How Long Will Hard-Boiled Easter Eggs Keep?

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If you’re not careful, you could expose the kiddos to food poisoning from Salmonella enteritidis and the nasty symptoms that go along with the bacterium — fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea, for example.

If refrigerated, hard-boiled eggs usually last last for up to a week in the shell, the American Egg Board says, but if they’re peeled, use them the same day for the best quality.

It’s not so straightforward with hard-boiled Easter eggs, though. If they’ve been at room temperature for more than two hours, throw them out.

If you do plan to eat your Easter eggs, just follow these simple rules:

• Wash your hands between all the steps of cooking, cooling, dyeing and decorating.
• Be sure that all the decorating materials you use are food safe.
• Keep the eggs refrigerated as much as possible. Put them back into the refrigerator whenever you’re not working with them.
• If you hide the decorated eggs, put them where they won’t come into contact with pets, other animals, birds or lawn chemicals.
• After you’ve found all the hidden eggs, throw out any that are cracked or have been out at room temperature for more than two hours.

Here are some other facts about egg consumption around Easter time:

• Demand for eggs at Easter in 2015 increased by 0.6 percent vs. 2014.
• The average person consumed one-and-a-half dozen eggs at Easter in 2015.
• The average household consumed four dozen eggs at Easter in 2015.

Here are some facts about eggs in general:

• If stored in a refrigerator at 35 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, raw whole eggs in their shells will usually last four to five weeks beyond the pack date, or about three weeks after purchase.
• You can keep slightly beaten raw whole eggs for up two days, raw egg whites up to four days and raw egg yolks up to two days.
• You can freeze eggs (out of their shells) if you have more than you can use in a week. Freeze only clean, fresh eggs in tightly sealed freezer containers. Be sure to label the package with the number of eggs, whites or yolks and the date. Defrost frozen eggs overnight in the refrigerator.
• Egg yolks will thicken, or gel, when frozen. To hinder gel formation, beat in either ⅛ teaspoon of salt or 1½ teaspoons of sugar or corn syrup per ¼ cup yolks (4 large eggs) before freezing. Indicate “with salt” on the container for main dishes or “with sugar” for desserts.
• When stored in a freezer 0 degrees Fahrenheit or colder, they will stay good for about a year. Freezing raw whole eggs in their shells is not recommended, nor is it recommended that hard-boiled eggs — either in a shell or peeled — be frozen.

Want to know how to peel a hard-boiled egg without damaging the whites? Check this out.

» Photo via Wikimedia / Creative Commons