Has anyone had luck with hiding Easter eggs without the dye bleeding? I prefer to keep them in the fridge overnight because we eat them after the hunt, but the condensation usually makes them bleed worse. (Is it safe to leave boiled eggs out at room temp overnight? ) we usually use regular food dye, or one of the kits. This year I am going to try melting crayon shavings with a hair dryer, but we still plan to dip-dye a food portion of our eggs.
The bleeding isn't too big of a deal, but it is annoying. Lol. I would love if anyone has a simple solution. :)
Eta: no overnight. Gotcha. Lol.
I mentioned using only fake eggs to my husband before, but he really likes hiding them... Plus our DD does get a kick out of finding the ones she decorated. (Though, we do plastic ones as well.)
I usually wipe them, but the condensation doesn't stop accumulating until the eggs warm up, and we have never left them out that long. I guess we will just have to deal with it. Like I said, it's not too big of a deal... Just an annoyance.
If you just don't want to have to clean dye out of the fridge, put paper towels under them. Or put them back in the carton to store. Do NOT leave them out at room temp. They will spoil.
And this is why God made plastic eggs, 12/$1!
Can you go middle ground? About an hour before hiding, get them out and let them come to room temp (sitting on a paper towel). Then dry them just before hiding them. Then have the hunt and enjoy. I use the kits, and I don't have much trouble with the color bleeding.
ETA: I wasn't suggesting leaving them out overnight. I was suggesting getting them out about an hour before you hide them. Then have the hunt right after you hide them so they are not out for more than 2 hours.
We use plastic eggs for the egg hunt with coins or foil wrapped candies in them.
It's just easier, less mess and I'm not risking food poisoning by using then eating the decorated eggs.
According to what I found:
"Hard boiled can be left out at room temperature for no more than two hours. After two hours the eggs should be placed back into the refrigerator. The shell of the egg is porous and can allow bacteria to penetrate inside the shell."
If they were left out over night then don't eat them.
Refrigerate the eggs and hide them in the morning. Safety first. You can buy pasteurized eggs, which are safer. Try wiping the eggs with a paper towel before hiding them.
I don't have any answers...I'm just so glad this isn't a weird fertility question!!
We only hide the plastic eggs that we stuff with candy. We just dye eggs for fun. We could eat them but none of us like eggs.
I would be afraid to eat an egg that were left out overnight.
i keep the dyed eggs on a plate with a paper towel in the fridge. when we still hid baskets i'd put the ones with their names on them in the baskets right before the 'hunt.'
for the easter egg hunt itself, just use plastic ones, so much safer and easier.
khairete
S.
We dye eggs for fun and then make deviled eggs to eat out of them. We've never hidden them. Nothing sounds grosser than an egg that doesn't get found and goes rotten! Even growing up as a kid, the real ones were not the ones hidden.
Do NOT LEAVE BOILED EGGS OUT OF REFRIGERATOR!!! 2 hours maximum.
My brother ate boiled eggs left out and got salmonella and almost died of food poisoning. He thought because the shells were intact they would be okay. Vomiting and diarrhea set in within two hours, he was so sick he had to go to hospital by ambulance.
IF you leave them out, DO NOT EAT THEM!!
Have you seen the dyeable plastic eggs? Seems that it would solve your dilemma. You could buy a small package and dye them along with your real eggs. My friend bought some from walmart.
Last year we tried dying the eggs with kool aid. It smelled a lot better and the kids had more fun making the dye. It worked very well-they still bled, but it didn't seem to fade them as bad. I don't use the real eggs for the hunt, but thought the plastic dyeable eggs were a good option so they could find their own eggs.
