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Green-Egg-White

5 Natural Reasons Behind Green Egg White!

Introduction                                      

Cracking an egg and finding green egg white is pretty disgusting, isn’t it? 

To be honest, it’s also quite weird. However, it’s not impossible. 

But, what are the reasons behind green egg white?

Well, raw green egg white indicates excess riboflavin or oaks/acorns in the bird’s diet. It can also mean the egg is simply rotten. You might also encounter green egg white while frying. This situation occurs due to a chemical reaction. Lastly, neon green egg white appears because of pseudomonas bacteria. 

Now, it’s essential to have proper knowledge on this issue. Because it’s closely related to your health. 

Therefore, we’ve broken down all of the factors responsible for green egg whites. So, don’t forget to check out the details-

Why Is My Raw Egg White Green? 

Finding green white after cracking your egg can freak you out. But if you didn’t know, chicken eggs can come in different colors. It’s similar for other birds too. Because there’s a reason for everything.

You can’t just mark the egg to be rotten without any logical explanation. That’s why let’s look at the factors behind raw green eggs real quick-

Color and condition  Reason 
Greenish white with no bad smell  Excess riboflavin in the bird’s diet
Dark green with no bad smell Too many acorns or oak in the bird’s diet
Dark green with a pungent smell  Expired egg

As the table suggests, you can come across three different types of green color. And obviously, the factors behind those colors are different. 

Let’s get to know them one by one-

Greenish White With No Bad Smell

Firstly, if you find a bit of greenish tone to the egg white, don’t panic too much! Because we assure you it isn’t caused by any serious factor. The reason simply relies on the diet of the hen or duck.

Yup, the bird’s diet can certainly affect its eggs. Now, you’re probably curious about what the bird actually ate, right? So, let’s discuss it-

Greenish-egg-white
Source: mycountrytable.com

If a bird eats too much plant-based food, it can produce eggs with green whites. An example of plant-based food is shepherd’s purse.                                                  

shepherd’s-purse
Source: wildfooduk.com

Also, this egg white usually doesn’t carry any bad smell. Therefore, you’ve nothing to be afraid of! The egg is perfectly fine. And you can totally eat it. But only if you’re willing to.

Darker Green With No Bad Smell

Now, let’s come to the dark green egg whites. At first, let’s focus on the ‘not so spoiled dark green egg white’. 

Well, this type of egg white also occurs if the bird had an exceptional diet. But this time the diet includes oaks and acorns. These are actually good for a bird. But if a bird eats too many oaks or acorns, they’ll lay discolored eggs.   

oaks-or-acorns
Source: earthsky.org

And here the discoloration refers to the green egg whites. However, even if the tone is quite greenish, the eggs don’t carry a peculiar smell. So yeah they are safe and edible. 

Darker Green With a Pungent Smell

Sometimes you might get dark green egg whites with a sickening smell. The smell is similar to how vacuum packed meat smells. Furthermore, these eggs will have a red yolk. 

dark-green-egg-white
Source: thoughtco.com

And unfortunately, you can’t fix these eggs. Because they are 100% rotten. As a result, you’ve to throw them away. 

Now, we hope you’re all clear about the factors that cause raw green egg whites. And along with that, hopefully, you’ve also understood which one is safe to eat. 

But if you think your egg white has a neon green tone, move on to our next segment.

What Is the Reason Behind Neon Green Egg White?                 

Neon-Green-Egg-White
Source: fitfunmom.com

Yes, other than two shades of green, you’ll also see neon green egg whites. The reason behind this is completely different. And also a bit complicated. 

Neon green egg white takes place because of pseudomonas bacteria. You’re already a bit concerned, aren’t you? 

Well, we don’t blame you. The name of the bacteria is pseudomonas fluorescens

This bacteria enters the body of the birds through their drinking water. Because the bacteria is known to be found in various water sources like a garden hose, tap, etc.                                               

pseudomonas-fluorescens
Source: slideplayer.com

Pseudomonas bacteria mainly causes an infection in the respiratory system of the bird. Therefore, the bird will most certainly have a cold. If proper treatments aren’t provided, the bird can actually die.

Regardless, within this bacterial contamination period, the bird might lay eggs. And these eggs will have bright green egg whites. 

The eggs will most certainly carry different types of odd smells. The smells are mostly fruity, sourish, or musty. And the egg yolks will be pretty flat as well.

You might find it hard to detect if the egg has pseudomonas bacteria or not. For that reason, we’ve come up with a simple rule of thumb-

You can just place the egg under a UV light. If the parts of the egg brighten up strongly under the light. Then yup, the egg has ‘Pseudomonas egg white’. And you definitely can’t eat it. Thus, just throw the egg away. 

Why Is Egg White Turning Green When Cooking?

Now, this situation is pretty unusual. Because the green egg white is mostly found when you crack the egg. Just how you notice your ground turkey smells bad after taking it out of its package. 

However, the egg white can turn green while frying it. And this happens due to a chemical reaction between two components. 

