Hardboiled egg turned green?

[gtaus]

I hardboiled a batch of 18 eggs the other night. One of the smaller, brown, eggs was green when I peeled it! I have not seen that before and did not eat it, thinking something must have been wrong with the egg. I am trying to figue out why this one egg turned green.

Is it possible that the egg was overcooked and that caused it to turn green?

Is it possible that the small egg was maybe frozen from the nest box, but not yet cracked, and that turned the white of the egg off color?

The egg was maybe only a week or two old, on the countertop, unrefrigerated, but would that turn the color of the egg from white to green after hard boiling it?

I am not panicking or anything like that, out of 18 eggs I hardboiled, only 1 was off color. Thanks for any comments.

 

[chickenenthusiasts5698]

Was the egg white green or just the yolk?

 

[Peepsi]

If the egg white itself is green, I personally wouldn't trust it. If the yolk is green, that *usually* means it was over-cooked.

 

[gtaus]

Was the egg white green or just the yolk?

The green went into the yolk, in spots, but was otherwise orange. It just did not look right to me, so I did not eat it. It did not smell any different than the other hardboiled eggs, but the look was off.

 

[gtaus]

If the egg white itself is green, I personally wouldn't trust it. If the yolk is green, that *usually* means it was over-cooked.

This was perhaps the smallest egg in the batch, and I was boiling the eggs for 15 minutes because I was going to pickle them in pickled beet juice. I wanted the eggs very hard boiled. Dear Wife usually hard boils eggs for only 9 minutes, but the yolk is still soft and does not pickle as well. But maybe 15 minutes was too long, at least for that small egg?

 

[Peepsi]

This was perhaps the smallest egg in the batch, and I was boiling the eggs for 15 minutes because I was going to pickle them in pickled beet juice. I wanted the eggs very hard boiled. Dear Wife usually hard boils eggs for only 9 minutes, but the yolk is still soft and does not pickle as well. But maybe 15 minutes was too long, at least for that small egg?

Yep, if there was only green in the yolk, sounds like it was over-boiled, probably for the reason you said...it was small and got over-boiled.

EDIT: But an over-boiled egg is still safe to eat. It's just not *as* yummy as a perfectly-boiled egg...at least not to me (but still good!).

 

[21hens-incharge]

Was the green throughout the whole thickness of the white?
If it was I would certainly have tossed it too.

Thinking it had to be because they were destined for pickling......

 

[gtaus]

Yep, if there was only green in the yolk, sounds like it was over-boiled, probably for the reason you said...it was small and got over-boiled.

EDIT: But an over-boiled egg is still safe to eat. It's just not *as* yummy as a perfectly-boiled egg...at least not to me (but still good!).

Thanks. To be clear, the egg white itself was green and the yolk had some green spots in it. The egg did not smell bad, so I just cut it up and fed it back to my chickens this morning. Next time I'll only hard boil the eggs for maybe 12 minutes. I save the smallest eggs for hard boiling and use them to pickle with the beet juice.

First time I had ever seen a green egg and wondered what happened. Probably overcooked it. Thanks.

 

[Kellow1]

I hardboiled a batch of 18 eggs the other night. One of the smaller, brown, eggs was green when I peeled it! I have not seen that before and did not eat it, thinking something must have been wrong with the egg. I am trying to figue out why this one egg turned green.

Is it possible that the egg was overcooked and that caused it to turn green?

Is it possible that the small egg was maybe frozen from the nest box, but not yet cracked, and that turned the white of the egg off color?

The egg was maybe only a week or two old, on the countertop, unrefrigerated, but would that turn the color of the egg from white to green after hard boiling it?

I am not panicking or anything like that, out of 18 eggs I hardboiled, only 1 was off color. Thanks for any comments.

You indicated that this was a "small" brown egg. Was it the smallest in the batch? The most common reason an egg turns green is from overcooking. Was the white green or the yolk?

 

[21hens-incharge]

I really think there was another issue.....tiny invisible crack allowing bacteria inside type thing.

Green whites are a no go for me.