The Incredible Edible Egg

  Egg and Soldiers 

When you know its going to be a long day an egg is just what you need for breakfast. It keeps you going all day long till dinner. My new favorite breakfast is dark rye nordic bread (working on perfecting my bread recipe, which hopefully I will be able to post soon) toasted and lightly buttered, topped with an egg over easy or poached, and wilted greens on the side. Everything sprinkled with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. It's been known to make an appearance at dinner too.

There is a huge demand for eggs and that is no surprise. Let's see...how many ways can you enjoy an egg? Boiled - soft, medium, or hard. Scrambled - wet or dry. Fried - sunnyside up, or over hard, medium, or easy. Poached. Omelet. Frittata. Egg Salad. It's the virtually silent, but necessary, ingredient in so many baked goods. It's the key ingredient in souffles and custards. It also makes a fabulously rich bread, like brioche. An egg is really a thing where you are only limited by your imagination. Most eggs commercially bought are laid by hens. We are all aware of chickens living horrible existences in factory farming. Remember that many commercially sold eggs come from caged hens. Many grocery stores in the United Kingdom have made the commitment to only sell eggs from free-range birds, but if you can, go further and buy organic eggs. In Europe, eggs are sold at room temperature. If you have fresh eggs and plan to use them within a few days it is safe to leave them in a cool room. Otherwise, they should be refrigerated and consumed within a few weeks. 

While fresh hen eggs are great, my new found love is the duck egg. These ducks (Muscovy, Mallard, Indian Runner and Khaki Campbell) are enjoying their daily swim at the pond at a local London farm. They spend daylight hours here and at night are brought inside.

It's still pretty cold out so egg production isn't very high. The warmer the weather, the more eggs are laid. Most duck egg shells are white with tinges of blue or green. Duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs. They are also tastier. Duck egg yolks are higher in fat which yields a super rich and more flavorful egg. Imagine a bit of melted butter mixed into the yolk. Duck eggs are also higher in protein. When baking with duck eggs, a richer, fluffier product is often created. It's great to substitute duck eggs for chicken eggs in cakes. As a general rule of thumb, substitute one for one (large chicken egg for duck egg), even if the duck eggs tend to be a bit larger.  

If you can, try a goose egg sometime. This is the first goose egg of the season at the farm (the large white one at the top). Geese only lay eggs from late winter to summer, and from 30 to 50 a year, depending on the breed and their age.

This Chinese Crested Goose laid that egg!

In the UK duck eggs are often found at farmers markets and sold at the Waitrose grocery chain.

Comments

[The Duo Dishes]

Never had an egg from any creature other than a chicken. :( Such a shame!

[OysterCulture]

What fun - I always loved the name "egg and soldiers" Your photos of the eggs are definitely food porn - that poached egg with the soft yolk - has me close to pressing the "accept" button on Orbtiz for a quick trip to London to check out these beauties for myself.

Its interesting that the ratio for duck to chicken is 1:1 even though they look at least 25% larger. I wonder why that is? I've had duck eggs but only incorporated into a dish and never on their own. I am so curious now, and will have to seek some out.

Thanks for sharing and inspiring.

[gastroanthropologist]

OysterCulture - I know! With egg yolks like that how can you ever go with just egg whites!

As for the substituting chicken and duck eggs - Most baking recipes call for large chicken eggs so a 1:1 ratio with a duck egg will do (normal sized one). For home baking I have not had any issues following this rule. If you are a bit more precise with your baking, you probably weigh your eggs anyway and in that case you should use equal weights.

[lisa from dandysugar]

I've never had a duck egg before....but I do love a simple breakfast like this one. The soft yolk looks so delicious--combined with wilted greens, a perfect meal. If I had more time in the mornings, I would have this meal all the time. Instead, I must leave it as a weekend luxury...

[Tangled Noodle]

Happily, duck eggs are sold at our Farmer's Market (although it's open only every other week, due to the season) and I've been meaning to try them. The promise of a 'richer, fluffier' baked goods sound ideal. Otherwise, your breakfast of over-easy eggs on buttered toast is mmmmm!

[Natasha - 5 Star Foodie]

I've had duck and goose eggs dining out before but have never had a chance to make them at home - wonder if I can find those somewhere!

[Sophie]

Georgous egg breakfasts!! I seldom eat fresh eggs as breakfast. In summertime, I make a summer omelette with fresh herbs, home grown colourful tomatoes,...

I have eaten duck eggs & they are absolutely delicious! We can buy duck eggs at our Food health shop!

[Juliana]

Nice eggs dishes...like the pictures as well, I just had chicken and duck eggs :-)

[Kitchen Butterfly]

I love egg and shoulders....and good to see I'm not the only one who has some sort of pineapple allergy! (though mine appears worse than yours!

[Daily Spud]

I couldn't live without eggs! Having said that, I have only rarely had duck eggs and never a goose egg - that is now firmly on the list to try.

[pt]

Beautifully choreographed blog and great content. The Egg and Soldiers is noted on my blog too. I love it. Very talented and shall return for another peek at this along with a subscribe. Really nice work!
PT