Gaoyou salted duck eggs have enjoyed high reputation for long as a kind of product of geographical indication in China with a fresh, fine, tender, red, sandy and oily flavor; the litterateur Yuan Mei in the Qing Dynasty once commented:”the best are from Gaoyou as for the preserved eggs (namely salted eggs) , as their color is red and has more oil in the yolk”.
Gaoyao people are good at preserving duck eggs. Before Dragon Boat Festival each year, they would like to make salted duck eggs at home. Firstly, clean the purchased duck eggs, then stir salt with yellow mud well, mix the two into mash, roll duck eggs inside with a layer of mud, and then put into a sealed container like jars one by one. By preserving for dozens of days, the duck eggs are ready for food. By then, the duck eggs have very nice smell, the egg white looks like white jade, the yolk like red orange flowing red juice, and the taste is particular delicious.
The eggs from Gaoyao sheldrake have very fine quality and more yellow oil in the yolk, each weighs about 105g at the average and each weighs about 30g higher than general duck eggs. It’s most particular for the double-yolked eggs of Gaoyou duck eggs and can not be compared with duck eggs in other places owing to ruddy yolk and more oil.
During the preserving process, Gaoyou people also have “a unique skill”. For example, in order to eliminate fishy smell, they put appropriate white wine during the preserving process; in order to reduce microbial fermentation to affect the egg quality, they use yellow mud for wrapper after smashing and drying in the sun.
