How much does an egg weigh?

[Baggy]

I’m researching for a food ingredients database that I’m building, but am having trouble getting an authoritative answer to the weight of an egg in either Australia or New Zealand.

Is there a standardised grading system for size as there is in the US and UK (and what is it)? How are eggs bought (by number or weight)? And is there variation in size of egg between different producers?

All and any info would be much appreciated.

[lamington]

The Australian Egg Corporation says this:

With the number of options available to consumers, choosing the right egg for your family can be confusing. Eggs can be categorised according to size: Jumbo (67g egg); Extra Large (59g egg); Large (50g egg); Medium (42g egg).

on their eggs.org.au site.

The size categories are minimum sizes per carton. A 12-pack of Large (50g) eggs is labelled as 600g. Each egg must weigh at least 50g (ie, no averaging). The standard egg size used in Australian cookbooks is usually described as '55g', '55-60g' or '60g', which is mildly confusing as this overlaps the current 'Large' and 'Extra Large' categories.

Edited July 9, 2007 by lamington (log)

[sandra]

What size egg?

[Baggy]

Do you know if the weights given are the edible weight or total weight including shell? By deduction, if large eggs bought in boxes of 12 have a labelled weight of 600g, then the given size would be total weights. Is this the same as shown on boxes?

Following your lead, I found the Egg Producers Federation of NZ and it has info on NZ sizes (Jumbo 68g, Large 62g, Standard 53g, Medium 44g, Pullet 35g). Unfortunately, there is no indication as to whether this is total or net edible weight. The fact that weights are presented in the context of production, I guess these are total weights (would make edible weight of a large egg to be around 56g).

I wonder if anyone can confirm.

[lamington]

Do you know if the weights given are the edible weight or total weight including shell?

Baggy, I think it's pretty clear that the retail weight of an egg is the gross weight (ie, shell plus edible egg) in all markets.

[Baggy]

I appreciate the comment, but would like to get confirmation. If the figures are total weights, then the largest saleable egg, the jumbo, is up to 10% smaller than in any other country.

On the other hand, if these are net weights, then the total weight of a jumbo is around 74g (assuming 10% egg shell weight). This is right in the range of other countries where jumbo is typically >72g total weight.

I don’t have any answer for NZ yet, but the size range is broadly the same as Aus.

[lamington]

I appreciate the comment, but would like to get confirmation.  If the figures are total weights, then the largest saleable egg, the jumbo, is up to 10% smaller than in any other country.

On the other hand, if these are net weights, then the total weight of a jumbo is around 74g (assuming 10% egg shell weight).  This is right in the range of other countries where jumbo is typically >72g total weight.

I'm not sure if you are focusing on the name of the category or the number of categories. Either way, the sizes given are the minimum sizes of each whole egg including shell in a carton in a given category. At farmers markets, etc, larger eggs can be purchased loose.

Edited July 10, 2007 by lamington (log)

[nickgrieve]

New Zealand egg sizes.

Pullet:    Grade 4, Net Weight 35-44g. Average Weight at least 420g per Doz 
Medium:    Grade 5, Net Weight 44-53g. Average Weight at least 528g per Doz 
Standard:  Grade 6, Net Weight 53-62g. Average Weight at least 636g per Doz 
Large:     Grade 7, Net Weight 62-71g. Average Weight at least 744g per Doz 
Jumbo:     Grade -  Net Weight 71g Minimum. Average Weight at least 852g per Doz 

From "The New Zealand Chef" Pearson Publishing 2006

[Baggy]

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated!