Marble eggs



B

Bob (this one)

Guest
Hard-cooked 36 eggs day before yesterday. Chilled them in ice water
until cold (like 20 minutes) and divided them into 3 groups. Rolled them
gently on the countertop to crack the shells slightly and put them into
3 different coloring solutions overnight.
1) tea
2) beet juice
3) puree of basil (thinned with rice vinegar)

Yesterday, I took them out of the coloring solutions, rinsed them and
rolled them on the counter to crack the shells a bit more. Divided each
group in half and put them into different color solutions. So 6 eggs
done with tea went into the beet juice and 6 went into the basil, etc..

Switched them all that way. Today, took them out of the coloring
solutions, rinsed them and peeled the whole bunch. They look like pieces
of marble. Grained and veined like egg-shapes carved from exotic rocks.
Only slight flavor effects. Brought them to a friend's house for a
party. Maybe 20 people. Eggs all gone. Did some dips - mostly variations
on salad dressings - for the eggs. Good food.

They really did look cool.

Pastorio
 
Bob Pastorio wrote:

> Hard-cooked 36 eggs day before yesterday. Chilled them in ice water until
> cold (like 20 minutes) and divided them into 3 groups. Rolled them gently
> on the countertop to crack the shells slightly and put them into 3
> different coloring solutions overnight.
> 1) tea
> 2) beet juice
> 3) puree of basil (thinned with rice vinegar)
>
> Yesterday, I took them out of the coloring solutions, rinsed them and
> rolled them on the counter to crack the shells a bit more. Divided each
> group in half and put them into different color solutions. So 6 eggs done
> with tea went into the beet juice and 6 went into the basil, etc..
>
> Switched them all that way. Today, took them out of the coloring
> solutions, rinsed them and peeled the whole bunch. They look like pieces
> of marble. Grained and veined like egg-shapes carved from exotic rocks.
> Only slight flavor effects. Brought them to a friend's house for a party.
> Maybe 20 people. Eggs all gone. Did some dips - mostly variations on salad
> dressings - for the eggs. Good food.
>
> They really did look cool.

That *is* cool! I make marbled tea eggs every once in a while, although I
spice the tea up with cinnamon, cloves, and star anise. I think I got the
recipe out of the Craig Claiborne and Virginia Lee book on Chinese cooking.
I never thought of making marble eggs with beet juice, although I love eggs
pickled in the juice from pickled beets. And the basil puree: What color
did the marbling take? I'm thinking of how basil turns dark so easily,
which makes me curious as to how much green was retained by that
preparation.

The "only slight flavor effects" observation is rather disappointing to me,
and now I'll have to check the amount of time that I steep the tea eggs. In
the eggs I make, you can definitely taste the tea and spices, so maybe I
just steep them longer than you did, or maybe my steeping solution has a
stronger flavor -- but I can't believe that my steeping solution has a
stronger flavor than BEET JUICE, so the stronger flavor is probably a result
of a longer steeping time.

Something else for me to look up when I get home...

Bob
 
In article <[email protected]>, "Bob (this one)"
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Hard-cooked 36 eggs day before yesterday. Chilled them in ice water
> until cold (like 20 minutes) and divided them into 3 groups. Rolled them
> gently on the countertop to crack the shells slightly and put them into
> 3 different coloring solutions overnight.
> 1) tea
> 2) beet juice
> 3) puree of basil (thinned with rice vinegar)
>
> Yesterday, I took them out of the coloring solutions, rinsed them and
> rolled them on the counter to crack the shells a bit more. Divided each
> group in half and put them into different color solutions. So 6 eggs
> done with tea went into the beet juice and 6 went into the basil, etc..
>
> Switched them all that way. Today, took them out of the coloring
> solutions, rinsed them and peeled the whole bunch. They look like pieces
> of marble. Grained and veined like egg-shapes carved from exotic rocks.
> Only slight flavor effects. Brought them to a friend's house for a
> party. Maybe 20 people. Eggs all gone. Did some dips - mostly variations
> on salad dressings - for the eggs. Good food.
>
> They really did look cool.
>
> Pastorio

So, where are the pictures? Don't you think you ought to be
photographing these things for us, Bucko? I'd put 'em on my site (I
can't access binary groups where they post the food ****.) I'll bet
they were cool!
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> Cam Ranh Bay food added 4-8-05.
Sam I Am! updated 4-9-05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.
 
