Easter Egg

With Easter may come a surplus of boiled eggs.  With soaring food prices, nobody wants to waste food, but making sure they are safe to eat should be the first concern.  Foodborne illnesses are not a good thing.  Personally I think the best idea is to use plastic eggs for Easter Egg hunts, keeping the decorated eggs refrigerated and safe for consumption.

Raw eggs will save longer in your refrigerator than boiled eggs.  Once boiled, the eggshell loses it’s protective coating, potentially allowing bacteria to get into the egg itself.  Boiled eggs  in shell should not be kept for more than one week.

Be aware of what was used to decorate the eggs and make sure those products are safe to use on food. If the eggs were hidden, make sure they were not exposed to any kind of chemicals, pesticides, weedkillers, fertilizers,  garbage or animal excrement, etc.  Eggs with cracked shells should be discarded – illness causing bacteria may have gotten inside.

The rule of thumb seems to be that boiled eggs should not be unrefrigerated for over two hours.  Use common sense.  Speaking for myself, I wouldn’t want to eat a boiled egg that had  been out in the hot sun even if for less than two hours.

Boiled eggs can be chopped and frozen in freezer bags for later use.  Egg salad,  pickled eggs , deviled eggs are a few other uses.  Peeled eggs or dishes made from them should only be kept for 3-4 days.

PICKLED EGGS
12 peeled hard boiled eggs
1   1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1   1/2 cups white vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 – 2 tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons sugar
OPTIONAL:
1 chopped hot pepper
several slices fresh ginger root

Pack peeled eggs into a clean jar.  Bring other ingredients to a boil and pour over eggs.  Cap.  Refrigerate when cooled.  Store in refrigerator for at least one week before serving.