Super Foods We Enjoy! Quail Eggs.

Join me for a new series of nutrition articles highlighting foods my family eats on a regular basis. I will cover the nutrition benefits of these foods and tips for how to prepare and eat them. 

For my first food, I am highlighting quail eggs. I shared in years past how I first learned about these eggs from my friend Pavel….who is now my wonderful husband. He grew up with quail in Ukraine where they are native. Pavel and I now raise quail so that our whole family can enjoy the benefits of these eggs every day. 

There are many ways to eat the quail egg. Pavel and his family grew up drinking them raw from a cup. This is how I was first introduced to the eggs. These eggs have a mild sweet flavor, much like the yolk of a soft-boiled chicken egg. Although the texture can take time to get used to, the flavor definitely grows on you. However, when I was pregnant with our first child and experiencing morning sickness, I switched to putting them raw into our morning smoothie. This has continued as our daily practice for consumption. Is eating the raw egg safe? Well, you certainly can enjoy them prepared any way you would cook a chicken egg. However, unlike chicken eggs, quail eggs contain little to no Salmonella due to an increased amount of lysozyme--an enzyme that kills bacteria. So, if you trust the source of the egg and it is fresh (no older than a week), you can enjoy all these nutrients raw which preserves more of the quail egg nutrients compared to cooking them. 

The origin of quail egg consumption can be traced back to Egyptian and Chinese medicines, 

when it was used to fight respiratory diseases and general immune conditions. This practice soon spread to other Asian cultures--Japan is known for feeding their children 2 quail eggs for a school breakfast. The eggs are also prized in European countries and they are quite common in some South American countries where they are typically served hard boiled. 

Of course, every sustainably raised egg (chicken, duck, quail, etc.) deserves a five-star rating for nutrition. For example, all of these eggs contain high levels of vitamin A, D, B12, selenium, protein and fat--making them a great food for vision and blood sugar handling among other things. However, the quail egg has some unique treasures.

When comparing quail eggs to chicken eggs, one quail egg contains six times more vitamin B1 and fifteen times more vitamin B2. Also, between 1960-1980, two physicians, Dr. Truffier and Dr. Lucotte conducted separate studies of therapeutic doses of quail eggs which resulted in profound ‘cures’ of asthma and allergies. (Supporting their historical use in Egypt and China.) This is the result of unique enzymes in the egg white which inhibit trypsin (a protein which causes allergies.) Pavel’s siblings experienced complete recovery from allergy and digestion issues when consuming these eggs daily! 

If you want to benefit from these eggs, aim for 3 eggs daily for adults, 2 eggs daily for children 5 and older, 1 egg daily for children under 5. 

Now, if you are ready to start trying these lovely eggs, I would love to help connect you with a trusted source! I look forward to hearing from you!

[1] Douglas, Alexandra Teodozja. Coturnix Revolution: The Success in Keeping the Versatile Coturnix: Everything You Need to Know about the Japanese Quail. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013.