Eggs are packed full of essential nutrients. There are only 70 calories, 13 essential vitamins and minerals, high-quality protein, and antioxidants all combined into one egg!
If you will be dyeing and hunting for Easter eggs this year, it’s important to follow some food safety rules to prevent illness.
- Keep fresh eggs refrigerated in the original carton until it’s time to cook them. Eggs are a high-protein food and are prone to rapid growth of the disease-causing bacteria Salmonella.
- Hard-cooked eggs can spoil faster than fresh ones. Eggs are porous and bacteria can penetrate the shell. Therefore, it is important to refrigerate hard-cooked eggs within two hours of cooking.
- Don’t handle eggs excessively and wash your hands thoroughly when you do handle them.
- Don’t hide the same eggs you plan to eat. Plan to hide plastic eggs. You can decorate hard-boiled eggs for eating only.
- Don’t eat cracked eggs or eggs that have been out of the refrigerator longer than two hours.
- The fresher the egg, the more difficult it is to peel after hard boiling. That’s because the air cell, found at the large end of the shell between the shell membranes, increases in size the longer the raw egg is stored. As the egg’s contents contract and the air cell enlarges, the shell becomes easier to peel. For this reason, older eggs are better for hard boiling. Eggs should be purchased before the “sell by” date and used within 3 to 5 weeks of the purchase date.
Sources:
https://www.eatright.org/health/lifestyle/holidays/egg-essentials https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/dozens_of_easter_eggs_eat_them