Are Blue Heirloom Eggs Worth Their Price Tag?
2025-11-30 11:16:42
512627049Photo by: MariaBobrova/Getty ImagesMariaBobrova/Getty ImagesDon’t adjust your screen, those eggs you see popping up in your social media feeds might actually be blue. Blue eggs, sometimes called blue heirloom eggs, may offer a pop of unexpected color in a world of white and brown shells, but they also might set you back a few more bucks than their more conventional counterparts in the supermarket. So what are blue eggs, why are they blue, and are they worth the added expense to your grocery bill? Read on as we spoke to egg experts as well as one brand that’s bringing blue eggs nationwide.What are blue heirloom eggs?First, the easy part: The “blue” refers to the light blue tint of these eggs’ shells. Simple enough.The “heirloom” part is a bit trickier. The term “heirloom” technically doesn’t mean anything when it comes to chickens or eggs. However, the term “heritage” is specifically defined, having to do with long-established and hearty breeds that reproduce naturally, can survive outdoors and grow slowly. As such, they are generally not used in large-scale farming. So in this case, it’s a bit blurry as to whether “heirloom” might refer to the hen laying the egg or simply to the relative quirkiness of blue eggs.But chicken breeds laying blue eggs is nothing new nor, importantly, unnatural. “Ameraucana, Araucanas, Cream Legbars and Easter Eggers have all been popular among backyard chicken keepers for years,” explained Fresh Eggs Daily blog founder Lisa Steele, a cookbook author, TV host and fifth-generation chicken-keeper. “I’ve raised Ameraucanas myself for more than a decade.” Steele added that, for her own farm, she prefers these heritage breeds. “Those hens that have been bred specifically for high production rates tend to have more reproductive issues than the heritage breeds and also don’t tend to lay for as many years as the heritage breeds do. The heritage breeds tend to lay at a slower rate for a longer period of time.”Egg and dairy brand Vital Farms which is poised to, if not put blue eggs on the map, certainly expand their prevalence on the map. The brand is currently rolling out its one dozen cartons of pasture-raised True Blues Heirloom Eggs at Whole Foods nationwide. Their eggs come from Azur chickens, a hybrid breed developed to lay blue eggs.2000566567Photo by: Beth Fitzpatrick/Getty ImagesBeth Fitzpatrick/Getty ImagesWhat makes the eggs blue?“Egg color is genetically based,” Amy Barkley, Livestock Specialist at the Cornell Cooperative Extension Southwest NY Dairy, Livestock, and Field Crops Program, explained. “Chickens that have the genetics to place blue pigment onto their shells — and have no later application of a brown pigment in the egg formation process — will lay blue eggs.” Barkley added that all chicken eggs start out white, but “the pigment that causes the blue color migrates through the whole shell once applied by the hen, making the interior blue as well.”In other words, blue eggs get their blue pigmentation the same way white and brown eggs do, from the hens that lay them — in this case, a pigment called oocyanin.Still, there’s a good chance seeing blue eggs in the refrigerated section of the supermarket will seem novel to many shoppers. Eggs in nature come in a variety of colors, but just as carefully bred and picked over produce has colored our idea of what, say, a fresh ripe tomato should look like, so too have decades of egg and chicken farming narrowed the scope of egg varieties in most supermarkets to white and brown.“I think [blue eggs] have always been popular among the backyard chicken crowd, mostly thanks to Martha Stewart and showcasing her eggs on her TV show over the years,” Steele posited. “Photos of blue eggs on social media always seem to do well because until recently they haven’t been available in grocery stores, so the average egg consumer probably didn’t realize they even existed.”1219656902Photo by: JannHuizenga/Getty ImagesJannHuizenga/Getty ImagesAre blue eggs healthier?In short, no, a blue egg does not automatically mean a “healthier” egg.The color on the outside of an eggshell doesn’t have anything to do with the quality or “healthiness” of the egg on the inside. “There isn’t a significant difference in the chemical structure of a blue egg versus a brown egg versus a white egg, other than the pigment of the shell,” Barkley clarified.“The nutritional value of an egg is based purely on the hen’s diet,” Steele added. “The color of the yolk, i.e., the level of vibrancy and orange color, is also determined by the hen’s diet. Foods high in the carotenoid xanthophyll like leafy greens, pumpkin, marigold, paprika, etc., will make the yolks a darker orange color.”So, back to that “heirloom” distinction: Historically, blue egg-laying chickens simply aren’t the norm at large-scale egg farms. Therefore, the farmers and backyard chicken enthusiasts who might opt to raise breeds that lay blue eggs might also be taking extra measures when it comes to outdoor or free-range access and organic feed.But these measures would differentiate eggs ofanycolor from those raised in different methods, so any notion of “healthier” comes