If you do any baking, I'm sure you've seen recipes that call for "three medium eggs" or "two large eggs". But what does that mean? And how do your fresh eggs from your chickens measure up?
Well, I'll show you how to tell.
There's a handy chicken egg size chart that helps to standardize the various sizes of eggs. All eggs that are sold commercially are graded by size (weight).
Eggs are Sized by the Dozen
But did you know that commercially sold eggs are weighed by the dozen, not by the individual egg?
So while there can be some variance from egg to egg within a carton, as long as the aggregate weight of the entire carton is consistent with the weight for that egg size, that's what will be printed on the carton label.
Handy Chicken Egg Size Chart
While an individual egg in a carton can vary a bit, these are the average weights for eggs in each size class as well as the total weight of a carton of each size egg.
PeeWee Eggs
Egg carton weighing 15 ounces or an average of 1.25 ounces per egg
Small Eggs
Egg carton weighing 18 ounces or an average of 1.5 ounces per egg
Medium Eggs
Egg carton weighing 21 ounces or an average of 1.75 ounces per egg
Large Eggs
Egg carton weighing 24 ounces or an average of 2.0 ounces per egg
Extra-Large Eggs
Egg carton weighing 27 ounces or an average of 2.25 ounces per egg
Jumbo Eggs
Egg carton weighing 30 ounces or an average of 2.50 ounces per egg
Weighing your Chicken Eggs
So how can you figure out what size your chickens' eggs are?
The easiest way is to use a postage scale or food scale to weigh them. One you have the weight of each egg in ounces, put it in the proper carton and label the cartons.
Then double check at the end to be sure each carton weighs in at the proper weight.
Selling your Eggs by Size
But just so you know, if you're considering selling your fresh eggs, most small scale sellers at farmers markets or at a roadside stand aren't required to size (or grade) the eggs they sell.
You can sell all different size eggs in the same carton, sell them by color... whatever you want.
So check your state Egg Laws, but likely you aren't required to package your eggs by size - even though its kind of fun to weight your eggs just to see where they stand.
Especially if you collect a double yolker, which can weigh in at over 4 ounces!
One final comment about cooking and baking with eggs:
Even though a recipe may call for a Medium egg or a Large egg, I have never worried about the actual weight of one of our chicken eggs.
And I've often subbed in duck eggs which are about 30% larger than a chicken egg - even recipes when I'm baking - and never had any problems. Or used a combination of chicken and duck eggs...
Since there's such a slight difference in size in the chicken eggs, I don't think it much matters honestly whether you use a medium, large or even jumbo egg in most recipes.
