Look what I found at a farmer’s market: quail eggs!

A dozen local, pasture raised little quail eggs in a teeny little carton! They were so cute I had to try them, even with the $6/dozen price tag. They’ve very pretty, and much smaller than an average chicken egg as you can see:

I was very curious about these since I didn’t know if there were any special health benefits, better nutrition, or a different taste… so here’s what I found out!

Nutritionally, 1 quail egg contains 14 calories, 1.2 g protein, 1 g fat and no carbs, whereas a chicken egg contains 78 calories, 6 g protein, 5 g fat and 0.6 g carbs. It takes about 5.5 quail eggs by weight to equal one chicken egg. So the nutrition per gram is about the same. I’ve read conflicting information online about whether or not quail eggs can be eaten by those who can’t eat chicken eggs; some sites say they can, but if you’re allergic to chicken eggs I’d definitely check with an allergist before trying quail eggs. I also read in several places that quail eggs can be eaten raw without risk of salmonella because a quail’s body temperature is higher than a chicken’s. Interesting, huh?

Now for taste. I decided to just fry them up over easy along with a chicken egg for comparison.

They cooked a lot more quickly than the chicken egg (so cute though!) and they were delicious! I didn’t notice much difference in the taste, but there is a higher yolk to white ratio in the quail eggs. I did notice that the shells are harder to crack than a chicken egg’s shell, but not so hard it made much of a difference. I was worried I was going to get shell fragments in my fried eggs, but thankfully the shell bits all held together and didn’t fall into the pan.

I think for the rest of them I will try a few scrambled and a few hard boiled or poached. Since they taste almost the same and have nearly identical nutrition, the only good reason I can think of to keep using quail eggs is for the cuteness factor (or if you can get quail eggs really cheap!) Wouldn’t they make adorable little deviled eggs for a party? Looking online, I see that some people use them hard boiled or fried as appetizers, or put a fried quail egg on a burger or on another dish as a cute topping. You can hard boil them and use as tiny protein snacks (only 14 calories each!), tossed in a chef’s salad, or in a Bento box for your kid’s lunch. I think little kids would like these for snacks or to use at tea parties, too.

Here are some more quail egg recipes I think look delicious:
Veggies with Quail Eggs
Chicken, Chicharo, and Quail Eggs Stir Fry
Quail Egg Curry
Grilled Quail Eggs Wrapped in Bacon
Baked Quail Eggs in Avocado
Cambodian Pork Belly with Quail Eggs Stew
Corn Soup with Quail Eggs

I reviewed duck eggs from the farmer’s market a few years ago; maybe I can find some goose eggs to try next! It’s fun to try new, healthy foods so get out there and explore your options!

(c) Escape from Obesity – Read entire story here.