Special Occasions
The incredible edible egg™ is worth celebrating! Decorated eggs are traditionally a part of Easter. Find out how to use those hard-cooked Easter eggs during Egg Salad Week. In May, National Egg Month is a good time to learn about all the benefits eggs have to offer. Both children and adults perform better physically and mentally when they’ve had a good breakfast. You can discover why breakfast helps and get quick-and-easy breakfast ideas during Family Breakfast Week in September. World Egg Day is a time to appreciate the global appeal of eggs and try some ethnic recipes, too.
Choose a topic below to answer any concerns regarding special occasions.
How can I be sure my children and I color and decorate hard-cooked eggs safely for Easter?
Eggs are frequently handled at Easter time and each handling occasion is one more chance that the eggs might come into contact with bacteria. To avoid bacterial contamination, wash your hands thoroughly before you handle eggs at every step including cooking, cooling and dyeing. Refrigerate hard-cooked eggs in their cartons if you won’t be coloring them right after cooking and cooling. Refrigerate them again right after you dye them and after you display them.
Color only uncracked eggs. If you want to eat your dyed eggs later, use food coloring or specially made food-grade egg dyes dissolved in water that is warmer than the eggs. If any eggs crack during dyeing or while on display, discard them along with any eggs that have been out of refrigeration for more than 2 hours. If you keep hard-cooked eggs out of refrigeration for many hours or several days for a decoration or for hiding, cook extra eggs for eating. Either discard the eggs that have been left out or use them only for display.
If you hide eggs, consider hiding places carefully. Avoid areas where the eggs might come into contact with dirt, pets, wild animals, birds, reptiles, insects or lawn chemicals. Refrigerate the hidden eggs again after they’ve been found.
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Is there a safe way to empty eggshells for decorating?
Yes. To safely empty an eggshell, first wash the egg using water warmer than the egg, then dry it. (For extra safety, you can also rinse the egg in a bleach solution – 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach in 1 quart of water.) With a sterilized long needle or small, sharp skewer, prick a small hole in the small end of the egg and a large hole in the large end. Carefully chip away bits of shell around the large hole until it’s big enough to fit the tip of a baster. Stick the needle or skewer into the yolk to break it.
Either shake the egg large-end down over a cup or bowl until the contents come out or use a baster to push out the contents. Press the bulb of the baster to push air into the egg and let the contents fall into the cup. If the contents don’t come out easily, insert the needle again and move it around to be sure both the shell membranes and yolk are broken. Rinse the empty shell under cool running water. Stand it on end to drain and dry.
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Can I use the contents of eggshells I’ve emptied for decorating?
You can use the contents of emptied eggshells in a recipe which includes mixed yolks and whites and calls for thorough cooking. Use the contents immediately or freeze them, labeling the storage container with the date and number of eggs it contains. You can keep mixed whole eggs frozen for a year at 0° F or lower. Most baked dishes, such as casseroles, custards, quiches, cakes or breads are good uses for eggs emptied from their shells.
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What food-safety steps should I take for summer picnics?
If you tote raw eggs or plain hard-cooked eggs on outings, leave them in their shells. Pack them along with deviled eggs and other cold dishes in an insulated bag or cooler with ice or freezer packs containing commercial coolant. While you’re away, put the cooler in the shade and open it as infrequently as you can to help keep these foods at 40° F or lower. The foods will stay refrigerator-cold as long as the ice lasts or the coolant remains almost at freezing. Use thermal containers to keep hot egg dishes hot, 140° F or higher.
For pickled eggs, use quart-sized or smaller containers if you intend to consume the eggs intermittently over a period of time. Refrigerate pickled egg containers and, to avoid introducing bacteria, use a clean utensil to remove the eggs from the pickling solution.
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What’s the best way to pack eggs for a camping trip?
For hiking, back-packing, camping and boating, when refrigeration facilities aren’t available, buy dried eggs from supermarkets or sporting goods stores and reconstitute them with purified water. Note that neither petroleum jelly nor wax is either antibacterial or a preservative. Coating shell eggs with petroleum jelly or wax is not a suitable substitute for refrigeration.
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Are there any safety concerns when cooking for a crowd?
In addition to the need for you to observe all the previous safety points, quantity cooking presents special challenges. For a safe and successful function:
- Make sure that refrigeration facilities are adequate to keep the entire quantity of cold foods well chilled at all times, including any raw eggs or egg mixtures.
- Break eggs out of their shells on the day of the event. Break them only as you need to use them, rather than pooling (breaking eggs together in large quantities and mixing the yolk and whites). Immediately return any unused raw eggs, broken-out eggs or egg mixtures to the refrigerator. For convenience, consider purchasing pasteurized liquid egg products which can be poured out as needed.
- Discard eggs, egg mixtures or cooked egg dishes that have been out of refrigeration for more than 2 hours (30 minutes to 1 hour if the temperature is 85° F or higher).
- Prepare foods in batches according to the rate of service – for scrambled eggs and omelets, no more than 3 quarts at a time. If holding is necessary, keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold by using a steamtable or simulating one by nesting two pans together. Fill the lower pan with very hot water or ice and top it with the pan containing the hot or cold food. Avoid holding hot foods for any longer than 30 minutes. Discard any cold foods once the ice begins to melt.
- When converting a family-sized recipe to more servings, increase the cooking time along with the ingredients and pan size. For ease in measuring, 1 dozen Large eggs equals about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups liquid egg.
- Have separate volunteers handle food and money.
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