Do people eat duck eggs for breakfast? Can you bake with them? Why yes! But how do they measure up to hen eggs? This post will answer all those questions.

We have a few Khaki Campbell ducks here at Zephyr Hill and they lay a decent amount of eggs, although their output can’t rival the chickens. Soon after discovering our first duck eggs, we immediately wondered “Can you eat these things?”

It’s funny how the mind works against you, though. Even though duck eggs are nearly identical to chicken eggs in appearance, we were instinctively suspicious just because it was something new. “What if they taste bad?” seemed to be the unspoken question on everyone’s mind. Nobody sells duck eggs in grocery stores and there’s a reason for that, right?

To be fair, duck egg consumption is quite common in other places, especially Great Britain.

But luckily for us (and for this blog post), we’re curious types. So I scrambled up a few duck eggs for breakfast. The first noticeable difference jumped right out at me. Duck yolks are orange, not yellow, and tough to break. But with some elbow grease, I got them mixed up pretty well. After the yolks are broken, it’s smooth sailing.

So what is our verdict on scrambled duck eggs? The flavor is richer and stronger than chicken eggs, but it’s the same “type” of flavor. That’s the best way my husband and I can describe it. Both of us prefer chicken eggs, though, especially because we like omelets and don’t want the flavor of the egg to overwhelm the add-ons. The stronger taste of the duck eggs was just a little too much.

However, I’ve discovered that duck eggs are EXCELLENT for baking. Things like cookies, cakes and brownies turn out to be fluffier and more moist!

And that’s not all:

• They have a longer shelf life and are harder to break (in this family, that’s a good thing) because the shells are thicker.
• They have more albumen (which means more protein) in the white. This explains why they give you more “loft” in baked goods. It also means you have to be careful about overcooking them when pan frying or boiling.
• Some people who are sensitive or allergic to chicken eggs can actually tolerate duck eggs.

So there you have it! If I missed something, please leave me a blog comment below.

 

 

 

 

 

Egg yolk image courtesy: Malaysiabest.net