Bob <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bob Pastorio wrote:
> > Hard-cooked 36 eggs day before yesterday. Chilled them
> > in ice water until cold (like 20 minutes) and divided them
> > into 3 groups. Rolled them gently on the countertop to
> > crack the shells slightly and put them into 3 different
> > coloring solutions overnight.
> > 1) tea
> > 2) beet juice
> > 3) puree of basil (thinned with rice vinegar)
==> Lather, Rinse, Repeat swapping eggs to new soak <==
> > They really did look cool.
>
> That *is* cool! I make marbled tea eggs every once in a while,
> although I spice the tea up with cinnamon, cloves, and star anise.
[snip]
> The "only slight flavor effects" observation is rather disappointing
> to me, and now I'll have to check the amount of time that I steep
> the tea eggs. In the eggs I make, you can definitely taste the tea
> and spices, so maybe I just steep them longer than you did, or
> maybe my steeping solution has a stronger flavor -- but I can't
> believe that my steeping solution has a stronger flavor than BEET
> JUICE, so the stronger flavor is probably a result of a longer
> steeping time.

I'm with you, Bob (not this one), on the flavor being less subtle than Bob
(this one) posted about. I'd be curious why his eggs didn't latch onto the
different flavors he used.

My marble eggs (black tea, pickled peppers [usually jalapeno], and beet are
my crew's favorite flavors) are not subtle in grapping whatever flavor
they're soaked in.

