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Brown Eggs v White Eggs?

(55 Posts)
Padstow13 Mon 08-Jun-26 13:31:55

Sainsbury will stop selling brown eggs as it's claimed they have a higher carbon footprint.

Other supermarkets have declared they will still give the customer a choice.

I prefer brown because white shells have always seemed more delicate. Or maybe it's a figment of imagination, but I hope I'll still be able to choose.

ViceVersa Tue 09-Jun-26 10:17:00

givemeaminute

I do not buy white eggs , or small eggs , or mixed weight eggs ( massive inconvenient con imo) the hybid creatures that are used in this commercial production are barely hens .

Not all white, small or mixed size eggs come from commercial production. As I said earlier, we buy ours from local smallholders where you can actually see the hens wandering around freely in their pastures. Genuine organic, free range eggs. Whether they are white, brown or other colours depends on what type of hens have laid them.

givemeaminute Tue 09-Jun-26 09:58:08

I do not buy white eggs , or small eggs , or mixed weight eggs ( massive inconvenient con imo) the hybid creatures that are used in this commercial production are barely hens .

shysal Tue 09-Jun-26 09:08:27

I have been buying white eggs from Asda for some time, similar price to their basic (brown) ones. They sell medium and large, and the shells are definitely more fragile than the brown. The yolks are huge and a lovely deep colour. I know this doesn't affect the taste, but makes them appealing. If they are good for the planet then better still.

Esmay Tue 09-Jun-26 09:00:16

A brown egg looks more appetising .
If it has speckles on it's even more appealing .
It's what I call a touch of the bucolics .

I've just bought some nice little brown eggs from Lidl .
So far virtually every one of them has a tell tale blood spot .
If I were Jewish or Muslim - I wouldn't be able to eat them .

Witzend Tue 09-Jun-26 08:55:57

I don’t care what colour the shells are, and in fact I’m not keen on the very dark yellow or orange yolks. I dare say it’s inherited from my DM, who didn’t like ‘eggy’ eggs. 😂

DaisyAnneReturns Tue 09-Jun-26 08:53:55

MT62

I am so sick of this nanny state, being told what we can buy, or can’t buy. Mark my words,
When we totally go cashless I guarantee we will be controlled even more as to what we can put in our shopping trolleys, or cars.
‘Well you’ve had your quote of petrol/diesel for this month,” “so more for you”.

Why do you see this as the State telling you what to do? I thought it was Sainsbury's making a decision which I doubt has anything to do with anything other than the bottom line.

Primrose53 Tue 09-Jun-26 08:51:10

I always buy brown eggs. The white ones seem to have really thin, fragile shells and I just don’t fancy them. My friend keeps a few hens and ducks so she often drops me in a dozen.

I read last week that to get nice yellow yolks some producers feed their hens marigolds and (I think) paprika.

MT62 Tue 09-Jun-26 08:48:29

MT62

I am so sick of this nanny state, being told what we can buy, or can’t buy. Mark my words,
When we totally go cashless I guarantee we will be controlled even more as to what we can put in our shopping trolleys, or cars.
‘Well you’ve had your quote of petrol/diesel for this month,” “so more for you”.

NO MORE fuel 🤦‍♀️

MT62 Tue 09-Jun-26 08:47:36

I am so sick of this nanny state, being told what we can buy, or can’t buy. Mark my words,
When we totally go cashless I guarantee we will be controlled even more as to what we can put in our shopping trolleys, or cars.
‘Well you’ve had your quote of petrol/diesel for this month,” “so more for you”.

Dylis Tue 09-Jun-26 08:36:33

When I was a child we only ever had white eggs from the supermarket. My Mum always said that only posh people buy brown eggs!

David49 Tue 09-Jun-26 07:56:46

Mollygo

Aldom

Until recently I lived close to a Waitrose supermarket. I always used their white shelled eggs. Being smaller they made perfect poached eggs, not too much white. Large, orange yolks. Delicious flavour.

