We all know egg whites are a great source of protein but what else do you really know about them? Here are 12 things about egg whites that you may not know.
- The egg came before the chicken. Dinosaurs laid eggs long before chickens arrived on the earth. It is believed that dinosaurs are related to modern birds, and since fossils have shown that dinosaurs not only laid eggs but also made nests and incubated the eggs like chickens do. Since the first chicken had to be born somehow it is extremely likely that the chickens’ evolution was through individuals born from eggs.
- A hen lays an average of 250 eggs a year. That’s a lot of eggs!
- Egg white is actually 90% water. It is into this water that the protein is dissolved. This mixture makes up 2/3 of the total egg weight.
- Perhaps unsurprisingly egg white is the second part of the egg to form. They form after the egg yolk has formed and before the shell.
- China is the biggest producer of eggs, producing about ½ of the total world’s production, an amazing 400 billion eggs a year. But when considering the average American eats 250 eggs per year then the whole of America consumes an unbelievable 76.5 billion eggs per year!
- Egg shells don’t indicate either the nutrition or indeed quality of an egg. Egg shell color is only an indication of the breed of chicken that laid it. It is said that hens with red or brown feathers lay brown eggs while those with whiter feathers lay white ones.
- The foam made when you beat eggs is a result of the proteins becoming denatured, which basically means they are ripped apart and air enters between them. The denatured proteins then resettle and form bond with nearby proteins but with trapped pockets of air in between. This effect on a large scale gives the appearance of the egg becoming foamy. This is the reason egg whites are often mixed into cocktails.
- Egg whites were once used for book binding and also to give book covers a nice shine. Eggs were also used by Josiah Wedgwood to attach gold leaf to his famous set of porcelain he produced for Queen Victoria.
- Egg whites are used as face masks as they help retain moisture and also help to reduce blackheads and acne.
- It was the Romans that were the first known civilization to make the omelet. Though the word omelet comes from the French word ‘allumelette’, which means blade and obviously was used to describe its long slim shape.
- By cooking eggs you can double the amount of protein your body absorbs vs. eating them raw. Not only is the absorption rate much better but by cooking eggs you kill the harmful bacteria that that gives you food poisoning.
- Astrologists now theorize that one possible shape of the universe is… yes egg shaped.
The post 12 Interesting Facts About Egg Whites appeared first on Eggwhites 24/7.