This afternoon I was peeling hard boiled eggs in my mother's kitchen. As the eggs were freshly bought a few days ago, it was rather difficult to peel them cleanly.
I recall the batch of hard boiled eggs colored red to be given away to announce my first born's birth more than twenty years ago. They were equally hard to peel. Since I have joined my present church, I have eaten quite a number of red eggs provided by new parents in church. There was one particular feast which was memorable. Not only the eggs were easy to peel, they were beautifully and evenly colored. I went around asking who the caterer was. It turned out that the paternal grandma of the new born cooked everything.
According to this knowledgeable old lady, one needs to purchase the eggs at least a week ahead of the full moon (one month from the birth of a child, 28 days) celebration. If we buy the eggs less than ten days ahead, they have to be kept at room temperature. Only fresh eggs are hard to peel, once they have aged, the shell comes off most easily. Then when we boil the eggs, we need to drop in a few drops of vinegar into the water to enable the red food dye to stick well. If the eggs and the boiling utensil are not oily, then there is no reason for patches to occur on the shells.
Now I have to remember to pass on these tips to my sister-in-law as her son already has a steady girl friend.
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