Weight of an Egg White

Asked by Carinia. Answered on 29th December 2011

Full question

Hi, I woud like to know how much do egg white and yolk weigh independently (not as a whole egg)? I recently bought just egg whites and I don't know how much to use. Thanks.

Our answer

For the UK a whole large egg (for the USA this is an extra large egg) out of its shell weighs approximately 60g. Of this about 1/3 is the yolk and 2/3 is the white so one egg white will weigh approximately 40g. The weight is only approximate as in the UK large eggs are defined as those that weigh between 63g and 73g (when in their shells) so there will be some variation between eggs.

In volume terms this is the equivalent of 40mls, or 2 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon.

Store bought pasteurised egg whites (usually sold in a carton) are particularly useful if you want to make dishes that are not fully cooked as they do not carry the risk of salmonella. However we would like to mention that if these egg whites are frozen they tend to loose their whisking qualities so are not good to use for items like meringues after thawing.