Eggs as gastronomic memory: A qualitative content analysis of intergenerational culinary transmission, health perceptions, and sustainability in Spanish households

This study examines the role of eggs as a vehicle of gastronomic memory and cultural identity within the Mediterranean Diet, focusing on their place in the intergenerational transmission of culinary culture in Spanish households. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory and Food Literacy frameworks, a qualitative content analysis (Graneheim & Lundman) was applied to open-ended survey responses from 169 participants, isolating a subsample of 49 who explicitly discussed egg consumption. Analysis yielded three overarching categories and ten subcategories. Eggs emerged as a powerful emotional anchor to childhood, transmitted primarily through maternal and, occasionally, paternal figures as agents of culinary socialization. Despite being valued as a nutritionally dense, fast, and affordable 'lifesaver' food, a 'time paradox' was identified: younger generations increasingly replace homemade preparations with precooked alternatives, reflecting an erosion of basic culinary skills. Eggs were also framed as a 'democratic' and sustainable food, linked to Km0 and local-origin consumption. These findings position the egg as a strategic bridge between culinary heritage and contemporary lifestyle constraints, offering a concrete pedagogical resource for public health strategies promoting home cooking and food literacy. This work extends existing food-science literature on eggs, predominantly nutritional and clinical in focus, toward a gastronomic and sociocultural understanding of everyday food practices.