With higher-than-usual egg prices and news that grocers aren’t running their usual sales, some people are looking for alternatives to dying Easter eggs this year. So, here’s a question: would you swap out your Easter eggs for Easter potatoes?
Jennifer Brooks, a columnist for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, recently gave potato-dying a test drive, and she joined WCCO News Talk’s “Drivetime With DeRusha” to discuss the results this week.
“It’s harder than I could have ever imagined,” she admitted with a laugh.
Last month, animal rights organization PETA implored President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump to replace the eggs used for the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House, as it did to former President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden last year. In a press release, PETA noted that egg prices are expected to rise 41% this year. However, Trump announced that real eggs are going to be used for the event.
Audacy’s WWL Radio also reported this week that “families continue to embrace the beloved Easter tradition of dyeing eggs,” even as prices rise. Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain said that at the start of April, the average wholesale price in Louisiana was $3.75 per dozen and in other markets, $6.23 per dozen, the station added.
“Even though shell egg demand is improving into the final marketing week ahead of Easter weekend, it continues to lag behind current expectations and past Easter trends,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week. “Retail grocers are largely opting out of running their usual annual holiday shell egg promotions this year as supplies have only recently recovered sufficiently to maintain a consistent offering; a situation few are willing to jeopardize through feature incentives.”
So, amid the persisting pricey-ness of eggs, Brooks headed to her local grocery store to find, in her words, “the eggiest-looking potatoes,” available.
“Let’s talk tubers,” Brooks told WCCO’s Jason DeRusha. “Now, honestly, Easter eggs in this economy? No. All you have to do is look around your grocery for other vaguely oval shaped alternatives. And I mean, the potatoes are right there.”
However, she has a warning for people who go the vegan-friendly route this Easter. Brooks found that potatoes are much harder to dip-dye than the traditional egg, with its white shell serving as a blank canvas. She recommends ditching the soak-in-dye method and just painting food dye on the potatoes directly. Also, Brooks does not recommend squirting the food dye on the potato, as that resulted in the coloring getting “absolutely everywhere” when she tried it.
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Now, she has potatoes scattered around her yard. That’s fine by Brooks, who said she would be alright with them sprouting new potatoes. As for the actual experience of dying the potatoes? She said that was fun, too.
“It’s the joy that only comes with doing something extremely silly and also fun,” she said. “You can either get mad about the price of eggs or you can dye some potatoes and laugh.”
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