Dyed Eggs
Source of Recipe
Old
List of Ingredients
Recipe
BEET EGGS
6 hard boiled eggs
1 can beets (drained & saved) (about 2 cups)
1 c. sugar
1 c. vinegar
1 c. beet juice (from can)
Place 6 hard boiled eggs and drained beets into a 2 quart jar.
In a pan place remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
Pour liquid over eggs and beets.
Let stand in refrigerator for several days until eggs take on
the red color of the beets.
Eggs may be added to replace the ones used from time to time.
VEGETABLE-DYED EGGS
Keep in mind the effect of the dyes varies depending on how concentrated the dye is, what color egg you use, and how long the eggs are immersed in the dye. I used half a purple cabbage, shredded, to dye four eggs. Err on the side of more rather than less when creating your dye.
Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs
Hard Boiled Eggs, room temperature, or white and brown eggs, preferably not super-fresh
1 tablespoon white vinegar per cup of strained dye liquid
Purple Cabbage (makes blue on white eggs, green on brown eggs)
Red Onion Skins (makes lavender or red)
Yellow Onion Skins (makes orange on white eggs, rusty red on brown eggs)
Ground Turmeric (makes yellow)
Red Zinger Tea Bags (makes lavender)
Beets (makes pink on white eggs, maroon on brown eggs)
Oil (canola or olive)
Clean the eggs so there are no particles sticking to their shells.
To prepare the colored dye, first chop the cabbage, chip or peel away the dry skins from the onions, or shred the beets. In a stainless steel saucepan, boil enough water to generously cover the number of eggs you'll be dyeing. Add the dye matter and bring to a boil, turn heat down to low and simmer, covered, for 15-30 minutes. The dye is ready when it reaches a hue a few shades darker than you want for your egg. Examine a sample in a white dish. Remove from the heat and it let cool to room temperature (I put the pot on my fire escape and it cooled off in about 20 minutes).
2010_4_1-veg-eggs-cabbage.jpgPour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into another stainless saucepan, or into a bowl then back into the original pan if that's all you have for dying, otherwise use a flat bottom vessel like a large jar, Dutch oven, etc. Stir in the vinegar at the rate of 1 tablespoon per cup of strained liquid. Arrange the room-temperature eggs in the vessel in one layer and carefully pour the cooled dye over them.
Place the dye bath in the refrigerator until the desired color is reached. Carefully dry the egg then massage in a little oil to each, then polish with a paper towel. Store the eggs in the refrigerator until it is time to eat (or hide.)
Note: You can also start with raw eggs and cook them in the dye bath as described in the previous post about onion-skin eggs. I found with dyes like the Zinger tea and beets, the color was more concentrated with the refrigerator method. Of course, this method requires clearing out some space in the refrigerator.
ONION SKIN EGGS
makes one dozen
12 medium eggs at room temperature
12 onions
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil, or other edible oil
Clean the eggs so there are no particles sticking to their shells.
Chip or peel away the dry skins from the onions. Reserve onions for another use. In a stainless steel saucepan, boil 4 1/2 cups water, onion skins and vinegar. When it boils, turn heat down to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature (I put the pot on my fire escape and it cooled off in about 20 minutes.)
Pour mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into another stainless saucepan, or into a bowl then back into the original pan if that's all you have. For the dying, it's best to use a pan with a 9" diameter, like a Dutch Oven. Remember to use a stainless steel pan to avoid staining. Arrange the room-temperature eggs in the pan in one layer and carefully pour the cooled dye over them.
Bring liquid to an easy boil over medium heat. Then reduce to low and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes, then start checking for color by gently raising an egg out with a slotted spoon. It may take up to 20 minutes to get the right color. Do not cook for more than 20 minutes. (If, after 20 minutes, the eggs are not a deep enough color, remove pot from heat, cool to room temperature, then place in refrigerator until desired color is reached.)
Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and cool on racks. When cool enough to handle, massage in a little olive oil to each, then polish with a paper towel. Keep in refrigerator until time to eat (or hide.)
Huevos Haminados
Makes 12 eggs
all measurements are approximate
Onion skins
2 tablespoons peppercorns
2 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons of white vinegar (or 2 glugs, as Sierra says)
4 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 dozen eggs
pretty leaves, such as parsley or cilantro (optional)
clean pantyhose (optional)
You begin by asking your grocer for as many discarded brown onion skins they can give you. For a dozen eggs, we used about 8 cups, although it's recommended that you have twice that for the best color, particularly if you are slow-cooking them. If the onion skins are dirty, wash them before proceeding.
Fill a large soup pot with the skins, cover with water, and bring it to a boil. You should see the color of the water change to medium brown. Then add the peppercorns, salt, and white vinegar. Turn down the heat to a simmer.
Gently lower the eggs in the water, making sure they are completely covered, and add more water if necessary. Cover the surface of the water with the oil, and then cover the pot with a lid. Let simmer, covered, until the eggs are a rich mahogany color - about an hour.
Cooked this way, the eggs have just the slightest flavor of onions, and are similar to hardboiled eggs. If you want hot eggs on your Sabbath table, you can move the pot to a preheated slow oven (about 225F) after you add the eggs. The longer cooking time will increase the onion flavor, although it will still be delicate.
2008_04_16-huevoshaminadosinstockings.jpg
Before adding the eggs, you can press a decorative leaf such as parsley, cilantro, or even a leaf from your garden to the outside. Affix the leaf with pantyhose, tied in a tight knot. Just to be safe, we would refrain from cooking these pantyhose clad eggs in the oven.
The longer you cook the eggs, the more likely they are to crack. They'll have a spiderweb-like pattern on them, similar to Chinese tea eggs and more of the onion flavor.
TEA LEAF EGGS (tea eggs)
Wikipedia
Regular/traditional method
Fragrant and flavorful tea eggs are a traditional Chinese food. The original recipe uses various spices, soy sauce, and black tea leaves. A commonly used spice for flavoring tea eggs is Chinese five-spice powder, which contains ground cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves and Szechuan peppercorns. Some recipes [1] do not use tea leaves, but they are still called "tea eggs". In the traditional method of preparation, eggs are boiled until they reach a hardened, cooked state. The boiled eggs are removed from the water, and the entire shell of each egg is gently cracked all around. Smaller cracks produce more marbling when the egg is peeled for eating. The extra water from the boiling should be allowed to seep out of the eggs on its own. After about ten minutes, the cracked eggs are ready to be put into the prepared spiced-tea liquid and simmered at medium heat. The simmering allows the spiced fluid to seep into the cracks and marinate the eggs inside their shells. After about 20 minutes, the eggs and the spiced-tea liquid should be transferred to a glass or ceramic container for further steeping in a refrigerator. For best results, the eggs should be allowed to steep for two days. The dark color of the spiced tea gives the egg a marbled effect when it is peeled to be eaten.
CHINESE MARBLED TEA EGGS
FROM, HOME COOKIN
6 eggs
3/4 cup soy sauce
2 star anise
2 tablespoons black tea (or 2 tea bags)
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn (optional)
2 strips dried tangerine or mandarin orange peel (optional)
Gently place the eggs in a medium pot and fill with water to cover the eggs by 1-inch. Bring the pot to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the eggs (leaving the water in the pot) and let cool under running cool water.
Using the back of the teaspoon, gently tap the eggshell to crack the shell all over.
The more you tap, the more intricate the design. Do this with a delicate hand to keep the shell intact.
To the same pot with the boiling water, return the eggs and add in the remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil and immediately turn the heat to low. Simmer for 40 minutes, cover with lid and let eggs steep for a few hours to overnight.
The longer you steep, the more flavorful and deeply marbled the tea eggs will be.
I steeped for 5 hours. Mom likes to steep overnight.
|
|
member logon
