Every year I have boiled those wonderful eggs so that I could spend a few hours coating myself in food dye just for the simple enjoyment of the experience. For all children, egg dying is a wonderful experience and my children look forward to it every year. My biggest problem with dying eggs was that I was hiding smelly, hard boiled eggs around the house and I cringed at the amount of germs I was depositing with them. Another problem was that no matter how I tried to not boil the eggs until they became cracked, I could never accomplish it. Finally, after a few years I had an epiphany, why not blow them out!
Now I take the time every year to blow out the eggs and my kids have made some wonderful keepsakes and excellent craft items with the eggs. They turn out much nicer and I don’t have the smell or the fear of losing a rotten egg under a chair or something (and with two cats that is a huge possibility).
What you will need:
- Eggs (I do up about a dozen)
- Food coloring or an egg dying kit
- Bowls
- Spoons
- a needle or pin
- a clean cloth
Creating your blown easter eggs:
1) First thing you should do is wash the eggs down. You will be putting your lips on the shell and you will want to make sure they are clean. One note: Always blow the eggs before dying since the dye will come off on your lips when you blow. I learned this from experience and trying to cover up red, blue and yellow dye on my lips so I could attend church.
2) Take a clean egg, hold it in one hand and with the needle, break a small hole in the end of the shell. This does take some force since it is at the hardest part on the egg but you should only use gentle firm pressure so you don’t break the egg completely.
3) Repeat on the other end of the egg so there is a hole on both ends of the shell.
4) Place a long needle or pin inside the hole and stir. If you do not break the yolk, it will be almost impossible to blow the insides out of the shell.
5) Wipe off the end of the shell where you will be blowing. I have heard rumors of people contracting salmonella but I’m not sure how legitamite this rumor is. Still, it’s better safe than sorry so try keeping the end clean and also wipe away any egg from your lip.
6) Blow out the egg. This is fairly hard even with the yolk properly ruptured but it gets very easy near the end.
7) Clean off the egg again to remove any yolk and white from the shell.
8.) Dye and decorate anyway you want.
After Easter, you can save the eggs in an egg carton or you can use them for craft projects. I would suggest spraying them with a sealer but they will last in an egg carton for several years without the sealer.
And that is how you make Blown Easter Eggs!
Enjoy
-Sirena Van Schaik
