You Can Increase The Chances Of Getting A Double Egg Yolk If You Buy These

Picture it — you're in your kitchen, about to fry some eggs for breakfast. You crack open one, and you're suddenly greeted with not one but two egg yolks in a single shell. Whether or not you think of eggs as good for you, it's a pretty exciting moment worth posting on social media. If you think this is a magically rare occurrence, you'd be right. The chances of getting a double-yolker are roughly one in a thousand. However, if you'd like to improve those odds a little, you'll want to pick up a carton of jumbo or even super jumbo eggs on your next shopping trip.

Older hens tend to lay bigger eggs, including jumbo-sized ones, and double-yolk eggs mostly come from older as well as younger chickens. Most cartons come from the same age flock, which means that if one egg in the carton has two yolks, there's a higher chance of there being more. This is why you sometimes see people online getting multiple double-yolk eggs in a row, and part of why the Internet is currently so obsessed with weird eggs.

If you're willing to pay extra, another option is to buy cartons of only double-yolk eggs from specialty sellers, though they will still occasionally have single yolks mixed into the carton. The cost of these eggs tends to be a dollar or two higher than your average dozen, so if you're looking to save some dosh and leave it to chance, jumbo eggs are still your best bet.

Why some eggs have two yolks comes down to how they form within a hen's body. During ovulation, hens release a single oocyte that becomes a yolk, and a shell forms around it inside the chicken. Occasionally, though, two oocytes are released close together, so a single shell forms around both, creating a two-yolk egg.

It commonly occurs in older chickens with unsteady ovulation cycles as they age and young hens who haven't settled into an egg-laying routine, so their bodies are still sorting out how exactly it's done. The youngsters may even lay eggs that are tiny with no yolk. Though double-yolk eggs are usually an accidental occurrence, some birds are genetically bred in India and Hong Kong for producing all-double-yolk cartons.

The big question is: Does a double-yolker count as one or two eggs? You shouldn't count a double-yolker as two whole eggs, as the ratio of yolk to white won't be the same. Also, with many cake batters or pastry doughs, they call for only one yolk, and using two might affect the results. So, make sure to crack eggs into a separate bowl before adding, especially the super jumbo variety. Although it also makes it basically impossible to achieve perfectly centered hard-boiled eggs, doubles can still bring rich protein and whimsical delight to cooking.