The two components are- 

  • The frying pan 
  • The egg white

Weird, isn’t it? To be honest, not really. Because there are chemical elements present in everything. 

So, what are the chemical elements? 

chemical-elements

The first element is iron as the frying pan is made of it. And the second element is the sulfur-rich egg white itself. 

Now, how does the chemical reaction actually take place?

Well, when you start heating the egg on the frying pan, the two elements react to each other. And as a result, you get a green egg. 

As we’ve said before, this is quite a rare case. And there’s no actual way to prevent it from happening. 

So, you made scrambled eggs and they turn green. The discoloration is harmless and due to the chemical reaction of heat and the eggs cooked at very high temperature. Also, best to serve your scrambled eggs right away to avoid the change of color. 

Furthermore, you might be thinking about whether it’s safe to eat or not. Well, it is safe to eat. There won’t be any bad smell as well. And the egg will also be in perfect condition. So yeah if you want, you can totally enjoy the green egg. 

What Happens If You Eat An Egg With Green White?

We know for a fact that some people actually eat eggs even if it has green egg whites. And to be honest, most of them say they didn’t get sick.

Now, why didn’t they get sick? 

Because they ate the eggs that had green whites due to either the bird’s diet or the chemical reaction. Thus, it can be said that they were extremely lucky. However, not everyone gets lucky. And this whole thing is also connected to your health. 

So, is it worth the risk? 

Now, let’s assume, someone ate a pseudomonas egg white. What will happen? Do you think they’ll be fine? 

Well, nope. They won’t be perfectly fine. They might get a stomach ache. Or in severe cases, they might even end up with food poisoning. 

So yeah pseudomonas egg whites aren’t safe to eat. Just how acrylic paint isn’t okay for consumption. And one may also get sick by consuming a rotten egg with green whites. 

Therefore, we suggest just throwing the egg away. And if you really want to have an egg with healthy green white, continue reading. 

How to Get Green Egg Whites With Normal Eggs?

Some of you might actually be interested in getting healthy green egg whites. It might be for aesthetic purposes for instance for scrambled eggs or some other reason. Your interest in green egg whites is totally understandable. 

That’s why we’ve discussed some easy steps that can lead you to that green eggs –

  • Firstly, crack an egg and separate the egg yolk from the egg white. After that, you can grab another egg and do the same. 
  • Place the egg whites in a bowl and add some green food coloring. Make sure you add only a little bit. For example, 2 drops are perfect for 2 egg whites
  • Now mix the food coloring until you see the egg whites have turned green perfectly. 
  • Then place your frying pan on the stove. Set the stove to medium heat. 
  • Spray a little bit of cooking oil on the pan and pour the egg whites. Right after that, gently place the egg yolks on top of it. 
  • Add some salt and pepper to the egg. Fry the egg till it’s ready to eat. Serve the eggs with some slices of bread and ham.

There are more ways to make green eggs. For example, you can use red cabbage juice to turn the egg white green. The process is a bit tricky but it’s still a fun food experiment.

make-a-green-egg
Source: thestayathomechef.com

Nonetheless, if you follow the steps we’ve mentioned, you’ll get green egg whites in no time. Moreover, these eggs won’t cause you any kind of illness. So, you’re all good!

The only extra thing you’ll need is green food coloring. Now, good-quality food coloring is hard to get. And if you didn’t know, food coloring can also cause sickness. 

Therefore, we’ve tried our best and picked the top-notch green food colorings for you-

  1. McCormick Green Food Color
  2. Hobbyland Neon Food Coloring Liquid Set

So, just grab the green food coloring and make your own green eggs!

FAQs

Are green eggs safe to eat? 

Well, it depends on what factor caused your egg to be green. If the egg white is green because of the bird’s diet, it’s safe to eat. But if it’s green due to pseudomonas bacteria, you can’t eat it. The same goes for a green egg with a bad smell. 

What is a pseudomonas egg white? 

A pseudomonas egg white is the green egg white that is caused by the pseudomonas bacteria. The eggs mostly don’t have a strong bad smell. Furthermore, they are neon green in color. But they aren’t really safe to eat. Because these eggs can cause stomach aches and food poisoning. 

How to prevent green egg whites before cooking? 

There’s an effective way to avoid spoiled green egg whites. And that’s by cracking the eggs in a bowl first. If the egg whites are fine, you can start cooking the eggs. And if not, you know what to do. Yup, discard them. 

How to make green eggs and hams? 

Well, it’s pretty simple to make yourself some greens eggs with hams. You’ll see different ways to achieve green eggs. Firstly, you can use green food coloring to make the egg white green. You can also use red cabbage juice.  

Do rotten eggs have green egg white? 

Yup, rotten eggs can certainly have green egg whites. But along with the green color, the egg will also have a disgusting smell. 

Take Away

By now we hope you’ve got everything you needed on green egg whites. Also, did you know even egg yolks can be green sometimes? Well, if you didn’t, now you do! 

So, why did your egg white turn green? 

Let us know your answer in the comment box. Don’t forget to give us your thoughts on this issue. Stay safe!

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