultry meat operations in Mexico that are run mostly by American and Brazilian companies, poultry egg operations in Mexico are run mostly by Mexican companies. And Mexican companies do two things very differently with the eggs from the 60 million or so Mexican laying hens that are employed in the industry.
I used to always wonder why Don Day’s Wife rinses off Mexican eggs before she cracks them. I discovered that in the United States and Canada, eggs are put through a comprehensive washing process that includes scrubbing, rinsing, drying and spraying the shells with chlorine. In Mexico, nothing is done. The eggs are sold feces, feathers and all.
Alarmed? Well perhaps you should be. Or perhaps you shouldn’t. For in most of Europe, those American and Canadian eggs would be considered illegal. For that egg washing process is forbidden, based on the fact that scrubbing may damage an egg’s natural cuticle and make it more susceptible to contamination from bacteria like Salmonella.
So does that egg washing process also affect the yolk color and taste of U.S. and Canadian eggs? I think it might. And especially if you add in that second difference with Mexican eggs.
If you live, full-time or part-time in Mexico, you might remember your first time shopping in a supermarket. You picked up some butter, some cream and maybe some yogurt from the refrigerated cases and you searched and searched and searched for the eggs. Finally you had to ask and, to your surprise, discover that they were in the produce section. And then came surprise number two. They weren’t refrigerated at all.
Scary. Maybe. But not so much to me. I spent the first ten years of my life in Europe, in a home without a refrigerator and I can’t remember the eggs, that often sat around for two or three weeks on the counter, ever spoiling. Still today in Europe, eggs are usually sold at room temperature. In fact, EU guidelines stipulate that “eggs should be transported and stored at as constant a temperature as possible – a temperature between 66.2 °F and 69.8°F in the winter and between 69.8°F and 73.4°F in the summer.”
So why do they refrigerate eggs in the U.S. and Canada? Well there is a good reason. Because after the cuticle is potentially damaged by washing, there is a greater chance of bacteria contamination at room temperature. And yes, they do last considerably longer when they’re cooler.
But how do they taste? Well that’s part two in what some people might consider my scrambled eggs for brains theory. I think non-refrigerated eggs might taste better than refrigerated eggs. I think that wonderful thing that happens to beer might be reversed with eggs.
I’ve got one more point to make to support my theory. If you’ve ever holidayed in Europe, you know there’s another place in the world where yolks are more orange and eggs taste better.
I rest my case and count the days to when I’ll again be eating Mexican eggs with a crumble of chorizo.
Good article and “interesting” theories. I learned something this morning.
Now, a question…any idea why, in Mexico, they don’t size their eggs? I mean, unless I’ve just somehow missed it, I don’t see “Jumbo”, “Extra Large”, “Large”, and so on. Just lots of eggs of mixed proportions.
I’m guessing but it may have to do with eggs being sold “in bulk” in Mexico (except for supermarket sales) while, in the U.S., they are heavily regulated by the USDA and mostly sold in cartons.
Don,
I can’t seem to get Mexican eggs to peel – I’ve tries to make deviled eggs numerous and can’t get the shell off – any tips?
I think that has to do with freshness…the fresher they are, the harder to peel.
Put vinegar in the water to boil eggs. Then they will normally peel
Totally agree–but why wash the eggs if they are going to be cooked?
You are right ! And I also think the chickens tast better too !
Interesting conjecture. We have a resident flock of free-ranging chickens, whose number fluctuates from 4 to 22, on our bed and breakfast plan (We bed them and they provide breakfast). We have also speculated about the difference between ours and store-bought eggs, concluding that fresh air and natural diet caused the orange color. We didn’t know about the washing and chlorine spray. That makes sense, and makes me a little more tolerant of the occasional stain or feather.
Hi Don Day and wife too,
We enjoy your posts. Today, I agree and held up my hand. Today, I am also in Paris, and the eggs here are similar to Mexico. I do miss the chorizo though. I did try some of the sausage options, I have been here in France for 6 weeks. There were lots of restaurants we enjoyed.
Tomorrow the 17TH, I will be headed to Alaska. Not to much to say about the restaurants in Ninilchik, there are a couple of um. Richard does have a hen house and his free range farm fresh eggs are so fresh that they stand up in the pan. I will be checking the color of the yolks for you! I think that they are good eggs! I will have some Halibut and Sockeye Salmon. Going fishing for 7 weeks. I am sure enjoying this retirement thing! See you around town in SMA in August.
