I had never had a pickled egg before and I don't remember Grandma Wolters ever making them. In my mind, pickles were something the Larson side of the family seemed to major in. But there are plenty of pickle recipes among the stack of Grandma's recipes that had been passed along to me. One of them was for pickled pigs feet. I remember tasting that once at Grandma Larson's home and thinking that one taste would be enough. Gelatinous, vinegary pork? No, thank you. I have no interest in ever making pickled pigs feet, but I've added the recipe below for posterity's sake. (It was a recipe Grandma Wolters copied down from her sister Beatrice, she noted.)
But I digress. The pickled eggs recipe, which came from Mrs. Lapos, listed curry powder as an ingredient. I didn't know that central Minnesotans in the 1960s and 70s ever used curry powder. Most still don't, if my family and acquaintances there are a fair representation. I don't buy curry powder either because I usually just make curry sauces by measuring each of the individual spices separately. But for this recipe, I found a suitable homemade curry powder mix at the Minimalist Baker.
Here is the recipe in Grandma's handwriting:
To make half a dozen pickled eggs, I used the following:
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 medium onion, sliced into rings
1 tablespoon pickling spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
As instructed, I put everything in a saucepan and simmered it for 10 minutes. In the mean time, I peeled six boiled eggs and placed them in a jar. I poured the cooked onions and the liquid over the eggs and allowed them to cool slightly before putting them in the fridge.
The eggs turned out a pretty yellow, my older son noted. He thought they looked nice, but neither he nor his brother have been interested in tasting them. I've had one for breakfast a few days in a row and have found that they're better if I allow them to come to room temperature first. I think I prefer the pickled onions over the eggs in this recipe, but both would probably be tasty in a potato salad.
Below is the pickled pig's feet recipe in case anyone is interested.
