Hens' eggs are the type of egg most frequently used in cooking. Duck eggs, gull eggs and quail eggs are less frequently used and are generally eaten on their own, rather than in baking. Quail eggs are small with dark-brown speckled shells. Duck eggs are larger than hens' eggs and richer in flavour, lending a creamy depth to baked dishes. Goose eggs and ostrich eggs are even bigger and for this reason are often blown out and decorated for Easter.
The majority of eggs available are hens' eggs. They come in various sizes, from small to extra large, and various shades of brown, white and, less commonly, blue. The colour of the shell comes down to the breed of the hen that laid it; the difference in flavour is subtle, if noticeable at all. Often a recipe will state the size of egg required; if it doesn't, or you have a box of mixed sizes, weigh your eggs and aim for somewhere around 60g-65g.
Small eggs - under 53g
Medium eggs - 53g-63g
Large eggs - 63g-73g
In of welfare, supermarket labels can be confusing. 'Farm fresh', for example, is a meaningless description, and the eggs could have been laid by chickens farmed in battery cages. 'Barn eggs' come from chickens kept inside, where there are a maximum of nine birds per square metre. 'Free range' egg production provides chickens with daytime access to runs covered with vegetation, with a maximum 2,500 birds per hectare. Organic eggs are from chickens with the same privileges as free-range and are produced according to European laws on organic production. Growth promoters, artificial pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and commercial fertilisers cannot be used in the feed for organic production.
