The hens once happily possessed a vast world and freedom. Back then, the yolk of an egg was pale yellow in winter and golden yellow in summer. The color of the yolk first depends on the carotenoids contained in the feed. This is an organic pigment containing both yellow and red colors, which not only appears in corn, carrots, and bell peppers, but is also found in grass. In winter, the hens' main food was a hodgepodge of grains and cereals swept from the mill, which contained only a small amount of carotenoids, so the hens laid eggs with pale yellow yolks. When summer arrived, the hens could freely forage in the green fields, and then the eggs would have golden yolks, and even reddish-brown yolks—depending on the specific circumstances, on whether they preferred to eat vegetables and fruits or grasshoppers and beetles. The incomparable free-range egg comes from a happy hen bathed in the summer sun—and this is what every consumer yearning for a natural product desires.
But today, the season no longer has any effect on the color of the yolk. The "egg kings" are well aware of this happy past of the hens and also understand the customers' desire to return to nature, so they use a little trick to satisfy the customers' wishes. We read about this in a professional book: "Since color does not affect the nutritional value of an egg, it is purely a 'cosmetic' issue... Carotenoids are added to the feed to supplement the insufficient pigment content until the yolk achieves the desired golden yellow." The change in color is quickly reflected; it only takes 14 days to completely 'change the color' of the yolk. For example, the golden pigment can be extracted from golden corn and alfalfa powder, while red pigment is found in red corn and red bell peppers. However, these natural raw materials have a fatal flaw: the content and quality of the pigments are not very stable. Therefore, to be on the safe side, people simply add synthetic carotenoids directly to the feed, so that the yolk can indeed be the same color all year round, regardless of winter or summer. But there is another tricky problem with this type of compound feed, because this popular yolk color must be a mixture of red and yellow pigments. If these colors are not mixed evenly, a two-tone yolk might be seen in a cooked egg; or if the colors are not mixed accurately, for example, if the proportions are wrong, then in processed egg products, the color of the yolk is completely exposed, such as in egg noodles or egg liqueur, where a grayish-green tinge may appear.
Modifying the color of the yolk is an art in itself, because in addition to the pigments, several other elements also need to "show their talent" in the feed, such as antioxidants for stabilizing the color, barley components, and mycotoxins. And we must not forget the poor hens! Disease, medication, or living conditions (with or without natural light) can also affect the color of the yolk, but fortunately, all of this will be arranged in an orderly manner.
The next time you crack an egg for breakfast and let the yolk smile at you as brilliantly as the sun, please praise nature from the bottom of your heart, but also marvel at the masterful craftsmanship of the egg producers! Good heavens! Who would have thought that the seemingly natural color of the yolk before your eyes is reportedly not real?