Since this blog is called "Pop Culture Gangster" one would think I would stick to POPULAR culture, but why let conventions and norms get in the way of an interesting post?

Last weekend was Easter, just in case you didn’t make it out of your rock-covered cave in the last few weeks, and since it was Easter, that meant one thing: eggs in syrup!  Ahh yes, that fine French-Canadian tradition.  Or at least that’s what I’ve been told it is.  In all honesty, I’ve never been able to find any reference to it online or elsewhere, so maybe its just a family tradition, but it has always been passed off as a French-Canadian tradition.

So what is it?  Well, it’s eggs poached in real maple syrup.   Eggs… COOKED… in maple syrup.  You read that right!  I’m not personally a fan, but my parents are, especially my dad, as well as all of his brothers.   Kind of like Sushi, I just don’t  "get it." 

I’m sure that half of you are ready to gag and the other half are thinking "damn, I want to try that."  The pictures of the eggs cooking in the syrup should push you one way or another if you happen to be caught in a split decision.

So how do you do it?  Well, in a two quart saucepan you bring about a 1/4 inch of water to a boil, and then add the real maple syrup until you have about 3/4’s of an inch in the pan.  Bring this to a boil, then drop in the eggs – like any poaching, its easiest if you crack them into a small bowl and then gently let them slide into the syrup.  One thing to watch out for: this is maple syrup boiling away with a big mass of protein, so keep a close eye on it, since if it boils over, you’re gonna need a kitchen renovation.

Unlike traditional poaching where you want to keep the egg as intact and in one piece as possible, that really doesn’t matter as much with this, since you don’t drain the egg, you serve it in some of the syrup, usually in a small bowl.  You can cook the egg to your desired wellness, but usually it is still runny. 

So yeah, that’s it.  Out there for the whole world to see.  Maybe I’ll have a major influx of traffic from Canucks trying find their brethren who also eat this stuff, or maybe some scholar of French-Canadian-American culture will inform me that I’m out of my gourd and I can finally tell my family that yes, we are all nuts.