If you won't be coloring you r eggs right after cooking them , Breeds with white feathers lay store them in their cartons in the refrigerator. white eggs and breeds wi t h • If any of your eggs crack during cooking , use them right red feathers lay brown eggs. away or discard. Don 't color or hide cracked eggs that might Since brown-egg layers are be eaten later. When coloring the eggs, use food-grade dye. slightly larger birds and require To discourage bacterial invasion, the dye water should be more food , brown eggs are ususomewhat warmer than the eggs and the dyed ally more expensive than white. eggs should be refrigerated in their cartons It also doesn 't make any promptly after coloring. difference from a nutritional point of • When hiding eggs, be sure to hide in places view whether eggs are fertile or not. that are protected from pets, birds, wild aniFertile eggs can be incubated and developed into chicks . mals, dirt and other sources of bacteria. They may contain a small amount of male hormone , but • To remain safe to eat, the total time for hiding there are no known advantages to this. One disadvantage and hunting the eggs should be less than 2 of fertile eggs is that don't keep as well as non-fertile ones. It does matter, especially from a quality point of hours and the found eggs should be re-refrigerated until they are eaten. If this is not the case, then view, that the eggs you buy are fresh and of high it's best to use the found eggs only for fun and decoquality. Because eggs lose quality rapidly at ration , not for eating. room temperature, buy AA- or A-graded eggs Decorating eggs from refrigerated cases only. Get them home There is literally no end to the creative possibilities for quickly and refrigerate immediately. Keep eggs refrigerated until you 're ready to use them. individual expression on an eggshell. Eggs can be painted or colored with crayons or felt-tipped pens, turned into Although only clean, uncracked eggs pass the grading process, breakage can occur once the funny faces , topped with fantastic hats or simply dyed in an endless variety of hues. However you decide to do it, decoeggs have been packed and shipped. Discard any rating eggs is fun for adults as well as kids. eggs that are unclean , cracked , broken or leaking . Also, don't bother to take the eggs out of the carton and Commercial egg dyes are available especially in the spring. Food coloring works , too, but some place in the egg shelf found in some refrigerators . The best craftsmen prefer to experiment with their own place to store eggs is in their original carton on an inside shelf of the refrige rator. The egg carton helps keep the colors from nature. Eggs simmered in water to cover for 15 to 20 minutes with 1 tablespoon eggs from picking up odors and flavors from other foods in of white vinegar for each cup of water and your refrigerator and helps prevent the loss of carbon dioxyour choice of one of the materials below will ide and moisture from the eggs - a particularly important factor if you have a frost-free refrigerator. To keep the yolk produce a shade of the color shown. You 'll have to use your own judgement about quanticentered, it's best to store eggs with the large end up. Properly refrigerated, raw shell eggs will keep for about 4 ties. Remember, this is an art- not a science. Easter Egg Rolling and Other Traditions to 5 weeks beyond the pack date without significant quality Hiding colored or decorated eggs around the house or garloss. The pack date is usually a number from 1 to 365 repreden for youngsters to find has r - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . , senting the day of the yea r long been an Easter morning ( [ starting with January 1 as 1 tradition in many homes . But and ending with December 31 have you considered an egg as 365. Although not requi red , rolling contest? Many variaMaterial Color they may also carry an expirations of egg rolling contests Fresh beets, cranberries, radishes Pinkish red tion date beyond which the and games can be played. In or fresh or frozen raspberries eggs should not be sold . In the United States the most Yellow onion skins Orange USDA-inspected plants, th is famous egg rolling event takes Orange or lemon peels, carrot tops , Delicate yellow date cannot exceed 30 days place on the White House lawn . celery seed or ground cumin after the pack date. If you see Ground tumeric Yellow "exp: June 15" on your egg carin Washington , D .C . There thousands of people gather Spinach leaves Pale green ton and it's June 20, it doesn't each year on the Monday after Yellow Delicious apple peels Green-gold mean the eggs aren 't safe to Easter to roll Easter eggs down Canned blueberries use . It does mean , however, the White House lawn. or red cabbage leaves Blue that it's been at least 5 weeks According to legend, the tradiStrong brewed coffee Beige to brown since the eggs have been laid tion was started by Dolly Dill seeds Brown-gold and you need to use them as Madison in the early 1800's. Chili powder Brown-orange soon as possible. Health Ups and Downs The United States, however, Purple or red grape juice can hardly take credit for or beet juice Grey Eggs are one of nature 's inventing the custom . Egg most perfectly balanced foods . They're easy to chew and digest, rich in prorolling was mentioned in a Latin treatise • tein , a good source of a number of vitain 1684. In England and Scotland , chil•. mins and minerals and relatively low in dren roll eggs downhill and the last child calories. One large egg, for example, prowith an unbroken egg is the winner. In vides 15 percent of the recommended another version of egg rolling , the players push the egg to the fin ish line using only daily amount of protein for only 70 calctheir noses. ries . Egg Basics Unfortunately, eggs also are rich in dietary cholesterol. Which are better for you ... brown eggs or The yolk of one large white ones? From a nutritional point of view, it doesn 't matter. Shell color is egg (the whites are determined by the breed of the hen. cholesterol-free) con-
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