Reminder: Pickled Easter Eggs

I'm re-publishing a post from last year at this time to remind you all of my Grandma's recipe for Pickled Easter Eggs and to show you (again) how gorgeous they are.  This is the one (and only) time I use food coloring all year.  It's a special day, you know?  This year we are hosting Easter at our house again and I will be making these eggs (they are already hard-boiled, waiting to be peeled).  I will be increasing the amount of vinegar this year because I want to knock the booties off the Easter bunny (and, well, I like a little more kick).

For a discussion on the best way to hard boil eggs so they peel nicely, read the original post and comments here.

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Some of my most vivid childhood memories of Easter are not my Easter basket, chocolate bunnies and marshmallow chicks. They are of the vibrant colored eggs in the center of my Grandma's table at Easter dinner.


I loved eggs even then- deviled, pickled red beet, hard-boiled, scrambled, you name it. Unfortunately, I had a mild egg allergy when I was a child. If I ate one, my inner elbows and the backs of my knees would break out into a spotty red rash. It was lovely. Thankfully, I have completely grown out of this.

For me to risk rash, the egg I was about to eat had to be special. And these Easter eggs were. Grandma displayed them in a large glass vase-like bowl that, now that I think about it was probably some kind of liquor decanter (although, to my knowledge, neither my Grandma or Grandpa drank liquor). Anyway, they were so pretty and it was so hard for me to wait for them to be passed around the table. They were tart, tangy and perfect.

This year, we are staying home for Easter. My sister and her family are joining us, as are some neighbors. Guess what is going to be in the center of my table?

Grandma's Pickled Easter Eggs
(make several days in advance)

10 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and rinsed
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
food coloring (at least three colors)

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Divide vinegar mixture between at least three jars with lids, reserving a cup. Add food coloring (6 or 7 drops per color) to jars. Add shelled hard-boiled eggs- several to each jar. Fill jars with reserved vinegar mixture. Cover and refrigerate for several days before serving. Grandma says they will keep for several months. Mine are not going to last several days.

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