Oct 14th: World Egg Day

Arguably one of the oldest foods known to man, eggs has played an important role in the lives and health of humans since time out of mind. These little goodies are packed full of protein, and also serve as the base for some of the most wonderful breakfast foods and culinary additions, including that perfect of condiments for sandwiches and mayonnaise.

World Egg Day celebrates these delightful little packages of deliciousness and the incredibly important role they play in the day-to-day lives of humans all over the planet.

History of World Egg Day

Typically, when most tend to consider the egg, they think of those white or brown-shelled emissions that come from the common chicken. Containing a small treasure with a golden yolk, and the potential to become so many things that it strains the boundaries of human imagination, the Chicken Egg has become the definitive image when the word ‘egg’ is spoken. But these are not the only type of eggs that mankind finds valuable, consider for a moment caviar, a symbol of wealth in its own right. These are, of course, the eggs of various fish, and World Egg Day represents their importance as well.

The history of the egg expands far beyond merely a culinary concern and, in fact, has had great importance in multiple cultures for reasons both decorative and religious. In many cultures around the world, eggs have been a sign of fertility and representative of life, renewal and rebirth.

Consider for a moment the Easter Egg, where children hunt each year for brightly coloured eggs or plastic shaped in the form of egg which contains treats such as chocolate, jellybeans, or money. In fact, decorated Easter Eggs are one of the oldest forms of decorative artwork in the world.

And what about the Faberge Eggs? Those beautiful pieces of artistic elegance were created by Peter Carl Faberge from St. Petersburg, Russia. So beautiful were these that they were prized even by Czars!

World Egg Day reminds you to explore the hallways of history and the places that eggs occupy there. It’s time to get into celebrating World Egg Day!

How to Celebrate World Egg Day

Getting involved with celebrating World Egg Day can become an exciting adventure when it comes to celebrating everything to do with the Egg. Try out some of these ideas for celebrating the day:

Enjoy a Meal Including Eggs

Celebrating World Egg Day best starts with a great big plate of scrambled eggs served along with their most bosom companion, bacon. With a dash of salt and pepper, plus a little bit of cheese, that simple plate of eggs will be absolutely delicious!

For lunch, a great idea would be to create a sandwich upon a slice of Challah bread, a Jewish Egg bread that is nothing short of amazing. And the centre of the sandwich? Well, that probably needs to be egg salad, of course. Make it with some boiled eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, and some chopped dill pickle relish.

Those who are feeling a little bit adventurous may look and find if there are types of eggs that they have, perhaps, never tried before. Duck Eggs are especially prized, and Goose Eggs are larger than the typical chicken egg but can be quite interesting when cooked in a variety of ways.

Learn Some Fun Facts About Eggs

World Egg Day is the perfect time to brush up on interesting tidbits and trivia that can be shared with various coworkers, neighbours, friends, or family members. They’ll be impressed with unique and interesting bits of information, such as:

• Egg Color is Determined By Earlobes. The colour of the egg doesn’t have anything to do with freshness, flavour or nutritional value. In fact, the colour of the egg is determined strictly by the breed of the hen and corresponds to the colour of the hen’s earlobe!
• Chefs’ Hats are Influenced by Eggs. Some people aren’t aware that going back a little in history, the meaning of number of the pleats in a chef’s hat was related to the number of ways that the chef was able to cook an egg. The ultimate goal and badge of true honour were to get to 100 pleats.
• Iowa is a Big Egg Producer. In the United States, the state of Iowa leads the nation in egg production, with more than 14 billion eggs every single year! The next stage comes in at around half of that: Ohio produces a little under 8 billion eggs per year.
• Eating cooked eggs is healthier. While some people think that eating a raw egg will help to build muscle, that’s not true.  Only about 50% of the proteins in a raw egg can be digested. After it’s cooked, the body can digest more than 90% of the proteins.

World Egg Day encourages people worldwide to explore the possibilities within the egg truly!

Bonus: Egg Freshness Tips

Not sure if those eggs are fresh? The best way to test for freshness is by dropping an egg into a glass of water. If it sinks, it is fresh. If it floats? It’s probably old. Eggs that have a cloudy white are extremely fresh! Most eggs that come from the grocery store have been sitting around a little longer and will probably have “whites” that are actually clear and colourless. They’re still fine to eat, though, unless the “whites” are some colour other than cloudy white or transparent.