Easter Bonus
Happy Easter! This is not a post about Easter dinner, but it might come in handy as you are preparing for your Easter celebrations.
Egg dying is an Easter tradition that dates back to before Christianity. Originally used to celebrate fertility and the Earth's rebirth during spring, eggs have come to represent Jesus' rebirth and the rolling away of the stone.
Having Easter without Easter eggs feels a little like having Christmas without a tree. When Easter began to draw near, I began to notice I distinct lack of something in my grocery store aisles. Sure, there were plenty of chocolate eggs to be found, and even an odd bunny or two, but there were absolutely no friendly little boxes of egg dying supplies! Oh, PAAS, how I miss thee! I knew I could likely make dye from just food colouring and vinegar, but I still felt like something way missing… an incredibly important piece to the egg dying puzzle. Then it hit me like a giant bunny falling from a sixteen story window… the eggs in New Zealand are brown!
I posted my predicament up on Facebook and received lovely responses from Bonnie, Lesley, Dan, Loretta, and of course, my mum. They ranged from suggesting glitter as an alternative decorating material, acrylic paint, and simple encouragement that "Yes, Virginia, you can dye brown eggs." As it turns out, the only trick is to double the vinegar and you get absolutely stunning results. These aren't your five-year-olds eggs.
Everyone has a different way of boiling their eggs. I usually fill a pot up with water, plop the eggs in and let it come to a boil. After letting the eggs boil for approximately one minute I turn off the stove, cover the pot, and let the eggs sit in hot water until they have thought about what they have done for ten minutes. Usually this process works quite nicely.
Other methods are…
It really depends on how dedicated you are to the perfect egg. As long as mine taste delicious, I don't much care, so I like to stick to the boil and wait method.
Extra Strength Egg Dye
2 Tbsp White Vinegar
1 c. Boiling Water
Food Colouring 4 pack (Blue, Green, Red, Yellow)
In a mug or small, but deep bowl, mix the vinegar and water together. Add drops of food colouring as follows for your desired colour:
When using brown eggs you are unlikely to get bright neon or delicate pale colours, but you will get very adult-looking eggs with rich, earthy hues.
Since we didn't have an egg kit, we also were without a wax crayon, so we used gum bands and string to add patterns to our eggs. Another option is using masking tape cut into creative shapes or stickers.
Well, that's about all I've got for now, but keep a weathered eye for Easter Dinner pt. 2, coming to an interwebs near you! If you are still hungry for more egg-related articles, there is a wonderful explanation on why most countries outside of Northern America don't refrigerate their eggs over at The Kitchn. If you have any egg boiling or egg dying tricks please feel free to share them in the comments!
Egg dying is an Easter tradition that dates back to before Christianity. Originally used to celebrate fertility and the Earth's rebirth during spring, eggs have come to represent Jesus' rebirth and the rolling away of the stone.
Having Easter without Easter eggs feels a little like having Christmas without a tree. When Easter began to draw near, I began to notice I distinct lack of something in my grocery store aisles. Sure, there were plenty of chocolate eggs to be found, and even an odd bunny or two, but there were absolutely no friendly little boxes of egg dying supplies! Oh, PAAS, how I miss thee! I knew I could likely make dye from just food colouring and vinegar, but I still felt like something way missing… an incredibly important piece to the egg dying puzzle. Then it hit me like a giant bunny falling from a sixteen story window… the eggs in New Zealand are brown! I posted my predicament up on Facebook and received lovely responses from Bonnie, Lesley, Dan, Loretta, and of course, my mum. They ranged from suggesting glitter as an alternative decorating material, acrylic paint, and simple encouragement that "Yes, Virginia, you can dye brown eggs." As it turns out, the only trick is to double the vinegar and you get absolutely stunning results. These aren't your five-year-olds eggs.
Everyone has a different way of boiling their eggs. I usually fill a pot up with water, plop the eggs in and let it come to a boil. After letting the eggs boil for approximately one minute I turn off the stove, cover the pot, and let the eggs sit in hot water until they have thought about what they have done for ten minutes. Usually this process works quite nicely.
Other methods are…
- Adding salt to the water, this supposedly makes the shell softer and easier to peel
- Sticking the eggs in an ice bath immediately after cooking to maintain a nice yellow yolk
- Use 5+ day old eggs, if you want softer, easy to peel shells
- Adding vinegar to the water to help prevent the eggs from cracking/cracked eggs from getting all their eggy bits all over the water
It really depends on how dedicated you are to the perfect egg. As long as mine taste delicious, I don't much care, so I like to stick to the boil and wait method.
Extra Strength Egg Dye
2 Tbsp White Vinegar
1 c. Boiling Water
Food Colouring 4 pack (Blue, Green, Red, Yellow)
In a mug or small, but deep bowl, mix the vinegar and water together. Add drops of food colouring as follows for your desired colour:
Blue - 20 dropsYou could also try orange, with 6 drops yellow, 4 drops red. I do not recommend trying straight yellow with brown eggs. Once you have an egg coloured the way you like, it is important not to mess with it too much. The dye needs time to dry or else it may come off on your hands. However, once the dye has dried and the eggs have been put in the fridge it won't sweat off as the PAAS dye often does.
Green - 20 drops
Red - 20 drops
Teal - 4 drops yellow 10 drops blue
Purple - 5 drops blue, 5 drops red
When using brown eggs you are unlikely to get bright neon or delicate pale colours, but you will get very adult-looking eggs with rich, earthy hues.
Since we didn't have an egg kit, we also were without a wax crayon, so we used gum bands and string to add patterns to our eggs. Another option is using masking tape cut into creative shapes or stickers.
Well, that's about all I've got for now, but keep a weathered eye for Easter Dinner pt. 2, coming to an interwebs near you! If you are still hungry for more egg-related articles, there is a wonderful explanation on why most countries outside of Northern America don't refrigerate their eggs over at The Kitchn. If you have any egg boiling or egg dying tricks please feel free to share them in the comments!
