Eggs, Eggs, Glorious Eggs: Health, Ostara and the Spring Equinox
Spring always seems to announce itself on the smallholding in the same unmistakable way — with eggs. Lots and lots of eggs. After the quieter winter months, when the birds almost stop laying the returning light changes everything. Suddenly the nesting boxes are full, and collecting eggs becomes one of the small daily rituals for the children, running from shed to shed with wee wicker baskets.
For thousands of years, people have marked this point in the year as a moment of balance — the time when day and night are equal, equinox. In many European traditions, this seasonal celebration was known as Ostara. Across many ancient cultures, eggs represented new life, possibility and the mystery of creation. So it’s no surprise that Ostara honours fertility, renewal and the returning of life and the egg naturally became one of the most powerful symbols of this moment.
Centuries later, as Christianity spread across Europe, many of these seasonal traditions blended into what we now know as Easter. The egg remained at the centre of the celebration, albeit a chocolate one now!
These abundant eggs in our house are now gifted to neighbours and friends and sold in the honesty box. The family eats them almost every day in almost every way imaginable. Soft boiled eggs with toast soldiers are a favourite, especially on slower mornings at the weekend or after evening swimming lessons. There’s something comforting about tapping the top off a warm egg and dipping marmite soldiers of toast into the golden yolk. My 84-year-old father would call it ‘nursery food’, like rice pudding or macaroni cheese.
A goose eggs takes a whopping 9.5 minutes from boiling, and you will need at least 3 pieces of toast, I was once told it is the equivalent to 4 hen eggs. Large and heavy in the hand, they feel like a small event whenever one appears, they are so large the goose will only lay every other day. The shells are harder to crack, and the deep yellow yolks are the size of 2 whole hen eggs, these are the perfect egg to share.
The season is sweet but short, February to May, this is because geese are much less domesticated than hens, they have not been selectively bred for millennia, and their natural body clocks allow for a gosling to hatch out and grow enough to be ready for thousands of miles of arduous migration by the late autumn.
If you can think of it, we eat it, Spanish omelettes, poached eggs, Yorkshire pudding, fried egg, egg mayo, French toast, pancakes… even the dogs get eggs nearly every day too! Eggs are not only delicious and versatile, they are also incredibly nourishing.
“ “Everyone knows eggs are such an epic source of all your essential amnio acids (protein!) and the brain and liver-loving nutrient, choline. But the standout thing about Lucy’s eggs is their Omega 3 content due to the wild happiness of her flock! These eggs are so high in the essential anti-inflammatory and glucose-modulating Omega 3 fatty acids that they could almost replace one of your weekly oily fish.””
Charlotte is not wrong, the wild happiness of my girls creates yolks the deepest richest yellow because they spend most of their day foraging, the hens peck and scratch all over the farmyard and garden, not a bug goes unnoticed. I adore watching the ducks happily pottering through the long muddy grass in the fields sucking up worms, sometimes half a mile from home! The geese are prolific grazers and will ‘mow’ the orchard all day, but their favourite treats are apples, windfall and half eaten kids snack apples really make the girls happy!
Great Granny Katie’s Mayonnaise Recipe — “Mayonnaise should never be white.”
Method:
Using a blender whip egg yolks with seasoning until smooth, gradually drop by drop beat in oil. When thickened add only one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to test consistency, whip in remaining vinegar/juice until perfect. If too thick add one tablespoon of boiling water.
This recipe uses raw egg yolk and should be eaten immediately or stored in the fridge in a mason jar for 1 week.
What you’ll need:
2 fresh free range egg yolks – room temperature – use the whites for meringues!
Tsp English mustard powder or Dijon mustard
Tsp caster sugar
½ pint olive oil
½ tsp white pepper & salt
2 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice – this emulsifies the mayo