14 Different Types Of Eggs And How To Cook With Them

We were going to tell you a joke about eggs to start this off but realized it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. And, with that terribly unfunny introduction, let's talk about eggs — the fundamental part of a good breakfast (or easy brunch!) in the United States and worldwide. They are an important ingredient in many dishes, including certain kinds of pasta, salads, dressings, and more. Eggs are used in sauces, casseroles, and baked goods of all kinds, in addition to being an any-time favorite. However you choose to prepare and eat them — whether scrambled, poached, fried, or mixed into an extra-moist butter cake recipe — eggs are a fantastic staple to have on hand (even if they seem to get more expensive by the hour).

Many people don't know how many different kinds of eggs are out there. Americans consume a hefty quantity of chicken eggs annually, and data from 2023 averages that the average person will eat over 280 eggs per year. But chicken eggs are hardly the only appetizing option. In addition to chicken eggs, many other egg varieties worldwide are just as delicious and just as popular in their respective locations. Here are 14 different types of eggs and suggestions on how to make them into a fabulous meal.

If you are familiar with quails, you know that they are precious, small birds with a colorful plumage and a cute, hat-like feather that sets them apart in the animal world. As stylish as these avian fashionistas are, they also make some delicious eggs. Quail eggs, while not as common as chicken eggs, are an excellent option to switch up the egg monotony or to impress your guests with a unique protein. Renowned chef Jamie Oliver is a big fan of quail eggs and raises quails of his own, which is just adorable.

Oliver prepares quail eggs by frying them, making them into omelets, or scrambling them. He also enjoys boiling the eggs but highlights that peeling can be challenging. Quail eggs require more hands-on finesse to peel and prepare than their chicken counterparts due to being much smaller and, therefore, more delicate.

To take on the challenge of boiling them, follow these tips. Quail eggs are much more petite than chicken eggs, so you should boil them in a pan instead of a pot. Ensure that the water covers the eggs entirely, and add them in after reaching a roiling boil. From there, the eggs should boil for two minutes for soft-boiled, three for medium, and three and a half minutes for a hard-boiled texture. After your timer goes off, move the delicate eggs into a bowl of ice water. This will stop them from cooking further and help them cool so you can peel them burn-free.

Eggs come in many shapes and sizes and from many different creatures, both friendly and threatening. An egg from the riveting nest of danger is the alligator egg. If the risks of daily cooking aren't enough to get your blood pumping, perhaps alligator eggs will add a bit of zest to your routine and menu. Alligator eggs are surprisingly popular among the groups licensed to go after them, bringing us to the cautionary tangent of this article. Please do not hunt for alligator eggs unless you have the proper licensing and permits to do so. Violators could face jail time and serious fines, which aren't fun. Now you know. Plus, you may run into an angry alligator mother. No one wants that.

For the approved alligator egg hunters, these eggs can be exciting both during the harvest and afterward. Many collectors of alligator eggs actually aim to hold onto them until they hatch, as they often will be destroyed if left to the elements. Alligator eggs can be prepared differently for those who choose to eat them, and pickling is one of the most popular methods. To pickle your alligator eggs, boil them like a chicken egg, and mix up vinegar, water, and your chosen spices. Remember to utilize proper and safe canning techniques, and place the jarred eggs with their flavored mixture into the refrigerator for at least a week. This will allow the eggs time to absorb the flavors. Then, enjoy your perfectly brined and pickled alligator eggs at room temperature or right out of the fridge.

Walking through the more unique egg options, we have the translucent and oblong octopus eggs. Like a dish from a sci-fi film, an octopus egg is an exquisite delicacy that few have had the chance to put into their mouths. You can eat octopus eggs in the form of roe (similar to caviar) or as an entire egg sack of little octopus eggs, as was recently debuted on menus in Japan. The first form is often the more easily attainable. The entire octopus is cooked whole before the eggs are removed to prepare octopus roe. From there, octopus roe is often used to top sushi as a decoration or may serve as a sushi filler.

