What Is World Egg Day?

World Egg Day is celebrated every year on the second Friday in October and was first celebrated in 1996. Since then, people around the world have continued to celebrate eggs as an excellent, affordable source of high quality protein and their vital role in feeding people around the world.

Every day, egg farmers across the globe join together in their commitment to provide high-quality eggs to help feed the world’s hungry. Egg farmers continue to balance their operations with firm commitments to the people they feed, the animals they care for and the environment we all share.

Dozens of Flavors, One Incredible Egg

Eggs are a universal food and an important part of cuisines around the globe. Every culture has its own recipes for egg dishes. Although some of these dishes have different names and often include different flavors, many are similar.

Omelets: We think of the omelet we eat as an original French recipe, but it was first made out of eggs and honey by ancient Romans. Make this type of omelet by moving beaten eggs around in a pan until they cook into a lumpy circle. After adding a filling, flip one side of the egg circle over the filling and the omelet is done.

Frittatas and Tortillas: Similar to omelets, cook the filling in a pan and pour the beaten eggs over them. Let the dish cook until the eggs are almost set. To finish the top, cover the pan and let steam set the eggs or put the pan in the oven or under the broiler. In both ancient Persia and modern Iran, an herb-flavored omelet called coucou sabzi is made in the very same way.

Eggs in Asia: Chinese egg foo yung is very much like a frittata or a tortilla. However, egg foo yung comes out shaped like a patty because it’s made in the bottom of a wok. In Japan, thin omelets are made in a rectangular pan and rolled up tightly. In several Asian countries, thin omelets are sometimes cut into strips before being mixed with other foods or made with lacy holes so the filling foods show through.

Pancakes, Crepes, Blintz and More: A famous dish showing how foods of different lands are similar is a light, thin, egg-rich pancake. To the French, this pancake is a crepe. There are similar pancakes in other cuisines, including the Jewish blintz, Russian blini, Greek krepand, and Hungarian palascinta. The Chinese also use a light, thin egg pancake to wrap egg rolls and make won tons. Thin, omelet-like pancakes from Korea and Indonesia are often used as wrappers for other foods, too.