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You are here: Home / Events / EoMEoTE / Green eggs and ham – EoMEoTE#7

Green eggs and ham – EoMEoTE#7

by Jeanne Horak on June 8, 2005 5 Comments in EoMEoTE

A girl from London’s East

Felt her inspiration had ceased.

But she hit some luck

With eggs of duck

And copied Dr Seuss’s feast!

I’ve been reading a lot about food lately – not recipe books, but books about food, its production and its history.  First there was Elizabeth David’s delightful An Omelette and a Glass of Wine and more recently I’ve been reading Derek Cooper’s Snail Eggs and Samphire.  All this reading about ethical food production and eating local produce has got me slowly developing a reaction against Tesco supermarkets and their ilk.  I mean, the reason why they are so successful is that they are a) cheap and b) convenient.  Not because we support their ethical food practices or their food is so tasty and delicious, but because we are short of time and short of cash.  What a sad way to select your food!!

As as a first step away from supermarket culture, last weekend I dragged Nick off to the Queen’s Market at Upton Park.  What was I thinking not to bring my camera??  It’s a feast for the senses!!  The area has a high percentage of Asian residents and the market reflects this – chillis of every description, beautiful saris and all manner of strange fruit and vegetables.  In the centre of the covered market are stalls selling everything from cleaning materials to toys to pickles to clothes, while towards the outer edges there are fruit and vegetable stalls.  Everything looks fresh, the sellers are friendly and it’s a pleasant and vibrant shopping experience.  Around the perimeter are a number of shops – loads of Halaal butchers; some grocers selling West African, Indian and other speciality items; and a fishmonger.  We ended up heading home laden with Scotch Bonnet chillis, avocados, apples, lettuce, stunning vine tomatoes (about a third of the price of the supermarkets) and some thick, juicy lamb chops.

We also, on a whim, picked up half a dozen duck eggs.  Now I’ve had ostrich egg, but I couldn’t recall ever having had duck eggs (that’s what you get for growing up in Africa!!).  The stall-holder asked us “white or green?” and for a moment I though I’d heard wrong, but on closer inspection some of the eggs certainly did have a curious green colour, reminding me instantly of the fabulous Dr Seuss book Green Eggs and Ham (understandably, by nephew Sam’s favourite book, starting as it does with the words “I am Sam, Sam I am.  Do you like green eggs and ham?”).  I had a quick look around the web to try and find out why they are this intriguing shade of green alabaster, but all I can find out is that yes, they vary from white to greenish or bluish and this is quite normal (and that there may be some variation in egg colour linked to different breeds of ducks). Apart from that, duck eggs behave rather a lot like chicken eggs.  The main differences (apart from the intriguing colour) are:

  1. duck eggs have harder, less porous shells than chicken eggs
  2. duck eggs have a higher ratio of yolk to white than chicken eggs
  3. because of point 2. above they are higher in cholesterol than chicken eggs (but not as high as goose eggs)
  4. the yolk tends to be a brighter yellow (but this can vary with diet) and the white less milky (containing more protein too) than chicken eggs
  5. their rich taste makes them excellent in puddings and cakes

 

Anyhow, we came home rather late on Sunday night after another hospital visit to Christelle and didn’t feel very hungry.  But to be strong you need sustenance and I did have the said green duck eggs some ham and bagels lying around…  So I made us a quick snack of scrambled duck eggs on toasted onion bagels with lightly fried Wiltshire ham.  Mmmmmm!  Extra creamy scrambled eggs – I think I’m sold on duck eggs.  They were really delicious and I’m glad we have the rest of the box still to eat.  The creamy eggs played well with the slightly salty ham and the crispy-on-the-outside-yet-chewy-within onion bagels – in fact, the perfect midnight snack.

Now if only I can persuade our landlord to dig a little pond at the bottom of the garden and allow us to keep a couple of ducks, we could be having fresh, ethically-produced duck eggs every day!!  What a quacking idea 😉

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  1. ejm says

    June 8, 2005 at 2:50 pm

    Duck eggs!! Trust you to step things up another notch, Jeanne!
    I don’t think I’ve seen duck eggs (although they must be available somewhere in this big city). I’ve seen quail eggs at our egg store but the price has always stopped me from buying them to try them.
    -Elizabeth
    P.S. “Green Eggs and Ham” was my younger sister’s favourite as well. We used to have to read it to her every night for at least a year. Our favourite torture was to change the words ever so slightly so that she would freak out. (sisters…)
    “Would you like them on the rocks? Would you like them with some lox?”

    Reply
  2. AugustusGloop says

    June 9, 2005 at 1:42 am

    Wow. Very cool.
    I’ve only ever had salted duck eggs. I’ve never thought to cook them so.
    I think you’ve just opened the floodgates to a whole new world of eggs-ploration too!

    Reply
  3. anthony says

    June 9, 2005 at 11:11 am

    I think “duck” and “eggs” are the two words that have kept me from a singing career.

    Reply
  4. Owen says

    June 10, 2005 at 5:18 pm

    Jeanne, if you ever can find it (I’m sure it is on some best of Saturday Night Live compilations) there is a staggeringly amazing recording from Saturday Night Live of The Rev Jesse Jackson reading “green Eggs and Ham” that you should get for your nephew.
    Never mind anything else the man has ever done – he is a hero to humanity for that reading. It manages to be hilarious, moving and thoroughly dramatic all at the same time.

    Reply
  5. Karen says

    June 11, 2005 at 5:25 pm

    Oh, another one to add to the soul food list.
    Flan is best with duck eggs! Firmer! 🙂

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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