We were given an emu’s egg!
It’s stunningly beautiful – richly coloured, speckled and perfectly shaped. It looks exactly as you’d imagine a dinosaur egg might have looked, which is hardly surprising, given that emus are the modern day descendants of raptors.
It’s also as solid as a rock. The only way we could get the contents out, short of smashing the shell with a mallet, was by drilling a hole in the top and bottom, then blowing as hard as possible. 500g of white and yolk eventually came out – that’s the equivalent of ten large chicken eggs…
We fried half to use in noodles…
…then turned the rest into a zucchini slice…
It was a bit too rich for our old digestive systems, but the kids loved it.
The shell was rinsed clean and allowed to dry, and now sits on the mantelpiece in our living room. Google tells me that the eggs are seven layers thick and often used for intricate carving. It’s a perfect fit with our rocks and fossils!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Stunning colour
I love the nubbly texture of the great birds’ eggs. This emu egg is also a wonderful colour, much better than the boring cream ostrich eggs.
A beautifully colored egg. Aren’t they wonderful? I was given an ostrich egg once. It was so hard to get into. I was very careful with it in the beginning as I thought it would break easily, like chicken eggs. I think we worked for half an hour trying to crack that tough shell. The children tried banging it on the floor, rolling it around, etc. Finally we got a hammer and a chisel; we never thought of using a drill. Even then it took awhile to chip into. Ostrich eggs also have several thick layers of shell. And so much egg! If I remember right, it was equivalent to roughly 2 dozen eggs. I made a similar slice with it.
What type of noodles do you make? I always use raw eggs in my noodle dough, so was curious .
That blew my mind! Never gave those eggs a thought so now I know! Rich tasting huh? Goose eggs are also.
Wow! Tell us about where it came from Celia. Some one has them on a remote property I’m guessing. My favourite thing is when someone I know shot and skinned a kangaroo on their property for me for kangaroo tail soup. I used a very old Aussie recipe and it was amazing! Impossible getting a tail again though..
It was a gift from the in-laws, not sure where they got it from!
That is truly beautiful – even without being a foodstuff!
It’s beautiful, glorious color. Perfect for the mantlepiece.