[Sca-cooks] Pickled eggs? Period

[Susan Fox-Davis]

Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise wrote:

>Has anybody on the list found documentation to indicate that pickled 
>eggs were made before 1650?
>
I find some work on pickled eggs in the Flori-thingie file 
<http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD/pickled-foods-msg.html> including 
several modern recipes from various parts of the world and one that 
seems to have been handed down in a poster's family from 16th C. England.

Selene

Forwarded material follows:

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 16:43:07 GMT
From: "pat fee" <lcatherinemc at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Preserving eggs.

Ok this is the translation, I was given by a lady that had had this in her
family for many generations. The first time that it was recorded was in a
letter from the family matriarch to her son who was a retainer in the
household of a cleric in service to Mary (daughter to Henry VIII) The group
of "letters" that this is contained is now in the Vatican museum.
"Pickled Eggs" (Sophia Walsomecheck)

Eggs that have not gone sour(I think they mean that smell alright)

Vinegar made of grapes blessed by a Holy Father of the True Church.

Beet root, from to garden of a pious women

And also herbs, bay, caraway, garlic and leek, from the same.

Take you the eggs and place them in a pot of suffient size to cover with
water. Add a stone(Sophia says that this is about the size of a walnut) of
salt and water to cover them well.
Boil until you can drop them upon your cooking stone and they do not
brake apart.
Take a well scoured jar(probably stone ware or pottery.)
season it with salted herbs.(Here Sophia tells me that a mixture of salt 
and
various herbs were used to "season" the containers used to preserve foods.
Different households used different mixtures)
Remove the eggs from their armor(shells) and cut in thin pieces the beet
root and any herbs that do need it.
Boil the beet root and herbs with the Vinegar until all to come together.
Lay the eggs in rows across the bottom of the prepared jar. Bath them in
Vinegar. (I think they mean to layer the eggs and pour the Vinegar, and
beets/herbs over them. (I like to layer the beets, herbs and eggs and then
boil the Vinegar and pout it over until the crock is full.)
Seal the jar with good cloth then pour bee's wax to keep out the ill
favored air. I use a piece of cork, or a jar with a non metal lid.
put away until the moon has circled four times.

1 dozen medium eggs.
4 or 5 small or baby beets cooked peeled and sliced thin.
3 or 4 bay leaves
2 tsps. caraway seeds
2 large cloves garlic peeled and sliced
2 large leeks white part only sliced thin.
1 quart white wine Vinegar

Boil the eggs until they are hard. Peel
Cook the beets, peel and slice
Slice the garlic and leeks
Have a sterilized 1 1/2 quart or two quart jar (I use a large mayo jar
with a plastic lid)ready.
Layer the eggs,beets, leeks and herbs, making sure that each layer has at
least a piece of bay leaf, and a few caraway seeds.
Heat the Vinegar to boiling and pour it over the eggs etc., leaving at
least 1/2 inch head room.
Cap and leave in the refrigerator until they have gained enough "flavor"
to appeal to you.

Lady Katherine Mc