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Latest Articles

Allotment Gardening
Grow all you can eat on your own allotment.
grow your own
20:32, 10th May 2014

Smallholding for Sale in North Devon
Three bedroom detached house in 18 acres for sale - North Devon, UK
smallholding
20:48, 17th Mar 2013

Nettles
Find out more about nettles - how to benefit from them and how to get rid of them
foraging
16:12, 13th Apr 2012

Making Nettle Beer
Find out how to make your nettle beer
recipes
16:10, 13th Apr 2012

How to Make Sloe Gin
Find out how to make your own sloe gin
recipes
14:40, 13th Apr 2012

Grow Your Own Chilli Peppers
Find out how to grow your own chilli peppers
grow your own
13:33, 16th Mar 2012

Home Beekeeping
Find out more about keeping bees in your garden for honey
grow your own
15:40, 4th Jan 2012

Storing Apples
Find out how to store apples
fruits
13:23, 28th Jul 2011

Uses for Duck Eggs

A selection of uses for duck eggs

Uses For Duck Eggs

recipes | livestock | preserving

In our article Keeping Ducks we looked at how ducks can make fun and productive garden pets being easy to care for, and laying delicious eggs. Here we will look at some ideas for putting all those duck eggs to good use.

Duck Eggs

Duck eggs contain more nutrients by weight than chicken eggs - in particular calcium, iron, vitamin B-12 (very important for the brain and nervous system amongst other things), and thiamin (good for the heart and nervous system, and helps the body extract energy from foods).

Duck eggs will work fine with almost all recipes calling for hen eggs, but there are some recipes which work particularly well with duck eggs. You'll need to use the blunt side of a knife to break into duck eggs as their shell is harder and thicker than hen egg shells.

Duck Eggs and Baking

Duck eggs are richer than hen eggs, and their whites contain more protein. This means that cakes made with duck eggs will taste moister and richer while also being lighter and fluffier than those made from hen eggs.

Use duck eggs for all sponge cake baking in particular, and you’ll never want to bake with a hen egg again.

Omelettes and Other Eggy Egg Dishes

Duck eggs are also particularly good for omelettes. For a super omelette separate the egg and the whip the protein-rich whites until foamy. Then beat the egg yolks and gently fold them into the whipped egg whites. Pour this mixture into a frying pan with hot oil or a little melted butter, and cook exactly how you would a hen egg omelette. The duck egg omelette will be very rich, light, and fluffy.

Scrambled eggs made with the same technique are also excellent with duck eggs, particularly is small scraps of smoked salmon are added.

Boiled, poached, fried, and deviled duck eggs are all also delicious. In all cases it is essential to ensure that you do not overcook your duck eggs due to their high protein content.

Duck Egg Lemon Curd

Whisk two duck eggs and add to the rind and juice of two lemons, 25g of margarine, and 180g of caster sugar in a pan.

Bring this mixture to the boil and pour into jars to cool and set. This lemon curd will be delicious on toast or pancakes (duck egg of course), and in a large number of recipes. It will keep for a few weeks in the fridge.

Salted Duck Eggs

Salting duck eggs is a Chinese method of preservation. Simply leave washed raw duck eggs to soak in a brine mixture of 4 parts water 1 part salt using something to weigh the eggs down to ensure they remain submerged. Turn the eggs every four days.

Rice wine, chilli, and/or spices can be added to enhance the flavour of the eggs. The duck eggs should be left in the brine for at least 30-40 days. Once the eggs have been removed from the brine they will keep for another month in the fridge raw, or up to a year after they have been boiled.

Remember that these salted eggs are still raw and so need to be cooked before eating. Salted duck eggs are typically steamed when they are to be eaten as a side dish, or just added to recipes that call for raw salted eggs.

Century [Duck] Eggs

A century egg is a type of preserved egg invented by the Chinese. The egg - in this case your duck egg - is buried raw in a mixture of clay, wood ash, salt, quicklime, and rice hulls for a few weeks. This mixture chemically reacts with the egg turning the yolk creamy and dark-greeny grey, and the white into a translucent brown jelly. These can be delicious (if you like them that is!) with pickled ginger, with tofu, or even cut up and added to omelettes.

Article Published: 09:34, 16th Jun 2011

Grape Jelly Recipe
Make your own delicious grape jelly
Article Published: 12:11, 10th Jan 2011
recipes | fruits | preserving

Chili Oil
Make your own delicious chili oil
Article Published: 14:36, 25th Nov 2010
recipes | preserving | grow your own

Making Labneh
Make this, the simplest of cheeses
Article Published: 10:31, 23rd Nov 2010
recipes | preserving

Tomato Ketchup Recipe with Fresh Tomatoes
Make your own delicious tomato ketchup with fresh tomatoes
Article Published: 11:02, 22nd Nov 2010
preserving | recipes | grow your own

Make Fruit Leather
Find out how to preserve fruits as fruit leather
Article Published: 19:38, 25th Nov 2010
fruits | preserving | recipes

Lemon Balm Cake Recipe
Make a delicious cake with easy to grow lemon balm
Article Published: 14:43, 15th Jun 2011
recipes | grow your own

Vintage Cider Apples
Find out more growing your own vintage cider apples
Article Published: 09:57, 4th Mar 2010
fruits | grow your own | preserving | foraging

How to Make Sloe Gin
Find out how to make your own sloe gin
Article Published: 14:40, 13th Apr 2012
recipes | foraging | fruit

Making Nettle Beer
Find out how to make your nettle beer
Article Published: 16:10, 13th Apr 2012
recipes | foraging

Grow and Make Harissa Paste
A recipe for harissa paste with ingredients you can grow yourself
Article Published: 12:57, 30th Jun 2011
grow your own | recipe | preserving