It definitely crossed my mind. More so since my leche flan experiments with duck eggs turned out so well. But fresh ostrich eggs run some PHP800+ each and I am never sure if they are really fresh, even at the grocery chiller. And I suspect I would be one of the few who would have tried making an Leche Flan Avestruz… (avestruz in the literal sense in Spanish meaning ostrich, not the derogatory meaning in Latin America meaning “idiot”… :) So no, I did not attempt a leche flan avestruz and will probably only do so if some avestruz farmer gives me a free egg or two, straight out of a nice ostrich. But I have always been fascinated with the size of ostrich eggs, probably amongst the largest eggs around, not counting dinosaurs or their ilk. So when I recently spied a box of ostrich eggs at a plant show recently, I picked out a couple and started bargaining until I got them down to PHP300 each…
These eggs have had their yolks and whites already removed. They are ornamental. Completely useless other than as a dust collector or tabletop filler. A nice prop for an Easter brunch table setting or to spark conversations from visiting television repairmen who stare at it in awe, as if it is just about to be hatched. I keep one of them by the television couch, in a glass vase with hay at the bottom. I am wondering if I can cook an ostrich egg yolk leche flan in a half shell and serving it at the table on a basket of hay just to see the guests’ reactions… heeheehee.
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Hahaha! Before I read the part that they were ornamental, I was wondering what you had in mind for the eggs, MM. A couple at that! I was reminded of the scrambled ostrich egg dish that only one person could finish in the Amazing Race. They were puking coz it was just so much. Is it fragile, or is the shell quite thick?
What a creative idea to serve leche flan in a half shell! I never would have thought of that one. Love it!
By the way, I love the inlay on that table.
looking forward for the leche flan using ostrich eggs…..
^__^
My Kapampangan grandma in the States did made leche flan out of an ostrich egg. I don’t recall how it tasted. She couldn’t resist.
HI MM, with your ostrich egg, you can make faberge eggs!
zena, the shells are very thick. I think they would definitely hold up if used as a cooking vessel. Maybe an ostrich creme brulee? :) Angela, I should have bargained for semi tainted eggs that I could cut in half… I bet the vendor would have sold me damaged eggs for just PHP100-150 each. B, cool! rose, the gold and stones would defnitely cost more than the egg…
we were at the zoobic (subic) tiger safari a few years ago and they also had an ostrich farm beside it. the ostriches just laid the eggs on the asphalt road and the tour guide said that they had to carefully remove them so that they won’t get “bugok”. i just don’t know if they would sell the eggs.
You could file off the top of the ostrich egg, clean out the inside and cook the leche flan in it. How’s that for dessert conversation? If you got jumbo chicken eggs you could make individual portions, hollow out the bottoms of a styrofoam egg container and use that to prop up the filled eggs in a bain marie. Serve in hay lined coupes with demitasse teaspoons…
In the current season of Top Chef one of the contestants made an Ostrich Egg quiche and got eliminated for it. I found it kind of silly because she used an ostrich egg but did nothing to maintain the integrity of the ingredient by looking at the finished dish you could not tell what kind of egg was used. Donatella Arpaia the new york restaurateur even said that it tastes like glue.
I also have an ornamental ostrich egg but have never cooked with an ostrich egg. I suspect though that the Duck Egg leche flan will prove to be the superior flan.
i really love looking at eggs! When I was younger, I collected empty chicken eggs and drew on them. I would punch tiny holes on top and blow the contents out. Anyway, I just came from the bird park here and saw a nice egg collection :) I found out that 1 ostrich egg is equal to about 24 chicken eggs! cool, huh :)
To round out your egg display, try to get some emu eggs. They are such a vibrant green, just a little smaller than the ostrich egg!
