The routine gesture of opening an egg to make a French omelette or tasty fried eggs can be rewarded when there are two yolks that emerge from inside. It can make you less funny if what you are making is a pastry recipe, where the ingredients are measured to the millimeter. But the surprise with double yolk eggs It is usually received with joy and a certain naive emotion, because it is increasingly difficult to live the experience.
We are lucky that the association of double buds with eggs “from before”, of village chickens and family houses. Because we would not be surprised if the rumor began to spread that they are a sign of mutant chickens, or some similar absurdity.
If you have ever wondered why double yolk eggs are produced and if there is any way to get them that way on purpose, the answer is as natural as life itself. Although there are some myths that do circulate out there that should be clarified, such as the idea that they only come from old village chickens.
Very young hens or very old hens
The first thing to remember is the nature of the egg, the zygote of oviparous animals resulting from the fertilization of the female’s egg, with little or no development inside the mother’s organism. Therefore, it is linked to the reproductive system of the animal, in which hormones or regulatory mechanisms of ovulation.
The yolk is the ovule, the one that contains the germ cells and where fertilization occurs, which later gives rise to the development of the embryo. Thus, “double eggs” are produced by the almost simultaneous release of two yolks in the ovary, which, as explained in the Egg Institute, circulate together through the oviduct, are surrounded by the white and are also included together in the same shell.
It is a totally natural phenomenon that usually occurs, either in very young hens, or in already somewhat old hens. It is more common in young women, who are more likely to have overactive ovariesbefore the reproductive mechanisms are correctly regulated.
However, it can also happen in chickens. older, who are at the end of their childbearing years. This is usually seen a lot in towns and houses where they are raised own laying hens, where animals tend to have a much longer lifespan than in industry, whether or not they are organically produced. What explained in his day the expert Gemma del Cañothe release of two or more buds is caused by hormonal imbalances, something that happens both at very young and mature ages, and that even mammals, including humans, experience.
Why are they rarely seen in stores?
Finding these eggs in regular shops is very complicated, due to the very nature of the industry. Also, as del Caño pointed out, in the food industry processes are controlled to the millimeter, monitoring the size and weight of the eggs, which are marketed in different formats. Eggs with more than one yolk are usually larger and, in addition, weigh much more.
When two eggs have hatched from the same clutch and are similar in size, but one weighs almost twice as much, professionals separate the heaviest, easily intuiting that there will be an extra gift inside. It is not uncommon for these separated eggs to end up being eaten by the workers themselves or given as gifts to acquaintances, especially in smaller productions and extensive or village farms.
It must also be taken into account that in the industry laying hens are renew more frequently, as mentioned above, so few of the older birds are left laying eggs for sale on a large scale. And as in the youngest it is something that only happens in the first month of layingthe frequency of appearance of these eggs is reduced to something purely occasional.
Lékué Microwave French Omelette Container, Red
That exceptional character and infrequent makes it, without a doubt, even more special. If you are lucky enough to raise your own chickens or a friend or family member provides you with the eggs, celebrate with joy every time you touch one with a prize. And if three yolks come out, enjoy the juiciest scrambled eggs like never before.
Images | Marco Verch – azerbaijan_stockers on Freepik – sanjoy saha and Thomas iversen on Unsplash
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