Easter Eggs
“But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.” Mark 16:4. Easter is a very important holiday for Christians and the Amish honor this day as an important (if not most important) day in the Christian year. Their celebration is decidedly more low-keyed than a lot of American Easter celebrations but the Amish will do a few special things in honor of the day.
Making and decorating Easter eggs are time tested custom dating from ancient ages. The egg was used by early Christians as a symbol of Christ’s rebirth after his crucifixion. Since a fertilized egg which is incubated will eventually crack and hatch a chick, it is a fitting symbol for Easter and also for spring or the “rebirth” of the earth after a cold and dark winter.
It is interesting to note that the use of decorated eggs pre-dates Christianity. Early Christians adapted some of these traditions during Easter. A final egg fact is that the Jewish Passover Seder uses a hard-boiled egg which is dipped in salt water to symbolize a Passover sacrifice. Red dyed eggs hold special meaning of Christ’s blood shed during the crucifixion.
It is common for the Amish housewife to color hardboiled eggs to add a little spring color to the kitchen. The Easter bunny is absent from the Amish household, but some families will give the children a small basket of candy to munch on throughout the day.
Amish families will most likely have a coop of hens to lay eggs. An interesting thing to note is that hens lay eggs depending on increasing photoperiods i.e. more daylight equals more eggs. And as anyone who has keep a flock of hens will know springtime brings an amazing influx of eggs from the hens who had probably laid few if any eggs during the dark winter days. What to do with all these extra eggs? Easy, make them into tasty dishes which use the extra eggs.
Amish Egg Salad Sandwiches
6 hard-boiled eggs
½ c. Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
1 tsp. yellow mustard
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground pepper
2 tbsp. chopped black olives
Tomato slices
Lettuce
8 slices bread
Peel eggs and dice. Place in bowl and add miracle whip/mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper and black olives. Mix ingredients together. Spread ¼ of mix on one slice bread; add lettuce and tomato as desired. Top with second slice of bread. Enjoy!
Amish Angel Food Cake
1 ½ c. egg whites
1 ¼ c. cake flour
½ c. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 ¼ tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 c. sugar
Preheat oven to 375 ° F. Bring eggs whites to room temperature. Measure flour and ½ cup sugar into bowl. Sift these ingredients four times. Combine the egg whites
with salt, cream of tarter and vanilla. Beat with mixer on high speed until moist peaks form. Sift the 1 1/3 c. sugar; add four additions, beating until blended after each addition. Sift in the flour mixture in four additions, folding in with a large spoon each time, turning bowl often. Place in ungreased 10″ angle food pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool upside down on cooling rack. Loosen and remove cake. As a variation, you can add two tablespoons of cocoa during the final blending.
Of course, the Amish wouldn’t waste the egg yolks. Cooked, they’d make a healthy addition to the barn cats, dogs or even pig’s diet.
Amish Potato Salad
6 medium potatoes
4 hard-boiled eggs, diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ c. chopped celery
1 tsp. salt
Dressing:
2 pasteurized eggs, well beaten
¾ c. sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
¼ c. vinegar
½ c. cream
1 c. Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
2 tsp. yellow mustard
3 tbsp. softened butter
Boil the potatoes, unpeeled for 20 minutes on stovetop. Remove and allow to cool. Peel and dice the potatoes into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, onion, celery, and salt; gently mix. In a sauce pan, mix the eggs, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add the vinegar, cream, and yellow mustard. Cook over medium-high heat until thickened. Remove form heat and add the Miracle Whip/mayonnaise and butter. Allow to cool. Add to the potato mix, mix gently until everything is well covered with dressing.
