Why Yolk Color Doesn’t Affect How an Egg Tastes

Kate Yoshida of MinuteFood explained how the yolk in an egg gets its color. It’s neither due to the freshness nor to the type of chicken, but rather the type of food the hen eats. The richer a hen’s diet is in carotenoids, the darker the yolk will be. This doesn’t affect taste as carotenoids are completely tasteless, but sometimes the human brain will perceive it differently.

The more carotenoid-rich foods a hen gobbles up, the darker-yolked eggs she’ll lay. But you can’t taste carotenoids, so eggs with carotenoid-packed yolks don’t actually taste different from eggs with yolks low in carotenoids. Yet, based on the color, our brains egg-spect them to taste different.

A Longer Explanation About Egg Color