Black swan eggs were the secret ingredient in Ovaltine

Marilyn sez, "Speaking of maniacal ballerines, black swans are a separate species found only in Australia and New Zealand. Their green-shelled eggs are big enough to make breakfast for three people. Unlike white swans, which are loners, black swans hang out in groups and raise families together. And until the late 1960s, the Ovaltine company in New Zealand used black swan eggs as a secret ingredient in their drink. From National Geographic's Pop Omnivore blog."


Black swan eggs were a secret ingredient in Ovaltine. Until the late 1960s, New Zealand's Ovaltine factory harvested local black swan eggs to add to their drink mix. Since the black swan nests in colonies, collecting the eggs was easy. After the black swan population suffered great losses following a 1968 storm, the Ovaltine folks turned to chicken eggs instead.

Black Swans: Competitive in Ballet, Cooperative in Nature

(Image: Ovaltine, a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from gracelikeriver's photostream)