Duck eggs vs Chicken eggs

Duck Eggs Vs Chicken Eggs: easily distinguishable, a considerably longer shelf life

Duck eggs are quite large compared to chicken eggs, which makes them easily distinguishable. Another distinct difference is that the duck egg's shell is a lot tougher than a normal chicken egg's shell. Though that makes them a lot more difficult to crack, it is also supposed to provide them with a considerably longer shelf life. By long, I mean six weeks at maximum, if you keep them refrigerated.

The large size of the duck egg gives it a larger yoke to white ratio than a chicken egg. So if you want more yoke, duck eggs are what you should go for. With the larger size you definitely get more for your money, compared to a chicken egg!

Duck Eggs Vs Chicken Eggs: Nutrition

6x the Vitamin D, 2x the Vitamin A, and 2x the cholesterol in duck eggs vs chicken eggs. Duck contains about 75% of the Vitamin E in chicken eggs. Duck eggs reportedly also have more Vitamin K2, Duck eggs also are higher in calories for the same weight quantity, probably due to it's slightly higher fat concentration. Also, keep in mind that the eggs of free-range, pastured animals generally have higher levels of vitamins and higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids. The yolks are darker, yellower, indicating a higher nutrient density.

A 100 gm of duck egg will provide about 185 KCal of energy, compared to 149 KCal of energy provided by a chicken egg. Both types of eggs, match each other in terms of carbohydrate content, while the protein content is slightly higher in the duck eggs compared to chicken eggs. The mineral content of duck eggs is very similar. Both contain selenium, manganese, zinc, copper, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, calcium and iron. The duck eggs contain slightly higher amounts of all these minerals.

Same is the case with vitamin content in both of them. The vitamin content too is similar, but duck eggs have a higher amount of each one of them, which includes thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and retinol.

100 gm of duck eggs will have about 3.68 gm of saturated fat, compared to 3.1 gm in chicken eggs. The mono unsaturated fat content is about 50% more in duck eggs as against chicken eggs. The amino acid content profile is also similar for both eggs, but again duck eggs contain more of them. The amino acids included are threonine, isoleucine, trytophan, leucine, methionine, lysine, cystine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, valine, serine, glycine, proline, aspartic acid, histidine, alanine, and arginine. The only minus point that duck eggs have is the considerably higher cholesterol content, compared to chicken eggs. 100 gm of duck eggs will contain 884 mg of cholesterol, compared to 425 mg in chicken eggs. That is why, people with history of heart disease should stay away from consuming duck eggs or moderate their intake.

http://www.localharvest.org/blog/16682/entry/duck_eggs_vs_chicken_eggs