Czech Easter Eggs
May 3, 2008
Filed under Easter Eggs, Easter Traditions
Tags: Easter, Easter Eggs, Easter Traditions
Czech Republic > A woman decorates Easter eggs with traditional designs. Easter eggs are famed for their geometrical designs applied with the use of wax.
Faberge Eggs > from the Czars to Bond
The first Faberge egg was made by Peter Carl Faberge in 1885. Only 50 original Faberge eggs were ever completed, constructed by the House of Faberge for the Russian Czars between 1885 and 1917 to commemorate Easter.
The company was closed down by the Bolsheviks in 1917 after the October Revolution. No further eggs were made until 1989 when a licence to design and market them was awarded to jeweller Victor Mayer, of Pforzheim, Germany, in 1989.
The immaculate detail and quality of the original eggs led to them achieving worldwide fame, and a reputation as a byword for luxury. The appearance of the eggs varied wildly, and are all based around an individual theme.
Arguably the most famous is the Coronation Egg, manufactured in 1893 to mark the coronation of Czar Nicholas II the following year. It was sold at auction in 2004 for an estimated $24m. It has featured in two films, the Bond movie Octopussy saw a fake version mysteriously appear at a party at the British Embassy in Berlin, while Oceans Twelve revolves around a plot to steal the egg from a museum and replace it with a holographic image of itself.
Confused Cockatoo tries to hatch Easter eggs in UK
Pippa, a 17-year-old Cockatoo, has spent two weeks trying to hatch a bowl of chocolate Easter eggs intended for visitors to an English wildlife center, the owner said Wednesday.
“It is very comical. She is not usually maternal so it has come as a bit of a surprise,” said Geoff Grewcock, of the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary in central England. “We had a lot of cream eggs so we put them in a dish on a table for people to take. When we got Pippa out, she went straight to them and began nesting on them,” he said.
“She is so protective over them and if anyone goes near them she will attack,” Grewcock added. “They are going to melt if we don’t take them away. We are taking them away gradually so she should be OK. I think she thinks they should be hatching now and has starting pecking at them. It is very strange.”
Easter Eggxhibition
We eat them, paint them, arrange them next to the Easter bunny, and give them as tokens of friendship. The Easter egg season is here.
An egg is dormant but contains a new life sealed within, and is therefore the perfect symbol for fertility and the beginning of spring. Easter egg stories abound in many cultures. It seems that eggs have always been trendy. For example, eggs as a symbol of new life are found in early Roman Spring feasts, in Jewish traditions, and in stories about ancient gods and goddesses. The ancient Persians painted eggs for their New Year, which falls in the spring. Mary Magdalene is said to have greeted the Emperor of Rome with “Christ is risen” and given him a red egg.
Despite Easter’s association with Christianity, most scholars believe that it was originally a pagan fertility rite that celebrated the rebirth of life. The Easter egg may also have celebrated the end of the privations of fasting, when traditionally all meat and dairy products were prohibited. Whoever started the egg business, it has certainly been a successful one, provoking admiration and interest that has lasted for centuries.
Eggs are also a central feature of spring culture in Finland. All those who want to know more should visit the Easter egg exhibition on the fortress island of Suomenlinna in Helsinki, featuring different egg decoration techniques, eggs painted by local artists, as well as delicious traditions that simply cannot be missed!
Pääsiäismunanäyttely (Easter egg exhibition) 1 – 11 April, Church of Suomenlinna, Helsinki. Opening times Wed-Thu 12-4pm.
Related Links > www.suomenlinna.fi
Eggs for Easter
March 23, 2008
Filed under Easter Eggs, Easter Recipes
Tags: Easter, Easter Eggs, Easter Sunday, Food, Holidays, Recipes
If you feel like cooking up something eggs-tremely delicious this Easter Sunday (today for non-Orthodox Christians), why not stick to tradition and serve eggs, but do something different with them? Rather than simply hard-boiling, colouring and offering them whole, make them the centerpiece of your celebrative cuisine.
When we think of an egg, in general, most of us picture a chicken’s egg. Bird eggs are a common food and one of the most versatile ingredients used in cooking, and it’s true that the most commonly used are those from chickens. Bird eggs have proved valuable foodstuff since prehistory, in both hunting societies and more recent cultures where birds were domesticated. In ancient Rome, they were preserved using a number of methods, and meals often started with an egg course. In the Middle Ages, eggs were forbidden during Lent because of their richness. Egg scrambled with acidic fruit juices was popular in France in the 17th century and may have been the origin of lemon curd.
