For the longest time, I always just boiled up eggs in a pot of water, never realizing that there is an actual method to creating delicious hard boiled eggs that doesn’t result in a rubbery white and grayish ring around the yolk. Once I started writing about food, however, I noticed that there is an actual method and began experimenting with it.
There are many differing opinions on how to create the perfect hard boiled egg, but I tend to follow what I learned from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution cookbook, because it has always worked for me. Follow this method when you are hard boiling eggs for your kids to dye at Easter, and you’ll have some perfect eggs to eat once the crafty stuff is over!
1. Fill the pot up with water and set on the stove, over medium-high heat, until it boils.
2. Get a spoon and dip it into the water a few times to heat it up. Otherwise, the cool metal plus the hot water may cause the egg to crack.
3. Gently lower the egg into the boiling water. Turn the heat down a little, so it’s not a rolling boil, but at a gentle boil.
4. Cook the eggs for: 5 minutes for runny, 7 minutes for semi firm, and about 9 minutes for hard boiled.
5. Remove the eggs from the boiling water and run under cold water before peeling.
Now, to decorate! There are so many things you can do with eggs.
Make designs with waxed crayons and then dye.
Mix a dab of food colouring paste with ¼ cup of cider vinegar and 1 cup of hot water, instead of the dye tablets.
Wrap the eggs with elastic bands or stick on bits of tape in a pattern before dying.
Put the boiled eggs in a colander one at a time, and drip a bit of food colouring on them while you shake the colander around.
Dye the eggs with Kool Aid! Mix a packet of Kool Aid with 1 cup of water and 1 Tbsp of vinegar. Dip in the boiled eggs. Be warned, a little of the flavour from the Kool Aid will absorb into the egg, and you will get stains from the dye on your hands and clothes. Best done outside, but your eggs will come out vibrant and smell good, too!
Now that you have all these lovely dyed eggs, how to use them up and eat them?
Add to a salad to make it more of a meal.
Chop and mix with Greek yogurt to make the perfect egg salad sandwich.
Make this deviled egg recipe!
Slice and put on top of an English muffin with ham and melted cheese.
Hard boiled eggs last about a week in the fridge. Don’t worry about that funky smell they will create, it’s just naturally occurring hydrogen sulphide. It’s stinky, but is completely harmless and will go away.
Some of the most fun I ever had with Kevin, when he was little, was at Easter when we’d have an egg dyeing party. Invite over a bunch of kids, ask them to each bring six eggs, set up a table with dyes and other decorating tools in the backyard, set out bunny related snacks, and have a wonderful afternoon! After all, isn't that what holidays and spring are all about?
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