More Bang for your Cluck: The Benefit of Duck Eggs

Have you ever had a duck egg? Fried, over-medium, scrambled, or sunny-side up?

It’s comparable to a chicken egg in appearance and taste. A quick glance wouldn’t be enough to discern between the gray-white, rounded, seemingly translucent shell of a duck egg and the slightly smaller, cleaner shell of a white chicken egg.  Priced at $3 a dozen at the Bank Street Farmer’s market (the same price as chicken eggs), duck eggs and their subtle distinctiveness are worth experiencing.

I like my eggs over-medium - the whites completely cooked and the yolk mostly runny. I cook them in a pan with butter, olive oil, or coconut oil, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a hearty crank of a pepper.  

Until recently I’ve been following this procedure with chicken eggs, but when given the opportunity to try something new and different – like duck eggs - I usually take it.

A few weeks ago, I purchased my first dozen from Dwight Eichorn of Eichorn Family Farms. I bought two dozen - one chicken and one duck (he’ll even let you mix and match chicken and duck eggs within a dozen) - for $5.

At home, I did a side-by-side taste test, cooking them to my usual liking. The duck egg was slightly tougher to crack due to the thicker shell. It’s white was thicker which lengthened the cook-time but made it easier to flip. 

The differences that really matter are in the taste. The duck egg had a richer, more flavorful yolk. Its yellow was deeper, more golden, and provided a thick coat on a crust of toast. The white had a stronger, earthier flavor. With carefully monitored cooking one can achieve a much fluffier white from the duck egg, but a minute over and it will turn rubbery. (Bakers take advantage of the sturdier albumen, or ‘white’, of duck eggs, to increase the airiness in cakes)

A dozen of duck eggs gives you more bang for your buck. One egg has almost twice the calories as a chicken egg – 130 compared to 70. Duck eggs are also higher in protein (9 grams per egg), fat, and iron. They contain more omega 3 fatty acids because a duck’s diet includes more aquatic plants, fish, and fish eggs. To sum up, they’ll keep you full longer for less money and more nutrients!

Still rather uncustomary, I have yet to find duck eggs at a grocery store in Kalamazoo. I recommend a visit to Dwight’s table at the market on Saturday to get your first dozen.