The Ranger
 
Did you serve them whole or halved? If they were halved, did you put
anything on top?

````````````````````

On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 03:44:46 -0400, Bob (this one) wrote:

> Hard-cooked 36 eggs day before yesterday. Chilled them in ice water
> until cold (like 20 minutes) and divided them into 3 groups. Rolled them
> gently on the countertop to crack the shells slightly and put them into
> 3 different coloring solutions overnight.
> 1) tea
> 2) beet juice
> 3) puree of basil (thinned with rice vinegar)
>
> Yesterday, I took them out of the coloring solutions, rinsed them and
> rolled them on the counter to crack the shells a bit more. Divided each
> group in half and put them into different color solutions. So 6 eggs
> done with tea went into the beet juice and 6 went into the basil, etc..
>
> Switched them all that way. Today, took them out of the coloring
> solutions, rinsed them and peeled the whole bunch. They look like pieces
> of marble. Grained and veined like egg-shapes carved from exotic rocks.
> Only slight flavor effects. Brought them to a friend's house for a
> party. Maybe 20 people. Eggs all gone. Did some dips - mostly variations
> on salad dressings - for the eggs. Good food.
>
> They really did look cool.
>
> Pastorio
 
The Ranger wrote:
> Bob <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>Bob Pastorio wrote:
>>
>>>Hard-cooked 36 eggs day before yesterday. Chilled them
>>>in ice water until cold (like 20 minutes) and divided them
>>>into 3 groups. Rolled them gently on the countertop to
>>>crack the shells slightly and put them into 3 different
>>>coloring solutions overnight.

Did them late in the evening. Took them out in the morning. Let them sit
in the fridge until evening before putting into the other color. Out
again the next morning.

>>>1) tea
>>>2) beet juice
>>>3) puree of basil (thinned with rice vinegar)
>
> ==> Lather, Rinse, Repeat swapping eggs to new soak <==

No lather. Just water.

>>>They really did look cool.
>>
>>That *is* cool! I make marbled tea eggs every once in a while,
>>although I spice the tea up with cinnamon, cloves, and star anise.
>
> [snip]
>
>>The "only slight flavor effects" observation is rather disappointing
>>to me, and now I'll have to check the amount of time that I steep
>>the tea eggs. In the eggs I make, you can definitely taste the tea
>>and spices, so maybe I just steep them longer than you did, or
>>maybe my steeping solution has a stronger flavor -- but I can't
>>believe that my steeping solution has a stronger flavor than BEET
>>JUICE, so the stronger flavor is probably a result of a longer
>>steeping time.
>
>
> I'm with you, Bob (not this one), on the flavor being less subtle than Bob
> (this one) posted about. I'd be curious why his eggs didn't latch onto the
> different flavors he used.

Average time in solutions about 12 hours, not a lot of cracking first
time around, not really a lot second time, either, no extra seasoning to
strengthen flavors, solutions diluted. I mixed the beet juice 50-50 with
water to get a lighter color. Given that I was adding layers of color, I
didn't want any of them to be so intense that they'd overwhelm the
others. This was more about color than flavor since I made dips to the
eggs to be eaten with.

The flavors were lighter compared to beet-pickled eggs or other eggs
that I've done with the intent to actually add new flavors to them. But
then, I leave them in whatever solution a couple days before eating.

The basil stays green when pureed and mixed with the vinegar. It is the
strongest flavoring of the bunch.

> My marble eggs (black tea, pickled peppers [usually jalapeno], and beet are
> my crew's favorite flavors) are not subtle in grapping whatever flavor
> they're soaked in.

A longer soak would certainly give stronger flavors. But I don't want
the colors to end up muddy at the expense of more flavor.

What do yours look like? Do you do multiple solutions for each egg like
I described?

Pastorio
 
sf wrote:

> Did you serve them whole or halved? If they were halved, did you put
> anything on top?

Piled them whole in a bowl. Looked like a display you'd see in some
antique store. Eggs carved from marble and other stones. Small bowls of
dips around it. One time in the past, I wanted them to shine, so I
sprayed some with Pam to see if it would work. Don't do that. You can't
pick them up very securely and they squirt out of your greasy fingers
onto the floor and immediately disintegrate deeply into your leftover
70's shag rug. Aspic was even worse. They stuck to my fingers and to
each other after a few minutes at room temp. Now, I serve them not shiny
and they still get eaten.

I've played with them in the past with cutting and filling. Once, I
split them lengthwise, took out the yolks like everybody does, then got
crazy. Mixed yolk with a little drained sour cream and a bunch of
caviar. Did some with red eggs and some with black (cheap stuff, not
sturgeon). Filled one half so that when I put the top on (the other
half) it would sit like an oyster shell, closed at one end; wide open at
the other). Smoothed the filling so it was even with the edges and
dipped/rolled it into caviar so it would stick. Marble eggs that looked
like some unearthly bivalve that seemed to be leaking caviar. What's not
to like...? Pain to do. Labor intensive getting them pretty.

Pastorio
 
Bob (this one) <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> The Ranger wrote:
> > I'm with you, Bob (not this one), on the flavor being less
> > subtle than Bob (this one) posted about. I'd be curious
> > why his eggs didn't latch onto the different flavors he used.
> >
> Average time in solutions about 12 hours, not a lot of
> cracking first time around, not really a lot second time,
