3rd June: Egg Day

Today is Egg Day, so here are 10 things you may not know about eggs:

1. The colour of an egg is determined by the colour of the Chicken. White hens will lay white eggs and brown hens lay brown eggs. There are even breeds of chicken that produce blue, blue-green or speckled eggs.
2. The colour of the yolk is related to the hen's diet. If the hen eats grain with yellow or Orange pigments in it, the yolk is more Yellow.
3. The shell is made of calcium carbonate, and makes up 9-12% of the weight of the egg.
4. Egg white is made from albumen, a protein, and also contains B vitamins, chlorine, magnesium, Potassium, sodium and sulfur.
5. Eggs are said to be the best possible source of protein. They also contain vitamin D, one of very few foods which do. What it doesn't have is Vitamin C - the chick will produce that itself once it is hatched and starts eating.
6. It takes about a day for an egg to form inside a hen. Then, after the egg is laid, 30 minutes later, the hen starts producing the next one.
7. Eggs are laid large end first.
8. The Guinness World Record for omelette making is held by Howard Helmer, who made 427 omelettes in 30 minutes.
9. To work out if an egg is fresh, fill a bowl with enough water to cover the egg, and put the egg in. If an egg sinks to the bottom, it's fresh. If it floats to the top, it's not.
10. The largest egg on record weighed 2.589 kg (5 lb 11.36 oz) and was laid by an ostrich at a farm in Borlänge, Sweden, on 17 May 2008.