I love Easter. It’s not that I’m religious (that’s laughable) and it’s not because I love candy (I mean, I do, but that’s not the point). So why do I love Easter? Well, there’s the food, but really, it’s all about the bunnies. Rabbits rule.
I had a pet rabbit when I was a kid, Bandit. He was black and white and cute all over (groan, I know, but I had to!) I don’t think I would ever want another pet bunny, not now, not in my teeny tiny apartment. So in the meantime, there’s Roebling, and
the plethora of bunny themed goodies sold around Easter time (and that blissfully go on sale when Easter’s over).
Okay, so back to Easter and the eating part…. A late Easter is wonderful. Spring produce is becoming available, flowers are up and the weather is more amenable to outdoor egg hunts. The religious holiday becomes more of what it was originally, a celebration of the end of winter, the end of eating out of one’s pantry and root cellar.
One of my favorite things that my mother and grandmother used to make for Easter was pickled red beet eggs. Eggs are, of course, another symbol of Easter, but they’re also a sign of spring (the hens start laying again), so this is a cool dish that’s based in both the root cellar and the new produce of spring.
These eggs are gorgeous. The beets leech out their ruby red color and the eggs suck it in during the pickling process, dying them a gorgeous royal red all the way to the yolk. When you cut one open, they look like little reverse sunsets.
I’ve never actually made my grandmother’s recipce, and for some reason my mother has stopped making them too, but this year, I’m determined! I think the boy might hate them, but that’s okay, I’ll just take them home with me when I head upstate. And so, without further ado, here is my grandmother’s recipe, in case there’s other people out there with families from Pennsylvania Dutch country craving a little taste of home this spring.
Pennsylvania Dutch Pickled Hard Boiled Eggs And Red Beets (aka, pickled red beet eggs)
1 can small, whole red beets
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 c. cider vinegar
1 c. cold water
3 or 4 whole cloves
small pieces of cinnamon
1 doz. hard boiled egs
Put all together in a pan and simmer for 10 minutes.
Peel eggs and add to liquid and beets.
Put all in a jar or container and cover.
Allow to pickle for about 2 days before using (aka,EATING!)
This recipe first appeared in the Pitcher Hill Church’s Ladies Cook Book.
A gentle reminder. Live bunnies do NOT make good Easter presents. They need love and care. Giving someone an Easter rabbit is akin to giving someone a suprise cat. It’s an easy choice, don’t do it!
Picture of Roebling–the brooklyn bunny–from his blog, Brooklyn Bunny Blog.
A Chicken In Every Granny Cart 
Yeah!!! Love pickled beets. I had several rabbits as pets. What? You don’t want one in your apartment, chewing up the electric cords and munching on your chair legs? I can’t imagine why not? :)
This is a great idea . . . pickled beets for Easter. Can you explain when you peel the eggs? Do you boil the eggs “plain” and then put the boiled, peeled eggs in the beet mixture?
yes of course!!
my gran is always short on explanation!
you most definitely hard boil the eggs in their shells, allow them to cool, peel them, and then pop them into the pickling liquid
i’ve seen them done with their shells on before too, where you lightly crack the shells before placing in the pickling liquid
this serves two purposes, one, it prevents the eggs from getting too vinegary (there’s no such thing in my book, but some people find the idea of pickled eggs, well, icky) and two, it make them look pretty, kind of like a chinese thousand year old duck egg!
so, go forth and pickle and let me know how it goes
cheers!
Thanks for the really cute website! What I was looking for was how to do the pickled eggs in vinegar, sugar, et al because I haven’t got pickled beets on hand. It does look really gorgeous and I usually do them in that, but today I need to put my decorated eggs into SOMETHING as they have sat on the table yesterday for part of the centerpiece and I need to ‘preserve’ them. My recipe books all tell me to do what you have said, but what I’m going to do is just use the suger, cinnamon, et al and some vinegar and a little redpurple coloring. I’ve read one that says to use your pickle juice from the pickles, but you know, I dont believe it tastes the same. Thanks again for the cute website — and the ingredients for my eggs!