Chicken egg is one of the most useful and common poultry products. Low cost, beneficial properties for the body and taste have turned the testicle into a necessary ingredient in many dishes, cosmetic and medical recipes. But to get the maximum effect, in some of them you need to follow the recipe exactly. To do this, you need to know exactly what the weight of a chicken egg is. Let’s analyze average indicators and methods of determining weight in different ways.
Average weight
An ordinary chicken egg can weigh from 35 to 75 grams – that is, some specimens are capable of twice as much as others and vice versa. When it comes to classic breeds of poultry, weight deviations from the above limits in both directions are rare. The average weight is considered to be 55-60 grams. This group includes specimens of the first category, which even in the comparative table of mass indicators are exactly in the middle:
- higher – 75-80 g;
- selected – 65-70 g;
- the first – 55-65 g;
- the second – 45-55 g;
- the third – 35-45 m
Therefore, when the recipes indicate the need to use a product of medium size without additional weighing, you can use a product of the first category. The same can be done when it is necessary to add an exact amount, but there is no desire to engage in weighing.
Without shell
In addition to the average weight for cooking, it is sometimes necessary to know how much a raw or boiled egg weighs without a shell. Despite the fact that it seems very light and airy in the hands, the shell can take up to 10% of the total mass. This figure must be subtracted to obtain accurate information about the mass of the usable product.
As a result, a selected sample cleaned from the shell will weigh 68-73 grams, and a similar egg of the third category – about 30 grams. The exact mass can be known directly during weighing, but in most cases the above-described method of calculation allows you to determine the real value or as close as possible to it.
Weight of yolk, white and shell
The mass of individual components is important to show, which you need to know for the correct preparation of cosmetic and culinary recipes. Often, only the yolk is needed for cooking, and the protein needs to be separated or vice versa. But in most cases, the description of the optimal product is its hypothetical size – a large egg, a small egg or another.
In view of the fact that the mass is spread by category twice, when selecting the required amount of yolk, it is sometimes necessary to spend a little time on weighing it. Or you can use a fairly convenient table:
- an egg yolk of the highest category weighs about 25 g;
- the select category offers a product weighing 22 grams;
- for the first, the average value is 19 g;
- yolks of the second category weigh 16 g.
Knowing this, there is no need to weigh the egg to find out the mass of the protein – it is enough to subtract the weight of the yolk and shell. To clarify the last value, it is enough to subtract 10% from the total value.
Note! As a rule, the final weight of the shell can be from 3 to 5 g, depending on the category. Another way to calculate the weight of the protein is to multiply the weight of the yolk by one and a half times.
Weight after heat treatment
Heat treatment changes the final mass of eggs depending on the cooking method. A hard-boiled product is slightly heavier than a raw egg. The final difference is quite small, but sometimes it is necessary to know it.
A fried product does not gain weight like a boiled product, but, on the contrary, loses a little of it. Additional grams during frying are replaced by calories. The total calorie content of a fried egg is twice as high as that of a raw one.
Weight of eggs of different breeds of chickens
Egg breeds of chickens bred as a result of thousands of years of continuous selection have created a huge variety of options for this valuable product. Therefore, despite similar external signs of eggs, quite a lot of parameters affect their final value. In addition, many believe that small specimens are more valuable and tasty than large selections. This is far from always true, since the chicken body itself is the main “creator” of a high-quality or low-quality egg.
Therefore, the main indicators of the value of the product are the value of the breed itself. For example, the Pavlov breed, known for its dietary value, produces eggs weighing only 50 grams. According to the standard classification, the correct “place” for them is the second category. But in terms of their nutritional value, they are significantly superior to the absolute majority of outbred broiler chickens from poultry farms that produce a similar product.
The value of quail eggs is also well known. The testicles of bantams, black-skinned decorative egg chickens and many other miniature breeds are no less useful. But the final weight of the product they produce puts it in the bottom third of the value category. At the same time, laying hens with the largest eggs – the Hi-line breed – offer a product that is not to everyone’s liking.
Note! When we are not talking about a product from a poultry farm, but from a purebred bird, the weight and their value can be very different. There are more than 700 breeds in the world today, and it is difficult to offer an appropriate level of assessment for each, especially if you take into account the individual taste preferences of residents of different countries.
Labeled weight of imported eggs
The state egg labeling table is slightly different in each country. There are five options in total:
- “B” is higher;
- “O” – selective;
- “1” – the first;
- “2” – second;
- “3” is the third.
In addition to them, there are eggs on the shelves, on which you can see various signs that resemble the faster coding of clothing sizes – “S”, “XL” and others. This means that the buyer has an imported product. You can find out the category and country of manufacture in the following way:
- The number on the label indicates the country;
- “S” – the smallest eggs, not heavier than 53 g;
- “M” – an average product weighing from 53 to 63 g;
- “L” – large heavy testicles from 63 to 73 g;
- “XL” is an analogue of the domestic higher category with a weight of 73 grams or more.
Why are eggs not sold by weight, but by the piece
Eggs are sold individually in special packaging for the following reasons:
- Placing a dozen eggs in a special package is much easier than weighing this fragile product for further sale by weight.
- Despite the supposed dryness and cleanliness, their surface always remains a little damp due to moisture vapors through the shell. Being in the open air, they gradually lose moisture and weight.
- The fragility of the shell does not allow for the possibility of carrying out many operations with eggs. The more they are disturbed, the higher the probability of cracking.
- No type of egg can be sold together with other products. The reason is their increased risk of salmonella infection. And the creation of a separate workplace will greatly increase the cost of the egg.
Therefore, the store will never sell eggs by weight. After all, even if you deal with the problem of the fragility of the shell, treating them as carefully as possible, the problem of moisture evaporation will not disappear anywhere
Note! After buying a ton of eggs at a poultry farm, after just a few days there will be only 950 kg left at the store. The rest simply evaporates, forcing the price of the product to rise to compensate for the loss.