This week, lots of us are going to be coloring Easter eggs. It’s something you’ve probably been doing your whole life, so you know the basics, but there are some things that help make egg dyeing even better. Here are the Easter egg dyeing hacks you need before you start dunking.
- Older eggs are better if you're going to hard-boil them - Fresh from the farm eggs are harder to peel, so use the older ones for coloring and they’ll be easier to peel, leaving a smooth clean surface.
- Vinegar is essential - You need an acid to help the dye bind to the surface of the egg, otherwise you end up with just a pale shade. The pH of white vinegar works and helps to activate the dye, so if you want brighter colors, add more vinegar.
- Use warm or hot water - Warm water helps the dye absorb better than cooler water. And the water should be warmer than the eggs for the same reason.
- There’s a trick to getting that dye off your hands - Coloring Easter eggs is messy, and we don’t just mean the kids. So when you find your hands stained in a rainbow of colors, forget the ideas you read on the Internet and use baking soda and vinegar. Soak a cloth in vinegar and wipe your fingers with it, then scrub them with a paste of baking soda and water.
- You can usually eat your Easter eggs - No one wants to waste food, so most people eat those hard boiled eggs after they’ve been colored and used for the egg hunt. But if your eggs have been out at room temperature for more than two hours, you shouldn’t eat them. Same goes for a hard-boiled egg that’s been cracked and dye shows on the egg white.
Source: The Kitchn
Photo: Getty Images