When you really get down to it, any type of egg can be used for cooking and probably has at some point! However, some are far more commonly used in the kitchen than others. The humble chicken egg is the most popular, having been used in kitchens across the world for as long as can be remembered.
Just because chicken eggs hold most of the limelight in cooking does not mean you should disregard other eggs. Duck eggs are finally being recognised for their versatility in the kitchen and are gaining popularity. But are duck eggs as versatile and valuable as chicken eggs?
What separates a duck egg from a chicken egg is how much more fat a duck egg contains. This is due to the size of the duck egg’s yolk, which is double that of a chicken egg.
What are Duck Eggs?
Duck eggs are some of the most varied eggs in terms of appearance. Their shell can come in a whole range of colours from brown and speckled to black to bright grey, all depending on the type of duck that produced the egg.
Though surprisingly, the eggs’ colour and the duck species do not affect the duck egg’s flavour.
The duck’s diet can alter the egg’s taste, but even then, not by much. For the most part, duck eggs have a very typical egg taste, just on a larger scale than a regular egg, as duck eggs are noticeably bigger than regular chicken eggs.
When it comes to the yolk of a duck egg, it is larger than you would expect, and the white surrounding the yolk is practically see-through.
With such a big yolk, duck eggs carry a lot of fat which is great for making creamy omelettes but can throw your cake out of whack if not used carefully.
Roughly 1.5 regular-sized chicken eggs are equivalent to just 1 duck egg – or 3 chicken eggs for every 2 duck eggs.
What are Chicken Eggs?
Unless you are a vegan, chicken eggs probably play a much bigger role in your everyday eating habit than you would think.
As chickens are so easily reared and are easily domesticated, chicken eggs have found their way into so many products and snacks as well as recipes. You can go into any supermarket and easily find a carton of eggs for an affordable price.
With countless egg farmers all over the world accommodating the call for chicken eggs, they are a very affordable product to buy.
Better yet, chicken eggs are packed full of protein (the whites) and healthy fats (the yellow yolk), making them such a versatile tool in the kitchen.
The fat is an important part of many baking recipes, while the whites help to bind everything together. Likewise. the yolk provides some fatty deliciousness to countless hot meals like omelettes while the whites add protein to make the dish more filling.
No matter the colour of your chicken eggs shell, there is no noticeable difference in taste. Instead, it is the diet and lifestyle of the chicken that affect the egg’s taste.
Similarities Between Duck Eggs and Chicken Eggs
Duck eggs and chicken eggs seem to share their similarities where it matters most. For example:
- Overall Taste – Unlike other types of eggs, chicken eggs and duck eggs taste exactly the same. If you were to fry them and serve the eggs to a blindfolded 3rd party to taste, they would not be able to tell the difference.
- Cooking Uses – The best thing about chicken and duck eggs is that because they share such a similar and inseparable flavour, they can be used exactly the same when it comes to cooking. You can fry them, scramble them or eat them raw if you really want to.
- Diet Affects Taste – Duck eggs are chicken eggs that only have a varied taste when the bird that produced them has a varied diet. For example, a duck and chicken on a grass-fed diet will produce a similar-tasting egg, while a duck or chicken on a pellet-fed diet will also produce a similar egg, just different from the grass-fed animals.
Differences Between Duck Eggs and Chicken Eggs
You would think that all eggs are the same just with slightly different appearances, right? Wrong! Here are some key differences between duck eggs and chicken eggs:
- Shell Thickness – When you try to crack a raw duck egg, you will find it harder to do so than with a chicken egg. This is because a duck egg shell is much thicker than a chicken egg’s, offering more protection to the yolk and giving them a longer shelf life than chicken eggs.
- Yolk Size – Though duck eggs are only 0.5 bigger than regular chicken eggs, a duck egg yolk is double the size of a chicken egg yolk. With such a large yolk, duck eggs have a higher fat percentage than chicken eggs.
- Baking Difficulties – Because of the bigger size of a duck egg yolk than a chicken’s, you have to be careful how you use a duck egg in baking. The eggs include more fat than a chicken’s egg and can alter the careful balance of your baked good.
- Accessibility – Ducks do not lay eggs as often as chickens which make duck eggs technically rarer than chicken eggs. As such, duck eggs are more expensive than chicken eggs and can be harder to find in your everyday supermarket.
- Animal Source – Of course, it goes without saying that the two types of eggs we are talking about come from different animals. Duck eggs are produced by ducks and chicken eggs come from chickens.
Duck Eggs vs Chicken Eggs: Which Wins?
Which of the two egg varieties do you prefer? Do you tend to stick with the common chicken egg, or do you prefer the richness of duck eggs?
Do You Prefer Duck Eggs or Chicken Eggs?
Duck Eggs and Chicken Eggs FAQs
Do you still have questions about what makes duck and chicken eggs different? Then have a look at these FAQs:
Duck eggs are not as commonly used as chicken eggs because ducks do not lay eggs at the same frequency as chickens. This makes duck eggs more expensive so most people settle for chicken eggs.
Sources
Where we obtain our information and verify the facts in this article:
Healthline
What a duck egg is, what it is made of and how it is produced.
Free From Harm
What a chicken egg is, what it is made of and how it is produced.
Fresh Eggs Daily
A comparison of duck eggs and chicken eggs.
Acacia may be a freelance writer by day, but they are a food fanatic by night. They are always trying out new recipes or finding different ways to elevate classical dishes. But their biggest culinary aim is to educate others on the basics of the kitchen so that they too can enjoy delicious food.