So sorry to go off topic, but Betty Q, if you’re reading this, could you e-mail me? I have some food pictures for your expert analysis :)
michellehechanova@gmail.com
Nice egg arrangement! Ostrich reminds me one of my favorite cartoons – The Flintstones where they featured the eggs along with their dinosaur that barked like a dog. The madness and high demand for ostrich meat was in mid 90s I believe – where it was offered as a good alternative for beef hamburger and steaks at restaurants but still has had a gamey taste and more money to begin, with. Now the madness is over and people are back in their vicarious eating habits which I think has something to do with more selection of hypertension and cholesterol fighting medications out in the market, actively engaged in physical and sports activities, and vascular surgeons almost perfected the cardiac catheterization, angioplasty and bypass surgery procedures with less or no complications at all.
Hi Michelle: If it is about ostrich eggs or bayawak eggs, I draw the line after quail eggs!…so sorry!
But I am going to send you an e-mail you anyways!
how bout salted egg ostrich betty Q :).
I always marvel at their size.I’ve never come across a “live” one,only always as decor. Yikes,if one equals 24 chicken eggs,it’s really expensive—and does the cholesterol count go up as well.
Wonder how that would taste as leche flan…
MM, in indulging my egg obsession, I’ve flirted with the bayawak egg and ostrich egg.
https://dessertcomesfirst.com/?p=899
https://dessertcomesfirst.com/?p=401
sister: hollow out the bottoms of a styrofoam egg container and use that to prop up the filled eggs in a bain marie. — i think that’s a pretty bad idea. doesnt styrofoam melt?
reader, depending on which source you use, the melting point for styrofoam is anywhere from 240F to 240C, probably just a misuse of C and F. And the boiling point of water is 100C or 212F. And you don’t want the water in your bain marie to boil, so you might just manage to pull off a custard without a styrofoam meltdown. I would probably try the thick recycled cardboard egg cartons instead if I were to try this. Lori, thanks for the links. I have seen those bayawak eggs in the market but never tried them. In Cambodia, I saw lots of turtle eggs, maybe another one for you to try! :) Jun, that would be one humongous salted egg!
nice to know. wouldnt risk it though haha :)
reader, btw, I allowed your comment in despite your not providing a functioning email address to properly source the comment, but I did so because you posed an interesting and relevant question. In future, kindly provide a valid and functioning email address, thank you. Anonymity is most certainly allowed in the comments section, but with the responsibility of at least an email adress to respond to if necessary.
the ostrich egg reminds me of the ostrich farm i went to when i was younger. and at that time, the farmer let me hold the huge ostrich egg and i have to use two hands. it was a good experience LOL
huge omelet !
Hi MM, the next time you will be in Cebu, e mail me. I can give you a fresh Ostrich egg , that you may have your dream Leche Flan with it. One weekend we were at the Farm down South, very near Mantalongon Market where you were just recently ,with family and we were presented with an Ostrich egg that broke and my husband told me to prepare it for, breakfast. I made scrambled egg out of it. 1 Ostrich egg is equivalent to 23-25 chicken eggs. Nobody ate it, maybe because of the strong egg smell.
Emu eggs appear to be similar in size, and in Australia, the contents are blown out through a pin hole and the eggshell is then carved, taking advantage of the different shadings of the layers. It is a universally accepted folk art tradition found in many homes.
I have been told that 1 emu egg is equivalent to about 15 chikcen eggs; I have never tested it as whne I was given a fresh one, I procrastinated trying to decide how to cook it that it went “bugok” before I made up my mind.
marissa, thank you so much for the offer… if the egg has a strong smell, it may result in a frightening leche flan, no? :) But thanks!
Please help me to find instructions on ’emptying’ (preserving the shell) my newly acquired ostrich egg. I’m sure I can figure out how to cook it!! Thank you. Jan B
dear ms marissa u,
I am planning to make the ostrich to be one of the attraction point in our present MRF, waste management area in our locality, can i request one ostrich kahit yung sisiw pa lang kami na ang mag-aalaga dito sa munisipyo. Salamat po. mike from GMA Cavite
where can i buy fresh ostrich egg here in manila?