“There are at least two sides to every issue, and I like my issues sunny side up. I also like bacon and toast on the side. Are you eating what I’m saying?” – Jarod Kintz

As one of the world’s most important ingredients used in so many dishes from breakfast to dinner, choosing eggs turn out to be a matter of complexity and that’s because so many options to choose from. Around the world, not only do we cook with chicken eggs, there are other, more exotic eggs too!

QUAIL EGGS
Undisputedly, this egg is the smallest yet also a hugely popular and is consumed in large quantities all over the world. Take for instance the quail’s egg satay often found in many chicken porridge pushcarts every morning here in Indonesia or even in soups and Chinese cuisine.

Out there, the quail egg is simply an honorable ingredient that so many countries use in their notable dishes. For example, we can easily find it on top of steak tartare from France, in tapas dishes from Spain, marinated with soy sauce in Korea, and many suggest the use of it for croque madame as well.

CHICKEN EGGS
Clearly, the chicken egg is the most familiar choice to cook with, any household around the globe would cook it every day. The efficiency of the poultry industry – or in this case, chicken, is signified as well by the wide array of choices for the eggs.

Starting from whether you want it brown or white from the eggshell color or bringing it up to the level where you also consider whether the eggs came organically, from free-range chicken, or cage-free. Choosing chicken eggs has never been this personal before!

With the size of around 2 ounces, chicken egg packs around 78 calories and is one of the most versatile ingredients in the entire universe. Fry it, scramble it, poach it, or anything that you like.

DUCK EGGS
With the size of almost twice that of chicken eggs, the size of the yolk from duck egg is also way bigger. With its higher fat content and creamier texture, the duck egg becomes the favorite of bakers and pastry chefs alike. Name anything you want from crème brulee, sponge cake, flan, or anything with custard-y texture. In the East, the duck egg becomes a delicacy, especially in The Philippines with the balut or the salted duck egg in China and also Indonesia.

Again, we’d like to remind you that the calorie level of duck egg is twice of what the chicken egg has and three times the cholesterol. Tread carefully.

TURKEY EGGS
Unlike chicken, quail, or duck eggs, the turkey eggs are not commonly found in markets because of the high demand of whole turkey itself and with lower output of the eggs when compared with other fowls.

With the size roughly the same with duck egg, it actually possesses a bit more calories but 3.5 times of cholesterol found in chicken egg! With its creamier texture but similarity with chicken egg, it is also suitable to treat it like a fancy chicken egg but still made into the classics like poaching, scrambling, and frying.

GOOSE EGGS
The goose egg is particularly high in calories, cholesterol, and goes with twice the size of duck egg. It has a richer, more pronounced flavor than a chicken egg. In some parts of the world, despite the price tag of around $3-per-egg, it sells out really quick. It is also a bit rare to find it in local markets because in some countries, you will have to travel to farmers’ markets or splurge at high-end gourmet shops for this egg. Some suggestions on how to deal with this egg are to hardboil it, fry it, or make it into an omelette.

OSTRICH EGGS
Here’s the fun fact – each giant ostrich egg equals to 24 chicken eggs! Of course the shell is harder as well and you might need extra strength to crack it open, but some people also prefer to drill and drain it instead. The egg’s availability is also limited to certain farmers’ markets that usually sell it at around $30-per-egg!

Some suggests to just scramble it with anything you have on the fridge but a chef recently tried to put it as an ingredient for making fresh pasta. Well, at around 2,000 calories per egg, you really want to be careful eating it. But even before that, you have to splurge the 30 bucks first though!

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Featured in THE FOODIE MAGAZINE June 2014 edition

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