> either, no extra seasoning to strengthen flavors, solutions
> diluted. I mixed the beet juice 50-50 with water to get
> a lighter color. Given that I was adding layers of color,
> I didn't want any of them to be so intense that they'd
> overwhelm the others. This was more about color than
> flavor since I made dips to the eggs to be eaten with.

Okay; I missed that you cut the soak-solution. I'm a little less subtle when
I make them. I like pickled eggs; just can't get enough of them but
understand why others would want a less in-your-face taste (especially where
sauces are the attraction after the eye-candy feast.)

[snip]
> > My marble eggs (black tea, pickled peppers [usually
> > jalapeno], and beet are my crew's favorite flavors)
> > are not subtle in grabbing whatever flavor they're
> > soaked in.
> >
> A longer soak would certainly give stronger flavors. But
> I don't want the colors to end up muddy at the expense
> of more flavor.
>
> What do yours look like? Do you do multiple solutions
> for each egg like I described?

The beet juice are purple, almost a royal purple. The jalapeno eggs are
generally red/pink (I add red dye to warn people of pending heat.) The tea
eggs are dark gray (charcoal) to light gray. I don't double-crack them;
never thought of that. Thanks for the idea. I'm off to give it a try
tonight.

The Ranger
 
The Ranger wrote:
>
> Bob <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Bob Pastorio wrote:
> > > Hard-cooked 36 eggs day before yesterday. Chilled them
> > > in ice water until cold (like 20 minutes) and divided them
> > > into 3 groups. Rolled them gently on the countertop to
> > > crack the shells slightly and put them into 3 different
> > > coloring solutions overnight.
> > > 1) tea
> > > 2) beet juice
> > > 3) puree of basil (thinned with rice vinegar)
> ==> Lather, Rinse, Repeat swapping eggs to new soak <==
> > > They really did look cool.
> >
> > That *is* cool! I make marbled tea eggs every once in a while,
> > although I spice the tea up with cinnamon, cloves, and star anise.
> [snip]
> > The "only slight flavor effects" observation is rather disappointing
> > to me, and now I'll have to check the amount of time that I steep
> > the tea eggs. In the eggs I make, you can definitely taste the tea
> > and spices, so maybe I just steep them longer than you did, or
> > maybe my steeping solution has a stronger flavor -- but I can't
> > believe that my steeping solution has a stronger flavor than BEET
> > JUICE, so the stronger flavor is probably a result of a longer
> > steeping time.
>
> I'm with you, Bob (not this one), on the flavor being less subtle than Bob
> (this one) posted about. I'd be curious why his eggs didn't latch onto the
> different flavors he used.
>
> My marble eggs (black tea, pickled peppers [usually jalapeno], and beet are
> my crew's favorite flavors) are not subtle in grapping whatever flavor
> they're soaked in.
>
> The Ranger

When I make Chinese-type tea eggs, the eggs are *simmered* at low temp
in the tea/spice solution. The eggs always have a strong taste of the
tea.
 
Arri London <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
[snip]
> When I make Chinese-type tea eggs, the eggs are
> *simmered* at low temp in the tea/spice solution.
> The eggs always have a strong taste of the tea.

My Sainted Mother(tm)'s recipe doesn't mention simmering the eggs; it's a
straight soaking, like you would color eggs at Easter.

I can well-imagine the strength of flavors from simmering the eggs in a tea
solution, though.

The Ranger
==
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving
safely, in an attractive and well-preserved body. Rather one should skid in
sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used
up, totally worn out while screaming 'WOO HOO! What a ride!'"
 
On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 16:31:17 -0400, Bob (this one) wrote:

> sf wrote:
>
> > Did you serve them whole or halved? If they were halved, did you put
> > anything on top?
>
> Piled them whole in a bowl. Looked like a display you'd see in some
> antique store. Eggs carved from marble and other stones. Small bowls of
> dips around it.

Very pretty! I've never thought of "dipping" hardboiled eggs in
anything... what did you serve?

<snipped some funny stuff>
> Marble eggs that looked
> like some unearthly bivalve that seemed to be leaking caviar.
>
LOL! That mental image is too funny!

> What's not to like...? Pain to do. Labor intensive getting them pretty.
 
On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 17:45:58 -0700, The Ranger <[email protected]> wrote:
> Arri London <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> [snip]
>> When I make Chinese-type tea eggs, the eggs are
>> *simmered* at low temp in the tea/spice solution.
>> The eggs always have a strong taste of the tea.
>
> My Sainted Mother(tm)'s recipe doesn't mention simmering the eggs; it's a
> straight soaking, like you would color eggs at Easter.
>
> I can well-imagine the strength of flavors from simmering the eggs in a tea
> solution, though.

The recipe I use calls for simmering for 3 hours, then turning the heat off
and steeping it in the cooking liquids for another 8 hours minimum. (up to 1
1/2 days.) I did wonder if that was excessive at the time, but the results
taste good to me. Haven't made them for ages, though...

Ariane
--
Dysfunction: The only consistent feature of all your dissatisfying
relationships is you.
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/dysfunction.html
 
sf wrote:

> On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 16:31:17 -0400, Bob (this one) wrote:
>
>> sf wrote:
>>
>> > Did you serve them whole or halved? If they were halved, did you put
>> > anything on top?
>>
>> Piled them whole in a bowl. Looked like a display you'd see in some