Consuming an octopus egg in its original, uncooked form is rare. To experience the unique and novel food, you need only to visit a fish market in Tokyo where you can obtain an entire octopus egg sac. Large, gelatinous, and perhaps slightly alien in the best way, this egg will cost you around 1,000 yen, the equivalent of roughly seven US dollars. Covered in a gooey, surprisingly thick membrane, the octopus egg will eventually burst to reveal tentacle-like insides. These are, of course, the actual octopus eggs, which do not need to be cooked and can, instead, be topped with soy sauce and scooped up with a spoon. The taste is similar to salmon roe. So, while octopus eggs may not be ideal for cooking at home, they are worth a try if you find yourself in Tokyo.

Generally reserved for indulgent and impressive dishes, caviar is an expensive delicacy served across the globe. Formally speaking, caviar is only such if its origin is sturgeon eggs. However, that rule has become more flexible with time and has led the term caviar to include various types of roe, including salmon, flying fish, trout, and masago. With a high price tag, at nearly $600 for 17 ounces, caviar is quite simple to prepare. Set aside salt, the eggs of your choice, a mesh colander, a large bowl, and some jars for storage. Run the fish skin over the mesh to remove the eggs and wash them in salty water. Certain types of roe require different salt content, so research accordingly based on your preference. Then, the eggs need to dry out for a bit before they can be packaged or served.

Overall, the art of caviar preparation lies in the amount of salt used and the finer details. Once you've made it, you can pair caviar with crackers and sour cream, eat it on its own, or add it to a pasta dish. While merchants of pricey caviar would like to surround its origin in mystery and awe, the process of making the expensive dish is easily manageable, even for modest home chefs. Still, you don't have to tell your dinner guests how easy it is if you want to maintain the illusion of impressive expertise.

Gobble gobble, it's turkey time. Turkey egg time, anyway. For a smidge of trivia about them, turkeys lay a full group of 9-13 eggs within the span of about 28 days. During this time, the turkeys face various dangers from predators, which often hinders the success rate of turkey eggs fully hatching. This makes turkey eggs a bit more complicated to come by, but not impossible by any means. You can usually find turkey eggs at specialty markets or from your local turkey farmers. Once you've acquired your speckled turkey eggs, you can fire up the stove and start cooking.

Turkey eggs take well to boiling at various textures and also work well in recipes that call for chicken eggs. For instance, you can easily make vanilla bean cupcakes using turkey eggs and won't even be able to tell the difference between using a chicken egg. Otherwise, you can use turkey eggs for egg salad, casseroles, custards, and anything else that suits your fancy. Just be sure you compensate for their size, which can be twice as large as chicken eggs.

Hilsa is a popular fish in South Asia and is especially revered in Bangladesh, where it is called Elish mas, or "the queen of fishes." The fish itself is a widely eaten item, but the eggs or roe of the hilsa fish is equally as popular, if not more. The fish and its eggs are known for their special and different taste and texture and are utilized in various recipes.

A popular way of preparing hilsa eggs is to fry them whole in their egg sack. Similar to the octopus egg, but not quite as unique, hilsa eggs in their pouch are about half the size of your palm and shaped like a lima bean. Ilish Macher Dim Bhuna is a popular dish for fried hilsa eggs, which brings together warm flavors like turmeric, chilis, and cumin. Alternatively, you can prepare them fried with a curry or green chutney. Either way, you will have created a well-loved South Asian dish with a unique fish egg.

Coming full circle from our start with chicken eggs, we have Bantam eggs from Bantam chickens, which are essentially smaller-than-normal chickens. They are cute, fluffy, and popular for homesteaders, as they are easy to raise and yield eggs with little difficulty. Their eggs are colorful, like chicken eggs, and about half as large with larger yolks and a slightly richer flavor.

With their similarity to chicken eggs, they go well in a similarly wide array of recipes and can be prepared in a number of ways. You can prepare a soft-boiled bantam egg salad, where the soft-boiled eggs are the star, atop a bed of arugula or fresh greens. Or, you can invest a bit more time into Bantam-egg tartines, which consist of Bantam-egg salad on top of toast — simple and delightful. Undoubtedly, Bantam eggs are another popular egg option that is sure to supplement your diet with lovely and scrumptious recipes.