What is egg yolk?

Egg yolk is the yellow part of the egg, the part that would be used to feed a growing infant chick if the egg wasn’t used for human consumption. It’s usually less commonly used (many recipes call for the egg whites, the clear part of the egg) and is generally cooked only as a whole with the egg white itself. Eggs are used in a wide range of recipes to add flavor and binding, can be eaten raw (or drunk in things such as eggnog) and boiled, poached and cooked in a variety of ways.

How it tastes

Raw egg yolks have a mild milky or buttery flavor and are quite slimy. Cooked egg yolks have an even milder slightly dusty flavor that is slightly powdery.

Tips

Egg yolk is less allergenic than the whites. For this reason, infants are recommended to eat yolks, but usually not whites till at least 1 year of age.

Some people find egg yolks disgusting, while others view an egg cooked with a “sunny side up” raw egg yolk as a delicacy.