Unlike Chicken Eggs, This Is The Reason Why Kalkun Eggs Are Rarely Consumpted

Kalkun (Photo: Freepik/Freepik)

JAKARTA - Eggs are one of the most popular sources of protein in the world. Among the various types of eggs available, chicken eggs dominate the market and people's daily menus.

Meanwhile, turkey eggs are rarely consumed, although turkeys themselves are quite common as a source of meat. So why isn't turkey eggs as popular as chicken eggs? There are several factors that influence this, from biology to culture.

Unlike chickens that usually lay eggs for about one grain every 24 hours, turkeys only produce one or two eggs per week.

"Kalkun memiliki cycle hidup yang lebih panjang, sehingga mereka baru bisa mulai layuh pada usia sekitar tujuh bulan," ujar Kimmon Williams dari National Turkey Federation mengatakan kepada ModernFarmer, dikutip dari laman Daily Mail.

Meanwhile, chickens only need to be around five months old before starting to lay their eggs.

Maintenance turkeys is also more expensive as they need more feed and larger cages, which automatically increase production costs. As a result, farmers have to price at least $3 or IDR 49 thousand per turkey egg, so that one dozen can reach around 36 US dollars or IDR 598 thousand.

Some chefs say turkey eggs are more suitable for sauce because the egg yolk is more creamy and flavor-rich, as Slate reports. But this advantage is not enough to get turkey eggs into everyday menus.

Kalkun originated in North America and became staple food for native Americans, while chickens only arrived in the United States in the 1500s century. Native Americans introduced turkey to European settlers in the early 1600s.

These large and wild birds are exotic animals for Europeans, who are immediately fans of them. The early Spanish rover who came to Dunia Baru brought home the turkey, although rumors emerged that turkey eggs could cause lepra.

This suspicion stems mostly from French people who are wary of the origins of the bird. In medieval Europe, disease such as lepra was often considered a divine punishment or a result of moral error, and new foods from some areas were not in accordance with existing norms.

But in America, early settlers actually saw turkey eggs as a luxury item. In the 18th century, his popularity in the US increased until domestic turkey farms became common. For example, the iconic restaurant Delmonico's in New York served turkey eggs in a diorak-rik way, boiled, or used as frittata andition.

However, the development of industrial chicken farms in the 20th century changed the pattern of food consumption in America. New technology allows farmers to focus on chicken for egg or meat production, so chicken eggs become cheaper and easier to obtain. As a result, turkey eggs began to lose popularity, even Delmonico 's eventually removed them from the menu.

Currently, turkey eggs are rare items, mainly sought after by culinary lovers or breeders who want to meet the demand for turkeys.