Here on Vancouver Island many things are organic, and you buy them right at the farm. Free-range chickens are very expensive (which makes no sense to me, as you don’t have to give them “feed”, or not much..however you need to own some land I guess) and free-range eggs are popular and have a much more colored yolk, which they say is from eating real plants with chlorophyl(sp?) in them
I raised my hand. They seem richer and tastier here in San Miguel de Allende than in the US.
I think eating raw cookie dough is legal here, too. At least I haven’t gotten arrested yet.
The eggs from my backyard in Texas were always brighter and stood tall. We also never washed them unless they were very dirty. Looking forward to when we can get chickens here.
There is no doubt that eggs in Mexico have better flavour than north of the border. Sometimes I buy a dozen eggs in Canada and find each one has a little stamp on it. What is that about? Guess my opinion is that the more any produce is “processed” the less flavourful it will be. On another note. How many times have you found an “organic” Apple with a worm in it? I bet never. Think about it — in a natural world, that’s impossible.
I used to raise egg laying hens on a small organic farm in Maine. The orange color comes from their being feed plants as well as grain. It doesn’t matter what kind of plants. This is what makes the yolks so orange. My hens went out on fresh grass every day and got all the freshly pulled weeds from the gardens.
Commercially raised hens in the US are fed a corn based diet so the yolks of their eggs are paler. Hens raised in Canada are fed a wheat based diet so the yolks of their eggs are even paler than those in the US.
I worked with people at U Maine to create the first organically raised flock in the State way back when. I learned how to raise them with antbiotics in their food or eater in a way that prevented the development of salmonella in the hens themselves that is transferred into the eggs they lay. I had them tested every year to assure the absence of this bacteria. Fear of salmonella is why eggs are refrigerated, to prevent nascent salmonella from multiplying to the point of making people ill. Better to have healthy hens to begin with, si?
I never rinsed the eggs until I took them to market – or made breakfast 🙂 – for the reasons you cite. Nature knows best.
One other thought. Better taste has to do with freshness. Eggs in the US often don’t hit store shelves until they are weeks old. Seriously. If you’re buying them at the mercado turnaround is cut to days or even hours. If you crack an egg into a pan and the yolk is firm and rounded, it’s fresh. If it’s flat and spread out, it may be eligible for social security.
Apologies for typos. Cellphone keys are too tiny.
It definitely could be freshness that’s the difference. Though there are obviously lots of variances, scanning everything on the Internet, it looks like eggs in Mexico average about four days before they reach a retailer while in the U.S. It averages about 15.
Yes indeed. That’s the difference. I got pretty darn spoiled going out to the henhouse and gently reaching under a hen to fetch my breakfast 🙂 What flavor!
It also depends on what they’re fed. Mine got a mix of grains ground that same day to retain all the nutrients. No fillers. The rations varied depending on the time of year (less fat in hot weather, more protein when they molted) so the girls were healthy. They ranged free during the day and ate plants, bugs, worms, an occasional frog down at the pond. Big difference from artificial commercial feed. Some things can’t be duplicated in a factory.
Pastured chickens only lay approximately 20-30 eggs each year during the summer months Industrially farmed hens are forced to lay more than 275 eggs per year by various cruel methods. The calcium devoted to this high volume of egg laying leaves their bones extremely brittle and prone to breaking. The extreme stress of their conditions make them ill and they are fed antibiotics to keep them alive. Sick, stressed, anemic chickens produce anemic eggs loaded with antibiotics. If you can stomach knowing more about factory farmed chickens you can go to this website: http://www.foodispower.org/hens-raised-for-eggs/
If you have the stomach to learn more about factory farmed chickens you can go to this website: http://www.foodispower.org/hens-raised-for-eggs/
Hmm. I never found that to be true nor do I know anyone else with small farm flocks who does. It would be totally uneconomical to keep and feed laying hens if this were so. My free ranging flock of 40 or so hens hens laid an egg a day from spring through fall unless they were older and then they’d lay less often but the eggs would be huge. Of course, sometimes they find places to lay them outdoors instead of in the henhouse nest boxes, so it’s not that they’re not laying but that they’re hiding them away elsewhere. Ducks are great for doing that.
I could’ve kept them going all winter with artificial light but chose to let them rest in the shorter days. A lot of how well they lay during longer days depends on what they’re being fed. While mine were out and about, they also had high quality, organic grain back in the henhouse so their nutrition was optimal.
I wish all Americans could see how these chickens are raised. I think about this every now and then, and when I do, I almost always want to become a vegetarian. I guess the cattle and hogs that were killed on rural farms, had a decent life before butchering. It’s hard to consider what we are willing to do with live animals, for a big, big profit.