Have you ever eaten duck eggs? If you do, you might say it tastes no different from chicken eggs, especially if you don’t have picky taste buds. Yet, if you have delicate taste buds, you might say that duck eggs come with a slightly sharp taste. This extra flavor comes from the higher fat content found in the yolks of duck eggs.
Duck eggs, however, are less popular than chicken eggs. Yet, they are good alternatives to chicken eggs. Besides, they offer more nutritional and dietary value than chicken eggs. Thus, consuming duck eggs would provide you with many health benefits.
Which Are Healthier & Taste Good to Eat: Duck eggs or Chicken Eggs?
Chicken eggs, of course, are the dominant poultry egg products in the market today. Duck eggs, however, are far behind in terms of popularity. But regarding which of these two eggs offers more nutritional benefits, the duck eggs rule over the chicken eggs.
As mentioned above, duck eggs come with more nutrients making them nutritionally better than chicken eggs. Chicken eggs, for example, contain the nutrients iron, folate, and vitamin B12. Yet, they have a lesser amount of these nutrients than duck eggs.
A duck egg is also rich in protein and other nutrients. It also comes with many minerals and vitamins like vitamin B12, folate, and iron that are healthy for your body.
Besides, duck eggs feature a more impressive nutritional profile than chicken eggs. A 100g of duck eggs, for example, offers 12g of protein, while 100g of chicken eggs provide only 10g of protein. So, you can quickly see the discrepancy between the protein content of these two eggs.
A comparison of the nutritional contents of a chicken egg and a duck egg shows that the duck egg has 0.33 ounces of fat while the chicken egg has only 0.17 ounces. A duck egg also has around 660mg of cholesterol, while chicken only has 285mg.
The duck egg has 130 calories, while the chicken egg has 80 calories. Furthermore, the duck egg’s protein content is 0.31 ounces, while the chicken egg has only 0.2 ounces.
So, it is not an overstatement that the larger duck egg offers more nutritional content than the smaller chicken egg.
What Are the Health Benefits of Eating Duck Eggs?
A duck egg is rich in vitamins and nutrients. It contains vitamins B12, D, E, and K2, as well as calcium. Besides, it has high-fat content with lower cholesterol than a chicken egg. Similarly, it contains a balanced level of carbohydrates, protein, fats, and minerals.
Eating duck eggs will keep your bones and eyes healthy with all these nutrients and mineral contents. You will also have increased metabolism because of its high-quality protein.
Moreover, you can improve your body’s red blood cell production because of its iron content. Besides, it is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids that could boost your brain functioning. Its fat and protein content can also boost your immune system because of its vitamins B6 and B12. Plus, it has selenium and choline.
Duck eggs also contain carotenoids that are good for overall wellbeing and health. Carotenoids can also assist in hormone production and increase your vitality as a man.
Nevertheless, it will be best to refrain from eating more than an egg daily. Otherwise, you might ingest excessive fat and cholesterol, which can be counterproductive to good health. Excessive eating of duck eggs might also lead to other health issues like diabetes, obesity, and increased heart attack risk.
Are Duck Eggs Good to Cook?
Yes, duck eggs are fun to cook, though you can cook them the same way you would cook a chicken egg. Nevertheless, duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs. So, if you would cook it using a chicken egg recipe, you might be at a loss as to how to follow your recipe measurements. But if you can quickly figure out how many duck eggs to use in a chicken recipe, it will serve you in good stead.
In almost all cases, you can cook duck eggs exactly as you would cook a chicken egg. You can fry them well like you would fry chicken eggs. Nevertheless, you will find the duck egg richer and creamier than the scrambled chicken eggs.
Although duck eggs are not as popular as chicken eggs in western countries, in Asian countries like the Philippines, China, and Vietnam, you will find popular methods of preparing duck eggs.
Duck eggs, for example, are salted, in these countries, allowing them to sit in a briny solution for several days to preserve them and change their texture. Afterward, they can serve as filling to rice or are added to stir-fries.
How Would You Prepare Duck Eggs?
You can do some research online if you don’t know how to prepare duck eggs for eating. The internet is awash with various recipes for preparing duck eggs for eating. Some of these methods of preparing duck eggs include the following:
Fried Eggs, Omelets, Scrambled Eggs
If you would fry or make an omelet using duck eggs, you will find the result creamier. You can use your chicken egg recipes, but you can replace the chicken eggs with duck eggs. However, you must adjust the cooking time and seasoning, especially if you cook a lot of eggs.
Another thing you will notice is the extra hardness of the duck egg’s shell. So, you will need extra effort to crack these eggs.
Many people like to fry their duck eggs instead of boiling them. If you want to fry it, you can simply follow the same method you would use when frying chicken eggs.
Poached Duck Eggs
Another way to prepare duck eggs is to make poached duck eggs. You can cook the duck eggs in a bit cooler water. Then, crack the eggs while the water simmers. Maintain the temperature anywhere between 71° to 82°C. You must cook the eggs for around four minutes.
You Can Bake Using Duck Eggs
You can scale down the ratio of duck eggs you will use when using chicken recipes for baking. This way, you can avoid utilizing more eggs than necessary while not disrupting the integrity and consistency of the baked food.
If you do it right, you will notice that your baked products exhibit more vivid and vibrant colors. Besides, they carry richer tastes.
Salted Eggs
One unique recipe created in the orient is the salted duck eggs. It involves letting the eggs sit in a saline solution for three weeks. Soon after, the eggs come out with a gelatin-like firm white yoke that carries a briny aroma. Besides, its yoke sports a vibrant orange color.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are new to eating duck eggs, you might be at a loss as to whether eating duck eggs will be healthy for you. You might also have other questions you need clarification on. Thus, you can check out the following FAQs about duck eggs, for they might be the questions you have in your mind:
Do Duck Eggs Taste Like Dirt?
Duck eggs might offer a more palatable taste than chicken eggs. However, there will be instances when duck eggs would taste like dirt. Two reasons why duck eggs would have this taste are due to genetics and diet. If you want your duck eggs to taste better, you can spruce their feed with a choline supplement.
Some ducks might be predisposed to digestion problems genetically. This genetic predisposition might cause their duck eggs to taste like dirt. Besides, storage mistakes might make their eggs taste like dirt. Similarly, constant direct exposure to sunlight can also muddle the taste of duck eggs, leading to their earthy flavor.
Are Duck Eggs Delicious?
There is not much difference between the taste of chicken eggs and duck eggs, except for the duck eggs’ stronger taste. This stronger taste might be due to the duck’s diet.
Ducks eat snails, slugs, bugs, and other protein-rich critters. This diet preference might be a significant factor that gives the duck eggs a stronger taste.
Are Duck Eggs Expensive?
If you compare the price of duck eggs with chicken eggs, you can say that they are more expensive than chicken eggs. In the United States, for example, a dozen chicken eggs cost around $2 on average. On the other hand, duck eggs can cost anywhere between $6 to $12.
Can You Eat the Shells of Duck Eggs?
Yes, you can eat them, provided you ground them to powder and utilize them in your recipes to boost the calcium content of your food. Nevertheless, you should wash the eggshells thoroughly and sterilize them to kill any bacteria they harbor.
My Personal Opinion
Duck eggs are remarkable for their dietary and nutritional value. As such, duck eggs are doubtlessly pleasant to eat and excellent alternatives to chicken eggs. Given the abovementioned benefits derivable from eating duck eggs, you can, every once in a while, shift to eating duck eggs instead of chicken eggs.
However, you should eat duck eggs in moderation because anything excessive could harm your health. Just follow the dosage recommended by experts to ensure you’re on the safe side of the equation when eating duck eggs.
