Does the color of an egg yolk have any significance?

Chicken yolks come in a variety of colors. While some may appear pale yellow, others can be a deep orange, almost resembling red. 

But what does it mean? Are egg yolks like lettuce, where a darker color indicates more nutrients?

Fox News Digital consulted with an egg specialist to uncover the truth. 

According to cookbook author and backyard chicken specialist Lisa Steele, the hue of a chicken yolk is "entirely influenced by the diet of the hen," as she explained to Fox News Digital. 

Steele, who lives in Maine, is the creator of Fresh Eggs Daily, a website about raising chickens. She is also the author of "The Fresh Eggs Daily Cookbook." 

"Foods that are high in xanthophyll and carotene, which are basically pigments called carotenoids, will make nice dark orange egg yolks," she said. 

She mentioned that carotene can be found in foods that are orange in color, including carrots, mangoes, cantaloupe, and pumpkins. 

Xanthophyll is present in leafy greens such as spinach and kale. 

However, a darker egg yolk doesn't necessarily indicate that a chicken is consuming a healthy, organic, or fresh diet. "It probably has a correlation, as the foods containing the pigment are often rich in other nutrients," she explained. 

Even so, feed companies and commercial egg farms have discovered workarounds to create a darker egg yolk without these nutrient-dense foods, Steele said. 

According to her, these companies have become savvy and recognized that customers prefer the vibrant orange hue of egg yolks. As a result, they incorporate ingredients such as marigold, paprika, sea kelp, corn, and alfalfa to enhance the color of the yolk artificially. 

To ensure the most nutritious eggs possible, Steele suggests customers look for certain labels on cartons at the grocery store. 

According to Steele, chickens that are labeled as "pasture-raised" or "free range" usually produce eggs with yolks that are darker and more orange in hue. This is attributed to their diet, which primarily includes grasses, weeds, and various other plants.

She emphasized that "cage-free" and "pasture-raised" refer to different practices.

Steele informed Fox News Digital that pasture-raised eggs represent the "gold standard," adding that even some "cage-free" chickens might spend their lives confined in a warehouse. 

The eggs from pasture-raised chickens have less cholesterol and more nutrients, Steele said, because of their healthier, more varied diets. 

Egg yolks aren't the sole item that varies in color. 

The shells also differ from one another. 

Steele stated that, in contrast to yolks, the color of an eggshell does not impact the egg's nutritional value.

Steele mentioned that the color is "entirely determined by the breed of chicken." 

"Certain hens are dyed brown, others are colored blue, and some remain undyed." 

And that's not an exaggeration.