Chicken eggs are widely used in many types of dishes, both sweet and savoury. Eggs can be pickled, by boiling them first and immersing them in a mixture of vinegar, salt and spices (including ginger or allspice). They can also be hard-boiled, poached, scrambled, fried and refrigerated. Sometimes they are even eaten raw, though this is not recommended for people who may be especially susceptible to salmonella, such as the elderly or pregnant women. As an ingredient, egg yolks are an important emulsifier in the kitchen. Egg white contains protein but little or no fat, and can be whipped to a light, fluffy consistency. Beaten egg whites are used in desserts such as meringues and mousse. Even ground egg shells are sometimes used as a food additive to deliver calcium. However, the protein of cooked eggs is nearly twice as absorbable as that from raw eggs.
Now let’s talk recipes. Since trendy and delicious Deviled Eggs may not be the most appropriate food for Catholic Easter, instead, why not add an Asian theme to your dishes with starters like Ham and Egg Drop Soup, After Easter Shrimp Toast or Curried Egg Puffs? How about Orange Spice Pickled Eggs or Oven-Style Scotch Eggs for added flair? Perhaps Zesty Vegetable Egg Spread is more your thing? When it comes to entr?es, forget the omelet. Opt for Cajun Quiche instead or Easy Broccoli Custard Bake. How about fun Egg Salad Pizza Cones for the kids? A Fajita Frittata or an Italian Spinach & Egg Roll-Up will most definitely impress your guests, as will the all time classic favourite, Eggs Florentine.
For dessert, try twists on traditional custard recipes. Frosty Blueberry or Meringue-Capped Kiwi Custard will satisfy any sweet tooth, and Lemon Pudding Custard or Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Pie will certainly add that eggs-tra special touch to your festivities!
For recipes above visit > www.aeb.org/
An eggcellent Easter adventure
March 22, 2008
Filed under Easter Eggs
Tags: Easter, Easter Eggs, Easter Sunday, Holidays
Making, hiding and then hunting for coloured, decorated, hard-boiled eggs has been a family tradition for many, many years.
Decorating the eggs is a satisfying and creative Easter Saturday activity and the resulting eggs may be used as a most attractive Easter table decoration. If there are small (and sometimes even not so small) children around, the decorated eggs are then hidden around the garden (by the Easter Bunny, of course) ready for an egg hunt on Easter Sunday morning.
As long as the eggs are refrigerated later on Sunday, they may be eaten on Monday, baked in a cheese sauce with potatoes, in a fish pie etc.
To hard-boil eggs > Use white or light brown eggs for the brightest results. Put the eggs in a pot with enough cool water to cover them. Bring to the boil over moderate heat, then let them bubble gently for 10-15 minutes. Take from the heat, pour off the boiling water and replace it with cold water. Keep checking the heat of the eggs. You should work with them while they are just cool enough to touch and hold.
Plain coloured eggs > Organise dyes while the eggs are boiling. On a tray (in case of spills) line up as many glasses as you want colours. Choose glasses just big enough for an egg to touch the bottom with only a little excess space around it. Into each glass put 1 tsp of white, cider or wine vinegar, 1 tsp of salt and about 1 tsp of food colouring from a well-shaken bottle. Put a spoon in each glass, add about 2 tbsp of hot water, and stir until the salt is dissolved. Leave the spoons in the glasses. When you dip a warm egg into the glass you can turn it with the spoon to colour it evenly, or add enough water to cover the egg. Longer immersion produces stronger colours. Lift out each egg with the spoon, let extra liquid run off, then stand the egg on a paper towel until it is dry. For a good range of colours, dip some eggs two or three times. It is best to start with light colours first. For shinier eggs, rub with a little Vaseline or oil when dry and coloured.
For patterned eggs > Draw on the warm, hard-boiled eggs with a white or pink wax crayon, making any patterns, names, initials or shapes you like, before you dip them. The drawn pattern will not “take” the dye. For a coloured pattern, dye the egg a pale colour, dry it, then draw on it with the crayon and dye it again, using a darker colour. Simple patterns usually look best.
Spending £8million on Easter eggs
March 19, 2008
Filed under Easter Eggs, News Europe
Tags: Easter, Easter Cards, Europe, News, World
Northern Ireland will “waste” almost £8million on Easter eggs this year, according to research published today, the Belfast Telegraph reports.
Charity World Vision says that £17m will be spent on presents in the province this Easter, even though a survey revealed more than half of the UK population think Easter eggs are a waste of money. And a quarter of those surveyed admitted to receiving so many eggs that they couldn’t eat them all.
Green groups welcomed the research and condemned the excessively wasteful packaging of Easter eggs. International relief and development agency World Vision also asked people across the UK what they most associated with Easter. A total of 40 per cent of people in Northern Ireland said they associated it with Christianity while the figure was only 25 per cent for the rest of the UK.
World Vision called for people to purchase gifts that will help those in the developing world rather than buying Easter eggs. For example, 20 chicks for farming communities in Sri Lanka can be bought for £14. An Easter card would then be sent to the person in the UK detailing the gift. A total of 1,900 adults were questioned for the survey.
Festive Spirit 
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