Brown and white eggs are staples in many kitchens around the world. Although the two types of egg are similar in many ways, there are a few differences between them.

Although it is often said that white hens lay white eggs and brown hens lay brown eggs, this is not always the case. The colour of the egg actually depends on the breed of hen.
Without being an expert on breeds, you only need to look at the hen’s earlobes to know the colour of the egg she will lay. A hen with white earlobes will lay white eggs and if her earlobes are red, she will lay brown eggs.

To be perfectly honest, this trick only works for pure-bred hens. For cross-bred hens, it’s impossible to be 100% sure.

In terms of nutritional value, brown and white eggs are almost identical. Both types of eggs are an excellent source of high-quality protein, vitamins and essential minerals. The colour of the shell does not affect the nutritional value of the egg itself.

In terms of taste and texture, there is also no significant difference between brown and white eggs. The colour of the shell does not affect the taste of the egg. Whether you use brown or white eggs in your recipes, you will get similar results in terms of taste and texture.

So the difference is mainly in the chicken, not the egg. For instance, in general, hens that lay brown eggs are bigger than hens that lay white eggs. So these hens also need slightly more feed. On the other hand, brown eggs tend to be slightly larger than white ones.

Chickens that lay white eggs also lay slightly more eggs on a yearly basis than chickens that produce brown eggs. Unfortunately, this often results in a weaker shell and thus more food loss.