wild food | The Slowvelder

I have been given an ostrich egg. It’s fresh and unfertilised.

Ostrich eggs are the largest of all eggs, On average they are 15 centimetres long, 13 centimetres wide, and weigh 1.4 kilograms, over 20 times the weight of a chicken egg. They are glossy cream-coloured, with thick shells marked by small pits.

I would like to attemp to make something different with it. Most recipes on the internet talk about a savory type of egg scramble, or frittata’s. Frying and boiling have been done too but that does not appeal to me. I would like to keep the shell so I will have to drain the egg and wont be able to keep the yolk whole.

Ostrich egg souffle anyone? Or quiche?

What other recipes use a lot of eggs?

images from daily mail and floeckscountry.com

As promised here is the recipe for Marula Jelly that I made this weekend.

Marula jelly is routinely served with any type of venison, but can be used with all types of meat. It is delicious with cheese and biscuits or just on a slice of toast for breakfast. It has a subtle flavour slightly reminiscent of honey.

Collect your marula fruit, wash them and cut or pierce the skins. Place in a large pot and cover the fruit with water and boil for 15-20 minutes. Tip: It’s good to include some green fruit as they contain more pectin.

Strain the contents of the pot through a cloth (muslin or cheesecloth are good but I guess any type of clean cloth would do) and retain the water/juice

At this stage the juice looks just like fresh orange juice.

Wash out your pot, measure your juice and pour it back into the clean pot.
Add white sugar – volume for volume ie: 1 cup juice – 1 cup sugar
Heat gently while stirring to melt the sugar

Add the juice of 1 lemon per liter of juice
Boil rapidly for about 20 minutes or until gelling temperature has been reached (check by placing a drop or two onto a cold saucer, allowing to cool and then pushing it with your finger to see if it wrinkles) I found I needed to boil for another 20 mins as I had a large pot of juice. Tip: Make sure you have enough space in the pot as the jam bubbles up very easily and you need to keep it bubbling ( I lost at least 1 bottle to “overflow”)
Bottle the jelly in sterilised bottles ( I boil mine)
Water-bath your bottles if this is your routine when making jams ( I don’t)
Allow to cool, label and store in a cool place until opening
Store open bottles in the refrigerator