Yes even Sainsbury’s did sell large white eggs. I’ll have to go back and read a bit about small ones.

A supermarket will specify what size eggs are, medium white egg, large brown, mixed sizes, those outside the specification are sold to other outlets by the producer

Mollygo Mon 08-Jun-26 18:45:38

Aldom

Until recently I lived close to a Waitrose supermarket. I always used their white shelled eggs. Being smaller they made perfect poached eggs, not too much white. Large, orange yolks. Delicious flavour.

Yes even Sainsbury’s did sell large white eggs. I’ll have to go back and read a bit about small ones.

Aldom Mon 08-Jun-26 18:44:17

Until recently I lived close to a Waitrose supermarket. I always used their white shelled eggs. Being smaller they made perfect poached eggs, not too much white. Large, orange yolks. Delicious flavour.

NotSpaghetti Mon 08-Jun-26 18:14:26

White hens eat less feed per egg.
They apparently are smaller birds

David49 Mon 08-Jun-26 18:09:03

The hens that lay white eggs are smaller and eat less so are more efficient, this is reflected in the price on the supermarket shelves.
The premium free range brown eggs cost about twice as much to produce as white barn eggs. Take your pick efficient white eggs, or pretty free range brown ones.

Mollygo Mon 08-Jun-26 18:04:28

25Avalon

Sainsbury’s will still be shipping in avocados, Spanish strawberries, Kenya beans etc so very hypocritical. Also what happens if your recipe call for large eggs - do you use 4 smaller white eggs and if so how is that a carbon saving?

Good points 25Avalon
As long as the food waste bins don't start getting picky about the colour.
Re fragility:
When experimenting to see which egg shells were stronger (children tried dropping them on different surfaces, neither colour shell fared well on the playground, but brown shells did indeed prove stronger when thrown on the field.

25Avalon Mon 08-Jun-26 17:44:27

Sainsbury’s will still be shipping in avocados, Spanish strawberries, Kenya beans etc so very hypocritical. Also what happens if your recipe call for large eggs - do you use 4 smaller white eggs and if so how is that a carbon saving?

ViceVersa Mon 08-Jun-26 15:15:16

We are lucky enough to have a few local smallholder type places near us which keep truly free range chickens and we get our eggs from them. One of them has a range of different types of chickens and sometimes the eggs can vary in colour from deep brown to white and occasionally even a light blue. They are always delicious though - much better than any supermarket eggs.

dalrymple23 Mon 08-Jun-26 15:14:28

Whatever happened to speckled eggs? Have not seen them for aeons.

M0nica Mon 08-Jun-26 15:13:17

I prefer brown eggs just because they look more homely and welcoming. I only buy organic eggs and buy them in Lidl.

MaizieD Mon 08-Jun-26 15:10:11

Your link is corrupted, MiniMoon. There should have been a space between the / at the end of the URL and your word 'Here'

Here it is again

corporate.sainsburys.co.uk/sustainability/explore-by-a-z/agriculture-aquaculture-and-horticulture/sourcing-sustainable-eggs/

Whitewavemark2 Mon 08-Jun-26 15:08:34

Yes what gm said, and of course the size.

poppysmum Mon 08-Jun-26 14:51:03

was always told same eggs inside shell colour is of no consequence some of the eggs now are in really pretty colours

MiniMoon Mon 08-Jun-26 14:45:46

That is not exactly what Sainsbury's said. corporate.sainsburys.co.uk/sustainability/explore-by-a-z/agriculture-aquaculture-and-horticulture/sourcing-sustainable-eggs/Here is a link]] to the article.
To me, eggs is eggs. It doesn't matter what colour they are. I haven't found that white eggs are more fragile. The colour of the shell is determined by the breed of hen.

BoggledMind Mon 08-Jun-26 14:28:15

Padstow13
I thought it was just me in thinking white shells are more fragile. I had two break on the way home recently, but never brown ones. I get brown eggs now if I can.