>> antique store. Eggs carved from marble and other stones. Small bowls of
>> dips around it.
>
>
> Very pretty! I've never thought of "dipping" hardboiled eggs in
> anything... what did you serve?

Green Goddess dressing; Russian dressing; blue cheese dressing (crumbled
blue cheese mixed with drained whipped cream and chilled overnight -
decadent); mayo with parmesan, lemon juice and minced caramelized onion;
hoisin sauce thinned with chardonnay.

> <snipped some funny stuff>
>
>>Marble eggs that looked
>> like some unearthly bivalve that seemed to be leaking caviar.
>
> LOL! That mental image is too funny!

And a few people asked a lot of questions before eating them. <g>

Pastorio
 
The Ranger wrote:
>
> Arri London <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> [snip]
> > When I make Chinese-type tea eggs, the eggs are
> > *simmered* at low temp in the tea/spice solution.
> > The eggs always have a strong taste of the tea.
>
> My Sainted Mother(tm)'s recipe doesn't mention simmering the eggs; it's a
> straight soaking, like you would color eggs at Easter.
>
> I can well-imagine the strength of flavors from simmering the eggs in a tea
> solution, though.
>
> The Ranger
>
Should have mentioned they are then left in the liquid to cool. That's
how my Chinese friends prepared the eggs.

LOL we always simmered the eggs when colouring them for Easter; that's
using the food colours,not the kits.
 
Bob (this one) wrote:
> Hard-cooked 36 eggs day before yesterday. Chilled them in ice water
> until cold (like 20 minutes) and divided them into 3 groups. Rolled
them
> gently on the countertop to crack the shells slightly and put them
into
> 3 different coloring solutions overnight.
> 1) tea
> 2) beet juice
> 3) puree of basil (thinned with rice vinegar)
>
> Yesterday, I took them out of the coloring solutions, rinsed them and

> rolled them on the counter to crack the shells a bit more. Divided
each
> group in half and put them into different color solutions. So 6 eggs
> done with tea went into the beet juice and 6 went into the basil,
etc..
>
> Switched them all that way. Today, took them out of the coloring
> solutions, rinsed them and peeled the whole bunch. They look like
pieces
> of marble. Grained and veined like egg-shapes carved from exotic
rocks.
> Only slight flavor effects. Brought them to a friend's house for a
> party. Maybe 20 people. Eggs all gone. Did some dips - mostly
variations
> on salad dressings - for the eggs. Good food.
>

It sounds nifty. How did you serve them? Whole, cut in half, like
deviled eggs? I can't imagine dipping a hard boiled egg....

Susan B.
 
On Mon 18 Apr 2005 03:57:05p, sueb wrote in rec.food.cooking:

>
> Bob (this one) wrote:
>> Hard-cooked 36 eggs day before yesterday. Chilled them in ice water
>> until cold (like 20 minutes) and divided them into 3 groups. Rolled
>> them gently on the countertop to crack the shells slightly and put
>> them into 3 different coloring solutions overnight.
>> 1) tea
>> 2) beet juice
>> 3) puree of basil (thinned with rice vinegar)
>>
>> Yesterday, I took them out of the coloring solutions, rinsed them and
>
>> rolled them on the counter to crack the shells a bit more. Divided
>> each group in half and put them into different color solutions. So 6
>> eggs done with tea went into the beet juice and 6 went into the basil,
>> etc..
>>
>> Switched them all that way. Today, took them out of the coloring
>> solutions, rinsed them and peeled the whole bunch. They look like
>> pieces of marble. Grained and veined like egg-shapes carved from
>> exotic rocks. Only slight flavor effects. Brought them to a friend's
>> house for a party. Maybe 20 people. Eggs all gone. Did some dips -
>> mostly variations on salad dressings - for the eggs. Good food.
>>
>
> It sounds nifty. How did you serve them? Whole, cut in half, like
> deviled eggs? I can't imagine dipping a hard boiled egg....
>
> Susan B.
>

If he served them with dips, what else would you do?

--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974
 
Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Mon 18 Apr 2005 03:57:05p, sueb wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
> >
> > Bob (this one) wrote:
> >> Hard-cooked 36 eggs day before yesterday. Chilled them in ice
water
> >> until cold (like 20 minutes) and divided them into 3 groups.
Rolled
> >> them gently on the countertop to crack the shells slightly and put
> >> them into 3 different coloring solutions overnight.
> >> 1) tea
> >> 2) beet juice
> >> 3) puree of basil (thinned with rice vinegar)
> >>
> >> Yesterday, I took them out of the coloring solutions, rinsed them
and
> >
> >> rolled them on the counter to crack the shells a bit more. Divided
> >> each group in half and put them into different color solutions. So
6
> >> eggs done with tea went into the beet juice and 6 went into the
basil,
> >> etc..
> >>
> >> Switched them all that way. Today, took them out of the coloring
> >> solutions, rinsed them and peeled the whole bunch. They look like
> >> pieces of marble. Grained and veined like egg-shapes carved from
> >> exotic rocks. Only slight flavor effects. Brought them to a
friend's
> >> house for a party. Maybe 20 people. Eggs all gone. Did some dips -
> >> mostly variations on salad dressings - for the eggs. Good food.
> >>
> >
> > It sounds nifty. How did you serve them? Whole, cut in half, like
> > deviled eggs? I can't imagine dipping a hard boiled egg....
> >
> > Susan B.
> >
>
> If he served them with dips, what else would you do?
>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright
>

I would put salt on it and eat it. I don't think dipping a hard boiled
egg into salad dressing sounds very appetizing. A peeled egg is pretty
slippery too.

Susan B.
 
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