Did you know that along with the ultra violet rays of the sun, summer heat reduces collagen in the skin?  We have enough to worry about with what aging does to our collagen reserves!  The winter provides lots of opportunity to boost collagen intake through eating gelatinous  ingredients like pork and chicken cartilaginous cuts of meat, in nabe, the hot-pot dish where everyone helps themselves while sitting around a steaming pot of simmering ingredients.  But who wants to eat nabe in summer!

Gelatin is the answer!  Gelatin consists of collagen and is used to gel things.  A web search for good gelatin recipes resulted in finding jellied eggs from this website, ediva, “Jellied Eggs: Great Recipe for Easter”.  Well it isn’t Easter but never mind,  jellied eggs can also be eaten in the hot summer, a cooling healthy treat.

With jellied eggs, not only do you get to boost your collagen, but these are also very attractive.  They would make excellent hors d’ oeuvres at any event where you are entertaining guests at home.  You can ‘wow’ your friends!  Don’t forget to remind them of the benefits to their skin, they’ll be even more impressed.

With this great concept of jellied eggs, we came up with our own recipe.  If you are a creative cook, you could probably come up with your own perfect jellied egg, tapered to your own tastes.  Just imagine the creative combinations of meat and vegetables that you could use.  You may come up with such a beauty that you will want to decorate your living room with it!  Although these jellied eggs are savory, think sweet.  Doesn’t that open a whole new door of possibilities!?

Here are the ingredients for our version of the jellied egg:

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons consomme’
  • 5 grams of gelatin
  • 80 ml hot water
  • 100 grams of bacon
  • 1/4 red paprika
  • 1/4 yellow paprika
  • some finely chopped parsley
  • about 4 cm of lemon rind

Here are the utensils you will need:

  • 2 egg cups or shot glasses will also do.  Anything you can stand an egg in
  • a thick needle like a sewing machine needle, any sharp item of similar thickness
  • a pan
  • a funnel  If you don’t have a funnel one can be easily made by rolling cooking paper into a cone and taping it securely.
  • a small cup for leftovers

Instructions:

You need the eggs shells intact as molds for the ingredients.  You won’t be needing the insides of the egg so you can put them away for tomorrows breakfast. There needs to be a hole big enough to funnel in the ingredients.  Make this by gently twisting your needle into the eggshell.  perforate a circle into the top of the egg.  Like this:

Chop up the vegetables, bacon and lemon rind into fine bits.

Fill the egg shells three-fourths full with the mixture of vegetables, bacon, and lemon rind.  Stand your filled egg shells up in your egg cups or shot glasses or whatever means you have chosen to keep them upright.  Put the remainder of mixture into the small cup.

Now dissolve your consomme’ and gelatin into the hot water.  Stir it well to make sure that it fully dissolves.

Funnel the gelatin mixture into the eggs as well by pouring  it through the funnel into the egg-shell to the top.  The leftover gelatin mixture can be poured into the small cup over the leftover vegetable, bacon, and lemon rind mixture.

Now the jellied eggs are ready to be chilled for about three hours.  The little cup filled with the gelatin /vegetable, bacon and lemon rind mixture can be the tester to check the consistency of how well the mixture is settling in its egg mold.

Once you are sure they have jelled properly you can peel away the egg-shell.  Wallah! You have your jellied egg!  It looks even prettier if you run water gently over its surface, giving it a fine sheen.

What do you think of this unique creation?  Before you know it, you may see and feel the effects of the collagen on your skin.  Of course if you are  eating alone only for your skin, then it may not be necessary to bother making the eggs.  The mixture can be poured into cups and chilled.  But if you want to make a point of the presentation then what better way than with  jellied eggs!

Oh, something you might not want to forget when dealing with gelatin:  A finished jellied egg will melt when left out in the heat.  What a pity if all that effort melted away!  If you are not going to eat your creations right away, it is highly recommended that they be refrigerated.
[ Read in Japanese ]