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Macaroni Tips ~ All about Eggs!

Egg Dyeing the Natural Way, Food Safety Tips & Facts from Around the World

April 5, 2012

Egg Dyeing Tips - The Natural Way

No more fizzy tablets!  No more crazy pouches of coloring!  Yes, we are obsessed with doing things the hard way at times, but this year you may want to think about tossing out the store bought kits and instead enjoy an afternoon of great fun while teaching your kids a little bit of a science lesson.  This year, say no to uncertain dyes and yes to organic Easter egg coloring!
 
To obtain different colors for your Easter eggs, use the following materials:
 
Blue   
Canned Blueberries
Red Cabbage Leaves (boiled)
Purple Grape Juice
 
Brown
Strong Coffee
Instant Coffee
Black Walnut Shells (boiled)
Black Tea
 
Golden Brown
Dill Seeds
Orange Brown
Chili Powder
 
Gold
Turmeric
 
Green
Spinach Leaves (boiled)
Greenish Yellow
Yellow Delicious Apple Peels (boiled)
 
Grey
Purple or red grape juice or beet juice
 
Lavender
Small Quantity of Purple Grape Juice
Violet Blossoms plus 2 tsp Lemon Juice
Red Zinger Tea

Orange
Yellow Onion Skins (boiled)
Carrots
Paprika

Pink
Beets
Cranberries or Juice
Raspberries
Red Grape Juice
Juice from Pickled Beets
 
Red
Lots of Red Onions Skins (boiled)
Pomegranate juice
Canned Cherries (with syrup)
Raspberries
 
Purple
Violet Blossoms
Hibiscus tea
Small Quantity of Red Onions Skins (boiled)
Red Wine
 
Yellow
Orange or Lemon Peels (boiled)
Carrot Tops (boiled)
Chamomile Tea
Celery Seed (boiled)
Ground Cumin (boiled)
Ground Turmeric (boiled) or Saffron
Green Tea

- Eggs colored with natural dyes have a dull finish and are not glossy. After they are dry, you can rub the eggs with cooking oil or mineral oil to give them a soft sheen
- You need to use your own judgment about exactly how much of each natural ingredient to use. Except for spices, place a handful (or two or three handfuls) of each in a saucepan.
- Add tap water to come at least one inch above the natural dye materials.
- Bring the water just to a boil, add uncooked eggs and reduce the heat to low. Let simmer about 15 minutes or up to an hour until you like the color obtained.

Egg Cooking & Handling Guidelines

Buy eggs ahead of time as it makes for easier peeling. The fresher the egg, the harder it is to peel once you have cooked it. A fresher eggs has a small air cell and the membranes between the shell and egg white are quite snug. As the egg ages, it takes in air through the shell and loses carbon dioxide and water. This process makes the egg less acidic and increases the size of the air cell and helps separate the membranes from the shell, both of which make peeling easier.
 
Boiling eggs makes eggs tough and rubbery. Eggs that are cooked too long or at too high a temperature also have unattractive green rings around the yolks. Use more gentle cooking to make tender eggs without green rings. Gentle cooking will also help to prevent cracking.

Follow a few food safety rules!   The most important is to decide of you plan on eating the eggs after they are dyed. If you won’t be eating the eggs, you can use any decorating materials you want and display the eggs anywhere for as long as you like. If you do want to eat the eggs, follow these rules:
- Wash your hands between all the steps of cooking, cooling, dyeing and decorating.
- Be sure that all the decorating materials you use are food safe.
- Keep the eggs refrigerated as much as possible by putting them back into the refrigerator whenever you’re not working with them.
- Dye the eggs in water warmer than the eggs so they don’t absorb the dye water.
- If hiding the decorated eggs, put them where they won’t come into contact with pets, other animals or birds or lawn chemicals.
- Eat uncracked, refrigerated hard-cooked eggs within a week of cooking them.

Egg & Holiday Facts from Around the World

- In China, parents might give family members and friends a red-dyed egg to announce the birth of a child.
- For Jewish cultures, a roasted egg on the Passover Seder plate has stood for life and the hope of salvation for many, many centuries
- Germans use green eggs as a symbol of mourning on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter.
- During the Renaissance in Italy, romantic young men tossed empty eggshells filled with perfume or cologne at young women. The custom spread to Austria, France and Spain. Later, in Mexico, empty eggshells were filled with confetti and used to make wishes. For a special celebration, Japanese parents give their children eggs that are decorated to look just like the children!
- The term Easter comes from Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom the month of April was dedicated. So, along with the spring equinox and spring festivals, people started exchanging eggs as a symbol of creation, new-life, and a resurrection of nature after winter.
- The Easter Bunny arose originally as a symbol of fertility, due to the rapid reproduction habits of the hare and rabbit.
- Edward I of England showed an expenditure of eighteen pence for 450 eggs to be gold-leafed and colored for Easter gifts.
- The first book to mention Easter eggs by name was written five hundred years ago. 
- Christians abstained from eating meat during the Lenten season prior to Easter. Easter was the first chance to enjoy eggs and meat after the long abstinence.
- Some European children go from house to house begging for Easter eggs, much like Halloween trick-or-treaters. Called pace-egging, it comes from the old word for Easter, Pasch.
- Many old cultures also attributed the egg with great healing powers.