Why Some Egg Yolks Are Yellow And Others Are Bright Orange

When you picture an egg yolk, you probably imagine a lovely golden shade of yellow — fried eggs with a top-facing intact yolk are called "sunny side up" for a reason, after all. But in truth, egg yolks come in many different shades, most commonly ranging from a pale yellow, the color of fresh hay, to a vivid sunset orange. Why is there such a wide range? Well, it all depends on the diet of the egg-laying hens.

The saying "you are what you eat" applies to just about every animal, including chickens. If your egg has a pale yellow yolk, the hen that laid it probably ate a diet that was rich in wheat or other types of grain. If it's bright yellow, it might have enjoyed some corn or alfalfa. (Chickens are usually fed yellow dent field corn, which tastes less sweet than the sweet corn humans favor.) If the yolk is orange, there's a good chance the hen was able to do a bit of foraging on her own — the carotenoids and xanthophylls in common chicken snacks like insects and wild plants are what turn the yolk that vivid hue, though farmers can also add ingredients like marigold petals or red pepper to chicken feed to yield more deeply colored yolks.

Now, before any of you protein-maxxing nutrition heads get any bright ideas, you should probably know that the color of the yolk has very little to do with the nutritional quality of the egg. One egg will pretty much resemble another, at least in terms of basics like protein and fat. While a hen with a diverse diet may lay eggs that are somewhat richer in certain vitamins, that's only one of a number of factors — there's also age, health, and breed, to name just a few.

It may be true, however, that eggs with a deeper-colored yolk are tastier than their paler compatriots. Again, though, that's not really the color's doing. Hens that are allowed to roam freely and forage for their food will generally have better welfare and health, resulting in superior eggs. So when you're looking to prepare simple dishes like the fluffiest scrambled eggs you've ever tasted or Martha Stewart's favorite soft boiled eggs, keep an eye out for free-range eggs with those rich, beautiful yolks.