Swedish egg coffee is a unique way of brewing coffee with an egg. According to legend, this recipe originated during travels from Sweden to America in the late 1800s. It has become a long tradition for Lutheran church gatherings of Scandinavian-Americans in the Midwest and was dubbed "church basement coffee" for the large quantity it usually makes. To make Swedish egg coffee, a raw egg is added to the coffee grounds before brewing the coffee, creating a potting soil-like mixture. Some diehard egg coffee lovers use the crushed eggshell as well, but that's optional.
Adding the egg helps clarify the coffee, allowing the grounds to separate from the water easily. The egg white extracts the bitterness from the grounds and enhances the caffeine. The result is a light, clear brew with absolutely no bitterness or acidity and a velvety texture that's easy to drink. You'll notice that after a few minutes of simmering, the grounds will clump together and float to the top, which is why the coffee has such a mild taste. Adding the cold water toward the end creates a French press effect, causing the mass of grounds to sink to the bottom of the pot. To make Swedish egg coffee, you can use either an enamel coffee pot or a saucepan.
Coffee is always a great way to start off the day—go ahead and enjoy your egg coffee with the perfect accompaniment—a cinnamon roll or bagel.
Ingredients
· 9 1/4 cups water (divided)
· 3/4 cup freshly ground coffee (medium to coarse grind)
· 1 large egg
· 1 cup cold water
· Optional:
1 large eggshell
The steps:
1) Gather the ingredients.
2) Bring 9 cups of the water to a rapid boil in a saucepan or enamel coffee pot.
3) Combine the ground coffee, remaining ¼ cup water, and the cracked egg in a small bowl. - The eggshell can be also added, it’s optional.
4) Add the egg and coffee mixture to boiling water.
5) Lower heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Make sure mixture doesn’t boil over.
6) The coffee grounds will bind together creating a single mass which floats to the surface. Once this happens, remove from heat.
7) Pour in 1 cup cold water and let set for 10 minutes. This process allows the coffee mixture to settle on the bottom of the pot.
8) Pour the coffee into mugs using a tiny strainer to keep the coffee mixture from falling into the freshly brewed coffee.
Enjoy a steaming cup of Swedish Egg Coffee
Tips:
The longer the coffee simmers, the stronger the flavor without becoming bitter.
Use coffee mixture can be used as plant fertilizer.