SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — A resident of Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province, experienced a rare surprise on January 10 when they cracked open an egg to find it contained four yolks. This event, reported by Yonhap News on January 15, is considered even more unlikely than winning the lottery.
After making the discovery while preparing fried eggs, the resident, identified only as A, took photos before enjoying the egg with toast. Research online led them to discover that the likelihood of finding a four-yolk egg is rarer than hitting the jackpot in a lottery.
The British Egg Information Service reported last year, after a similar discovery in the UK, that the odds of encountering a four-yolk egg are about one in 11 billion, making it 135 times rarer than winning the first prize in the South Korean lottery, which has odds of about one in 8.14 million.
This is the second such occurrence in South Korea in just a month. On December 22, a homemaker in Songpa-gu, Seoul, was preparing a fried egg when she discovered one with four yolks and contacted the Korea Poultry Association. Her discovery was the first officially recognized instance in the country.
Typically, chickens start laying eggs from about 16 weeks of age, and such abnormal eggs often occur in immature young hens whose physiological functions are not yet stable.
The frequency of three or four-yolk eggs significantly decreases as chickens mature beyond 20 weeks and their hormones stabilize. The Korea Poultry Association assures that eggs with four yolks are safe to eat.
A shared, “I had bought jumbo eggs from a nearby store a couple days earlier and kept them. When I cracked one open, I was so amazed that I took a picture, though I couldn’t take many as I was in the middle of cooking.
The taste was the same as regular eggs.” A added, “Having a four-yolk egg as the first egg I eat this year feels like a sign of good luck. I’m hoping for some big fortune this year and that I haven’t used up all my luck on this egg.”
Egg yolks are a rich source of vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12, as well as folic acid. They also contain important minerals like iron and zinc. However, yolks also have unsaturated fats which can be harmful to vascular health, are high in calories, and contain dietary cholesterol.
Image credit: Korea Poultry Association / photonews@koreabizwire.com
