Eggs
I've heard from a couple of my students a about their mistakes in buying eggs here in Japan. Unlike some countries they are not labeled as organic or free range, and the only hint you may get is the price. Here I will tell you some common differentiation regarding eggs in the supermarket.
First of all the colors of the eggs just mean that they are from a different breed of chicken and there is no difference in nutrition. You may find that brown eggs may cost more, but the reason is that they are from bigger hens which eat more feed so, they have to mark up the price for that. Also, I been given comments about the color of the egg yolks being so orange. Color alone may not have much to do with nutrition as some farmers may add paprika or peppers to deliberately make the color orange. And there can be eggs with yellow egg yolks and still be more nutritious than the orange ones.
Buy the way, there are 2 kinds of kanji for tamago (eggs) : 卵 refers to raw eggs and 玉子 refers to cooked eggs. As we have a food culture to eat eggs raw, all the eggs are sold refrigerated. The expiration date tells you the date that you can eat raw, after that you may eat them cooked up to 1 month at your own risk.
So what should you be looking for when you buy eggs?
First of all the colors of the eggs just mean that they are from a different breed of chicken and there is no difference in nutrition. You may find that brown eggs may cost more, but the reason is that they are from bigger hens which eat more feed so, they have to mark up the price for that. Also, I been given comments about the color of the egg yolks being so orange. Color alone may not have much to do with nutrition as some farmers may add paprika or peppers to deliberately make the color orange. And there can be eggs with yellow egg yolks and still be more nutritious than the orange ones.
Buy the way, there are 2 kinds of kanji for tamago (eggs) : 卵 refers to raw eggs and 玉子 refers to cooked eggs. As we have a food culture to eat eggs raw, all the eggs are sold refrigerated. The expiration date tells you the date that you can eat raw, after that you may eat them cooked up to 1 month at your own risk.
So what should you be looking for when you buy eggs?
Normal eggs costs under 200 yen. Supermarkets may have their private brand.
Premium Eggs - Costs over 200 yen for a pack of 6.
Eggs with fortified nutritions, but does not mean that they are free range.
Onsen Tamago (Hot springs eggs) - These are eggs cooked in low temperature (originally from the hot springs). Look for the Kanji ”温泉卵” Do not mistake them for raw eggs.
|
Branded Eggs - costs around 300 yen per pack of 10. Each brand will have a special blend of the feed to make the eggs more nutritious. May be labeled as "栄養強化卵”(Eiyo kyokaran - Nutrutionally Fortified Eggs).
Free Range (Cage-free) Eggs - Costs over 400 yen for a pack of 10. Usually sold in a pack of 6. These eggs come from cage-free chickens. Look for the Kanji "平飼い" (Hirakai).
Quail Eggs - They come as raw or boiled and peeled. Sold in the same section as chicken eggs.
|
Check out my recipes for using eggs here.
