How can a hard boiled easter egg last for over a year and not spoil?

Question

My wife is Orthodox and she saves the holy red easter egg she gets from the church. They never rot or smell. Is there a scientific explanation? Is it the red dye?

Answer 1

Egg shells and the membranes inside are slightly permeable to water vapor.  Over time, the egg juice inside evaporates out.  Sometimes, this happens before bacteria can find their way in, and the egg doesn't rot; it just dries out.  Other times, the egg rots, but the smell does not permeate out and then it dries out, so you never knew that it went bad unless you crack it open.  (I have heard of eggs exploding from the pressure of gases released during rotting).  Weigh your magic red egg and weigh a fresh egg and see if the 1-year old egg has lost weight to evaporation.  And try cracking one open after a few months--I bet it smells bad until it has completely dried out inside.  If it's perfectly fresh and edible inside after 1 year of sitting in your living room, then the only explanation is the grace of God has preserved it.

This is a technique people use for preserving beautifully painted eggs--save the egg for a year and DON'T break them, wait for them to dry out, and then do your art on them.  Preferably save them in somewhere where the occasional break or exlplosion of rotten muck will not destroy your living area.

Answer 2

I would not trust that the egg would not spoil in a year.  If the egg was properly refrigerated and the shell was never cracked, it will last a very long time with or without being dyed.  If the egg is not refrigerated, it will spoil.  

The shell acts as a barrier against bacteria that cause decomposition and after the egg is hard boiled and refrigerated, decomposition is slowed tremendously.