Thursday, June 27, 2013

Comparing Chicken, Silkie, Turkey, Guinea Hen, Duck and Goose Eggs


At Sanagan’s Meat Locker, we sell all sorts of eggs, but most people opt for the regular ol’ chicken eggs. Here are selling points and information about the others we have: 

Chicken Egg
  • per egg (50g) 71 calories, 5g fat, 6g protein
  •  a good source of Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Protein and Selenium.

Silkie - good for hors d'oeuvres and small servings

  • breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk.
  • in cooking, 2 silkie eggs = 1 jumbo chicken egg
  • similar in taste to chicken eggs

Guinea Hen - good for baking
  • more yolk than white
  • similar size to silkie 
  • hard shell ( this also means longer shelf life and less chance of egg taking on fridge taste)
  • whites cook faster than chicken eggs, so gentle heat is best to avoid rubbery whites
  • custardy, rich and creamy taste
  • fun tidbit: guinea hens are quite loud when intruders are near so they help farmers by warning of foxes and hawks

Turkey - high in protein

  •  similar taste to a free run chicken egg
  • 1 egg is approximately  80g ( about 2 regular chicken eggs)
  • high in protein : 11g/egg 
  • high in iron (18% rdi)
  • yellow yolks
  • great for fluffy omlettes and angel food cake


Duck - great for savoury dishes (omelettes, steak with béarnaise, carbonara)
  • rich taste, double the fat compared to chicken eggs (9.6g/70g egg) which makes for great  carbonara
  • stay fresh longer than chicken because of thick shell 
  • 6x the Vitamin D, 2x the Vitamin A
  • water content is lower than chicken eggs so best not to overcook them ( also means they are great for pickled eggs)
  • the whites have higher albumin (protein) so they are more difficult to whip than chicken eggs for merignues and angel food cake, but the higher protein also gives baked goods more lift/height

Goose - high in iron
  • 1 egg = 144g, 19g fat, 20g protein
  • very high in iron ( almost 30% rdi)
  • big, firm, pale yolk
  • great for scrambled eggs, eggy breads ( like challah), hollondaise/bearnaise, sous-vide, souflee, quiche, homemade pasta, as the centre piece on a platter of devilled eggs as well as christmas tree ornaments!

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