down to the care and feeding of the animals themselves. “Any chicken predisposed to laying colored eggs can do so in any production system,” Barkley said. “The only way to verify the way the chickens behind your dozen eggs were raised is to look for animal welfare certification seals on the carton.”If you’ve ever scanned the egg shelves at the store, then you’ll be familiar with these terms, like “free range,” “cage free,” and “pasture raised.” According to Barkley, egg farms with over 3,000 hens are subject to safety and nutrition oversight by governing bodies, including the FDA and USDA, while animal welfare is certified by both industry and independent groups. For example, Vital Farms’ True Blues are labeled as Certified Humane by nonprofit Humane Farm Animal Care and “pasture-raised,” which adheres to a USDA definition.Referring to their “girls” (i.e. hens), a Vital Farms spokesperson explained, “All our pasture-raised girls get a minimum of 108 square feet each — unlike free-range and cage-free birds that have far less freedom. Free-range hens typically get a minimum of 2 square feet per bird and have limited access to the outdoors. Cage-free birds get a minimum of 1.2 square feet per bird and may rarely, if ever, see the sunlight.”Vital Farms said this freedom allows the chickens to forage in pastures “seeking out native and seasonal grasses like clover, rye, and wild onion” and insects, however they’re fed a supplemental feed that “consists primarily of corn and soybean meal, which the hens need for protein, as well as additional natural ingredients, including paprika and marigold, which, along with their outdoor snacks, help the hens produce eggs with deep orange yolks that our consumers prefer.”Why do blue eggs cost more?The main reason blue eggs might cost you a few more bucks is simply scale. “It’s more expensive to produce a blue egg than a white egg, specifically, but even a brown egg,” Steele said. “The breeds that lay white eggs are generally the smaller breeds of birds so they eat less and are cheaper to raise. Their feed-to-egg ratio is much better than the larger-bodied breeds that tend to lay brown eggs.” By contrast, blue egg-laying hens can be small but less consistent layers, meaning it takes more investment by the farmer to get the same dozen eggs. But with brands like Vital Farms partnering with, as of this year, over 500 family farms and upgrading its egg processing facility with plans to build another, we can likely expect the blue egg market to grow.“I think with egg prices rising so dramatically in recent times, the egg brands realized they probably could charge enough to cover the cost of producing the blue eggs,” Steele suggested. Barkley offered a similar prediction, pointing out that “as long as consumers are looking for alternatively colored eggs, the egg farms can produce them, and the consumers are willing to pay for the increased production costs, then I believe we’ll continue to see them on store shelves.”2237234435Photo by: RONALDO SCHEMIDT/Getty ImagesRONALDO SCHEMIDT/Getty ImagesAre blue heirloom eggs worth the price?Unless you’re looking for a super low-lift way to celebrate Easter, the blueness of an egg is not where its value lies. “There are no differences between brown, white or blue eggs. Not in taste or how they react to being cooked. They’re all the same on the inside,” Steele said.However, a blue egg, or any color egg, might be worth paying a higher cost if you value certain standards for how chickens are fed and kept. Referring back to the “why they cost more” explanation, it really comes down to the labeling.“If how the hens were raised matters to you, look for the animal welfare certification seals on the carton, don’t just go off of fancy labels,” Barkley cautioned. “The certification seal proves that verified welfare practices were central to how the hens were raised.”One thing to keep in mind that’s perhaps as important for economics as it is for baking: Egg size. Recipes tend to err on the side of “large” eggs, so if you buy medium, extra-large, or jumbo eggs, you’ll have to adjust for the amount of egg you’re cracking into the bowl.At my local Whole Foods, Vital Farms True Blues are available as medium sized eggs, whereas competing (but not blue) organic and pasture-raised eggs were less expensive per dozen and offered larger eggs. To be clear, Vital Farms advises, “While the eggs in a single carton should be close in size, there can be some variance. As a result, our True Blues cartons may contain some larger eggs alongside the medium eggs.” Indeed, in a carton I purchased, some eggs were closer to large and some closer to medium.So depending on your needs, your values and how much you care about color coordination, make sure you’re picking the right egg for the job.51 Egg Recipes That Are Simple and Tasty51 PhotosWe’ve gathered our favorite ways to dish up eggs for any situation, from classics like sunny-side-up and hard-boiled to clever hacks for omeletes and more.Related Content:Is There a Difference Between Brown and White Eggs?What’s the Healthiest Way To Cook Eggs?Food Network Kitchen Staffers' Favorite Egg Products
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