In just 10 days we’ll be celebrating the popular Easter festival and it’s coming with colorful eggs, good food and delicious desserts. Following centuries of tradition, boiled colored eggs are an essential element of any Easter decoration. The children look forward to finding the colorful eggs in the garden, while the parents come up with different salads to use wisely after the party. Because at Easter, in almost every household, many eggs are boiled and then colored, varnished, marbled, etc. These cannot all be eaten in one day. That’s why one question still remains unanswered, which is how long do boiled eggs keep? Which eggs can last longer, the soft-boiled or the hard-boiled ones? How should you store the eggs – in the fridge or at room temperature? Questions over questions… In the following we want to answer most of them. Stay tuned to learn a little more about the shelf life of cooked, dyed Easter eggs.
It’s important to know how long boiled, dyed eggs keep?
When buying, pay attention to the shelf life of the chicken eggs
Many housewives buy fresh chicken eggs at Easter either in the supermarket or in the organic shop. They even offer colored and varnished Easter eggs that really last longer. This is due to the layer of lacquer on the eggshell, because the lacquer protects the eggs better. But if you buy fresh eggs and prefer to dye them yourself at home, you still have to be careful when buying. For example, you will find a sticker on the egg carton. The best-before date of the eggs must be marked on this. If it’s already expired, most eggs are still good. But you have to hard-boil them or use them to make well-done fried eggs. However, if you have your doubts, do the egg test with water!
The water egg test is popular and easy to do at home.
With this test you can easily find out whether an egg is still fresh and edible. You should simply put a raw egg in a glass of water. If it sinks to the bottom, it’s fresh. If the egg floats to the top of the water, it is spoiled and must be thrown away. If it’s at an angle in the water, you’ll need to cook or fry it quickly, at a high temperature. Otherwise, fresh eggs can be kept at cool temperatures. For example, they can stay in the fridge for 3 weeks without spoiling.
Only choose fresh eggs whose shell is not damaged!
Caution! Especially at Easter, egg consumption increases enormously!
Which eggs last longer – soft-boiled or hard-boiled?
Before answering the question above, let’s mention something important. If you think you should prick the eggs lightly before cooking, you’re wrong! This outdated opinion dates back to great-grandmother times and is definitely not correct. When you prick the eggs and boil them, you actually shorten their shelf life, and drastically! Because they open the door to germs such as salmonella and other harmful microorganisms and these can penetrate the inside of the eggs. For this reason it is also not recommended to deter the eggs. Small cracks can appear in the shell when quenched.
If there are no cracks visible on the eggshell after cooking, that’s perfect for its longer shelf life.
How long do soft and hard boiled eggs last?
But should you cook them soft or hard and how does that affect the shelf life of the eggs? Our answer is: rather hard-boiled than soft! Although it doesn’t play a crucial role in the shelf life of the eggs. It is generally believed that hard-boiled eggs have a longer shelf life, while soft-boiled eggs lose a significant amount of flavor if stored for more than two to three days. If boiled eggs are fibrous when cut and smell bad, then they are no longer edible! They belong in the trash!
In principle, hard-boiled eggs last longer!
The motto here is: peel, cut in half and enjoy!
Golden rules that will keep your boiled eggs for longer
- It is better to let the eggs air cool at room temperature, then place them in the refrigerator.
- Hard-boiled, chilled eggs will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, but only 2-3 days at room temperature.
- The hard-boiled, unshelled eggs can last up to a month at room temperature, or slightly longer in the refrigerator.
- Peeled eggs can only be stored in the fridge for a short time, 1 to 2 days, if they are wrapped in cling film first. However, these are intended for quick consumption!
Follow these rules and enjoy your boiled, colored or marbled Easter eggs. If something is left over after Easter, you can read here how eggs can be used.
We wish you a happy and relaxing Easter days!
Boiled eggs can be eaten and enjoyed all year round!
Happy Easter!
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