Emu Eggs Make Green Eggs And Ham A Very Real Possibility
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Foodies and adventurous Dr. Seuss fans take note; now is the perfect time to serve up some green eggs and ham.
Emu eggs are now on sale at the Green Market in Union Square. Shoppers were awestruck Tuesday by the unique eggs' beautiful green color.
"It reminded me of a rock or a stone, a highly polished stone, and it's quite beautiful, it has a green hue," said Richard Campo. "They are the most beautiful eggs I've ever seen in my life."
But that beautiful green hue serves an important purpose.
Lou Braxton of Roaming Acres Farm told CBS 2 that the green color protects the eggs from predators.
"The color is camouflage. They lay their eggs in the grass. It's to conceal them from other animals."
While the emu is indigenous to Australia, finding them in the New York area isn't too difficult. Todd Appelbaum raises them at Roaming Acres Farm in Andover, N.J..
"They're pretty low maintenance. They're really not aggressive at all. It's an easy keep animal," said Appelbaum, who has been raising the birds on the farm since 2005.
One emu egg weighs about 2 pounds and is equivalent to about eight chicken eggs, and Braxton told CBS 2 that the taste and texture differ slightly as well.
"The taste is a little different. It has a bright yellow yolk. It's a richer egg taste, but a creamy texture to it, more like a duck egg in texture," he said.
Shoppers approached the eggs with intrigue and excitement.
"They're pretty big, interesting looking and I'd like to figure out how to cook something with them," said Jonathan Crane.
Tony Rossi from Roaming Acres told CBS 2 that "you prepare it just like a regular chicken egg, but you need a partner to help you eat it."
Each emu egg costs $20, or you can buy the shell by itself for $25.
Braxton told CBS 2 that the emerald eggs have been known to wear many hats.
"It's been a Grinch egg in December, a water dragon egg. It's about to become a Leprechaun egg, it's a very adaptable egg."
The emu is the second largest bird in the world but they only lay eggs in the winter, so the time to taste them is now.
Plan on trying the big green eggs? Let us know in our comments section below...
