My eggs taste like fish, is this normal?

April 9, 2007 7:38 AM

I usually buy brown cage free eggs and boil them in the morning for breakfast. Yesterday I bought cage free eggs with enhanced Vitamin E and Omega-3 and I tried them this morning and the yolks tasted very fishy and made me want to puke. Did I just get bad eggs or do all of these type eggs (omega3 and vitamin E enhanced eggs) taste this way?

Any tips for finding awesome eggs would be appreciated as well.

posted by bigmusic to food & drink (15 comments total)

You may be very sensitive, or they may have been bad eggs, but I have never noticed a fishy taste and I've eaten those for years very soft boiled.

As far as finding awesome eggs -- do you live somewhere where anyone keeps backyard flocks? My current supervisor does, and he sells the eggs from his chickens for a pretty nominal fee. They are *fabulous.* Homegrown eggs are the best.
posted by fiercecupcake at 7:56 AM on April 9, 2007

There are two ways to make omega-3 enhanced eggs - you can either feed the chickens fish meal or you can feed them flax. If the chickens are fed fish meal, the eggs will taste fishy. As far as I know, most omega-3 know this and feed flax instead of fish. You can contact the manufactures directly to find out how they feed their chickens. Alternatively, its generally cheaper to just eat regular eggs and have some flax on the side for your omega-3.
posted by fermezporte at 7:56 AM on April 9, 2007

Also, a friend of mine in public health said that the amount of Omega-3's in fortified eggs is trivial, and far below the amounts shown to have any benefit (something like 150 mg vs. 1500 mg). So, you could just fuggedaboutit, eat regular eggs that taste good, and take some flax oil supplements to get your Omega 3 acids.
posted by rkent at 8:09 AM on April 9, 2007

What brand of eggs? I've had Eggland's Best which appear to be fortified with Omega 3 and Vitamin E and they tasted okay.

Awesome egg tip: go to a store that specializes in organic food (Wild Oats or Whole Foods or a local co-op) and look through all of the types of eggs. Choose the kind that look like they are from a local farmer or have some sort of story about the farm inside the carton.

Whenever I get the carton of eggs with a story about the farm they taste great. The yolks have a richer color and taste even better than other "cage free" varieties.
posted by mustcatchmooseandsquirrel at 8:20 AM on April 9, 2007

I have bought Omega fortified eggs many times and never noticed any difference. If you wanted to puke, I bet the eggs were bad.
posted by sneakin at 8:27 AM on April 9, 2007

Also, a friend of mine in public health said that the amount of Omega-3's in fortified eggs is trivial, and far below the amounts shown to have any benefit (something like 150 mg vs. 1500 mg)

On top of that, there is a lot of gray area about the overall benefits of omega-3 anyway.
posted by spicynuts at 9:14 AM on April 9, 2007

Local eggs grown on a farm will taste better. What you really want to do is search for CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) food drops near you. Local farms send you whatever food is freshest on the cheap.

http://www.localharvest.org/
posted by xammerboy at 9:36 AM on April 9, 2007

Here's a direct link:

http://www.localharvest.org/store/item.jsp?id=8245
posted by xammerboy at 9:38 AM on April 9, 2007

One of my friends was actually complaining about this the other day (exact same situation, she said omega-3 enhanced eggs tasted nastily fishy). I don't think they're bad eggs, although you might want to use them for something else if the taste bothers you.
posted by anaelith at 9:58 AM on April 9, 2007

I have also eaten Omega-3 eggs that tasted fishy. I made waffles with them, and the waffles smelled and tasted like fish. I'm not sure what they'd be good for, unless you were making a (bleargh) fish quiche or something. I don't plan on buying them again.
posted by magicbus at 10:14 AM on April 9, 2007

Chickens fed fish meal make fishy eggs. It's disgusting.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:46 AM on April 9, 2007

I've found flax seeds - which also contain high levels of Omega-3 - smell fishy after being left at room temperature for a while. Maybe egg freshness would help, maybe it's just a property of that nutrient, but I don't think you're imagining things.

I do have a more sensitive smeller than some people, so I'd not be surprised if other people don't notice this effect.
posted by amtho at 10:51 AM on April 9, 2007

Everything I've tried with added Omega 3, including bread, including items that don't list fish oil in the ingredients (for example, Udo's oil), taste fishy to me. I'll use the supplemented oil only in items that benefit from a little fishiness, like salad dressing, but nowhere else.
posted by MrMoonPie at 10:59 AM on April 9, 2007

Omega 3 stuff often seems to taste of fish - they've started adding it to bread, for example, and when I've tried it it's been very fishy. And I hate fish.
posted by reklaw at 11:12 AM on April 9, 2007

The hens at that particular farm were either being fed too much omega 3 supplementation, or were being fed rancid supplementation.

At your health food store look for Egg Innovations cage free omega 3 eggs... They're in a clear carton with a green cover. I've never had any fishy taste from that brand.
posted by Operation Afterglow at 3:00 PM on April 9, 2007