The quality of dietary proteins is generally determined by the biological value of the protein, in order to categorize what potential the protein has to meet our daily recommended intake. This “protein value” indicates how many essential amino acids are provided by the protein source. In this context, “essential” means that the body cannot produce them by itself, which is why we need to get them from food. The gold standard for a biological value equivalent to 100% is (arbitrarily) a hen’s egg. All other protein sources are then measured in comparison to the egg. It is possible, however, for a food to have a value of more than 100, meaning that the hen’s egg can be “outdone”, so to speak.