I've been watching a lot of cooking shows based in England and have noticed when they use eggs that their yolks are almost crimson coloured. Why is this?
Red yolks?
Is the color on your set adjusted correctly? ;)
I dun know! But it may be interesting! I'll ask 2 of my friends in the UK about the color of their yolks!
I think it is based on what they are feeding them....mostly organic food high in carotenoids. When I lived in the UK the supermarket egg yolks were pretty much the same colour as here--but the eggs were much larger. Egg producers are able to produce different coloured yolk based on what they add to the feed. In some places and times there has been a premium on what is called a "platinum yolk" so pale it is almost white. Here is an interesting quote from this site:
http://chestofbooks.com/food/science/Experimental-Cookery/Chapter-X-Egg-Cookery.html
"The coloring matter of the yolk, according to Palmer, Mattikow, and others is xanthophyll, with a small proportion of a carotene-like pigment. The intensity of the yolk color is determined by the amount of xanthophyll in the food of the hen. The color of the yolk may vary from a very pale, almost white yolk, through deeper yellows to orange and finally a deep-red-orange. Some feeds may produce red-colored yolks. Some attempts have been made to work out color charts, giving each shade a number; but most of these are only tentative. It is an advantage for bakers and mayonnaise manufacturers to obtain yolks of uniform color to insure uniformity of color of their products. A small number of manufacturers at present do specify the color of the egg yolks when they place their contract for them. Reaction of eggs. The egg white is alkaline. Sharp found that the pH of the white varies from 7.6 to 9.7, whereas the yolk of fresh eggs averages pH 6.0 or slightly lower. The pH of both the white and yolk increases with age because of the loss of carbon dioxide. Sharp and Powell state that since the loss of some carbon dioxide cannot be prevented before the pH is taken, that a pH of 7.6 is probably too high for freshly laid eggs. With further loss of carbon dioxide the pH may increase to 9.5. Then, probably owing to break down of some of the egg protein, the pH decreases. The pH of the yolk may reach 6.8, but changes more gradually than that of the white. When the whole egg is beaten so that the white and yolk are mixed, a pH intermediate between that of the white and yolk is obtained."
The natural food movement is very big in Britain and most of the British TV celebrity cooks use organic eggs and chicken. I noticed the same thing with the colour of the egg yolks on Nigella Lawson's shows.
That's the show I watch! I like her casual approach to cooking. Thanks for the info.
When I am canning beets, I give my girls the peels and leaves. The yolks are really dark orange for days afterwards.
It truly is the incredible edible egg isn't it??
It is!
I just love eggs, could eat them every day. I am so happy they are back to being good for us again!