All Life Comes from An Egg

So goes the Latin saying, and this month with both Sham El-Nessim and Easter spreads not complete without painted eggs, we're giving you some inside tips on how to get the perfect colored eggs—all with natural ingredients. You'll need to make several batches to produce different colors. First place eggs in a pot and pour in cool water until eggs are fully submerged. Add colorant of choice and bring to a boil. Add 3tsps vinegar, simmer 15 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon and leave to cool. If you want more intense color, cool the remaining water and pour over cooled eggs. Leave overnight in fridge then remove with a slotted spoon.

See the chart below for ingredients and colors:

pale yellow: onion skins
vibrant yellow: turmeric
Orange: paprika
Blue: Blueberries or red cabbage
Green: red onions
Pink: beet
Light purple: red grape juice




No Mess Decorating

If you don't want to bother boiling so many batches, why not boil all your eggs and decorate instead? While some say that boiling over high heat for 8 minutes gives you the perfect egg, Martha Stewart tells us that you'd do better to place your eggs in a large saucepan and pour in cool water until there's about 1 inch covering your eggs. Bring to a boil, cover, remove from heat and let sit 12 minutes. Place eggs in colander under cool running water. Now for the fun part—decorating. Pick up some patterned sticky tape from your local stationery store and cut into geometric shapes before sticking on your eggs. It's colorful, easy and mess free! You can also tie down mini flower or herb bouquets to eggs using twine for a fresh spring feel. Fresh mint or thyme will add a wonderful fragrance.

Things you probably didn't know about Easter eggs . . . what the Internet says

Tradition has it that eggs laid on Good Friday, if kept for a hundred years, would have their yolks turn to diamond

An egg laid on Good Friday, if thrown into a fire, will extinguish it

An egg laid on Good Friday will never rot and if put on a shelf will bring good luck to its owners

Eggs laid on Good Friday eggs ensure a fertile crop and protect against sudden deaths

Finding two yolks in an Easter egg is a sign of wealth to come

Fish and chip shops in Scotland offer up deep-fried chocolate eggs for Easter—an offshoot of the wildly popular deep-fried Mars bar