From Scratch

Did you know teal is the hot color for Easter eggs this year? The 125-year-old PAAS company, whose name (which comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch word for ‘passen’, or Easter) is synonymous with egg decorating kits, says teal has replaced purple as the most popular color. The company also says Americans who decorate eggs will fancy up an average 17 eggs each. 

It can be quite an elaborate affair these days, with kits offering all sort of embellishments from beads and holograms to glitter and glow-in-the-dark dyes. Sports fans have a kit of their own, so do those who want to outfit their eggs in camouflage.

Underneath it all, though, is the egg and here are some tips for a better decorating day. Use medium eggs, not large, because they have thicker shells. For richer colors, dissolve the dye tablets in all white vinegar or a solution that’s half vinegar, half water. If adding sequins or glitter to the eggs, do so while they are still wet. If you’d like to keep the eggs, use empty shells; PAAS gives instructions for emptying eggs here. To make a personalized egg designer, visit the Incredible Edible Egg. 

When I was a girl, coloring and decorating Easter eggs was a capital-e Event, always done the day before the holiday. That afternoon, my mother would spread newspapers out on the kitchen table and set up the production line while a couple dozen eggs cooked. I’d help with dissolving the little tablets in the vinegar mix and by bending the small wire tools, still supplied, for dunking the eggs. They had to be at just the right angle to make sure the eggs didn’t fall off.

But only she controlled the special bowl, the one that would produce elegant, swirled eggs with dyes that came in small vials. A few drops of each into the special bowl of water and the oily colors floated in blobs. Then she would gently blow on the surface and when the colors had intermixed just so, she would lower an egg into the bowl, being extra-careful when lifting it so the colors wouldn’t smudge or run together. Those were always my favorite eggs.

I haven’t seen those vials in a store for ages and if I ever do, I will have to try and produce my own elegant eggs. Till then, I’ll be satisfied with knowing teal is the new purple.

Related: How to: better hard cooked eggs