Laura Dean Bennett
Staff Writer
It’ll soon be Easter – time for the Easter bunny to come hopping down the bunny trail with colored eggs for the good boys and girls and for moms who like to decorate their Easter table.
Dyeing Easter eggs is a tradition that goes back generations, even centuries.
Who doesn’t have fond childhood memories of dyeing eggs in the kitchen with Mom? We’d take out those little, round dots of dye from the box and the messy fun would commence.
But it’s even more fun to discover the endless variety of dyes we can make with natural materials like onion skins, red cabbage and coffee.
Gather vegetables, fruit juices and spices from the fridge, pantry or grocery store and you’re on your way to creating your own naturally colored eggs.
Natural egg dye can be made either using boiling water or what’s called the cold dipping method.
Boiling water tends to bring out bolder, deeper colors, while cold dipping is better for producing more subtle, translucent shades.
White, distilled vinegar is almost always necessary to set the dye properly, which-ever process you use.
Cold Dipping Method
Fruit juices and brewed coffee are two popular materials for the cold dipping method.
Follow these general guidelines to make cold dipping dye for hard-boiled eggs.
Add two Tbsp. white vinegar and mix with the coloring agent (fruit juice, vegetable, coffee, coffee, spices, etc.).
Strain dye liquid into a wide mouth mason jar or any similar container- but bear in mind, plastic will stain. Stir in 2 Tbsp. white vinegar.
Then add one to three eggs.
They mustn’t be crowded, because where they touch, the dye will not take consistently.
Let stand for an hour or refrigerate until eggs are the desired color – possibly overnight.
To remove, use a slotted spoon or grasp them with tongs. Avoid handling more than necessary.
Let them dry on paper towels, paper plates or in an egg carton. If necessary, roll them with a utensil to dry on all sides.
You could also experiment with drying them on a rack lined with a paper towel. Do not touch until they’re dry on all sides.
Here are some suggestions for achieving specific colors with the cold dipping method.
Pink – Pomegranate or beet juice
Place eggs in a mixture of one cup of pomegranate or beet juice, one Tbsp. vinegar and 2 cups water. For darker shades of pink – or even red – soak eggs in one cup undiluted juice to which has been added one Tbsp. of vinegar.
Robin’s Egg Blue – 1 1/2 cups shredded red cabbage.
Darker Blue – 2 cups grape juice or 2 cups blueberry juice
Green – 2 cups chopped spinach
Lavender – 1 cup grape juice and 1 Tbsp. vinegar
Orange – 3 Tbsp. chili powder and/or paprika
Pastel Yellow – Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution for 30 minutes.
Sunny Yellow – 3 Tbsp. ground turmeric or cumin – soak for several hours
Brown – 2 cups strong brewed coffee (color intensity depends on the coffee you use and how long you soak the eggs)
Boiling Water Method
In general, you’ll be filling a saucepan with 6 cups of water and bringing it to a boil with two to four cups of the ingredient you’re using to make the dye.
Chopping the ingredients will help extract the most color from them.
Add 3 Tbsp. of vinegar and boil the mixture for about 10 minutes. Then simmer for 20 minutes more. Remove from heat, cool and strain liquid into a wide mouth mason jar(s) or another container.
Remember, if you use a plastic container, it will be stained by the dye. Stainless steel pans will also stain, but they can be cleaned by boiling water with a little bleach in them.
Make sure the eggs are covered with the dye and not too crowded in the container.
Eggs should be hard-boiled, dry and room temperature when you put them into the dye. Let them sit in the dye for a few minutes for pale colors or longer for darker results.
You should be able to fit two or three eggs per jar, or more eggs in a larger container. Put them in the fridge and leave them there for an hour up to overnight. The longer to they stay in the dye, the darker your color will be.
When eggs have reached the desired color, remove eggs with slotted spoon or tongs and place them on paper towels, in an empty egg carton or a paper plate to dry. Try not to move them unnecessarily until they’re completely dry.
Use this general process or follow these specific directions to create the following colors.
Blue – Red cabbage (Sounds antithetical, but red cabbage makes blue dye.)
Chop a head of red cabbage into small chunks. Boil cabbage in 4 cups water along with 2 Tbsp. of vinegar for ten minutes then simmer for a few minutes to half an hour, depending on how dark you want your dye.
Let cool to room temperature, remove cabbage with a slotted spoon and strain out remaining debris.
Pour dye into a container, carefully add eggs and place container in the fridge. Length of time eggs remain there will determine the depth of color achieved.
Robin’s Egg Blue to Deep Blue – Blueberries
Put 2 cups blueberries and 2 cups water in a saucepan, add 1 tsp. white vinegar. Boil for a few minutes, then cover and turn down heat. Simmer for two to ten minutes, depending on the shade you want. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer to remove blueberry skins and debris.
Put the cooled dye in a container with your eggs. Leave eggs in the blueberry dye for a few minutes to several hours, depending on the result you want.
If some tiny threads of blueberry skins remain in the dye, they may attach themselves to the egg shells, leaving little streaks or specks of darker blue on your eggs, giving your eggs a natural, speckled look. This may or may not be desirable, depending on the effect you want.
Teal Blue – Red cabbage
Soak eggs in red cabbage dye and before they dry, then soak them again in yellow made with turmeric.
Bluish Gray – Blueberries
Stir 1 cup fresh or frozen mashed blueberries into one cup water and add one tsp. vinegar. Simmer for a few minutes then cool to room temperature. Stir and then strain blueberries and any debris out before adding hard-boiled eggs to the dye.
Pastel green – Chamomile or green tea
Steep at least 4 bags of either tea in two cups of simmering water for 5-10 minutes (longer for darker dye). Add one tsp. vinegar. Gently place eggs into warm dye.
Jade Green – Red onions
Peel 6 red onions and simmer the skins in 2 cups water for 15 minutes. Strain, cool and add 3 tsp. white vinegar.
Pastel Yellowish Green – Apple peelings
Simmer the peels of 6 yellow apples in 1 1/2 cups water for 20 minutes. Strain, add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Simmer 4 oz. chopped fennel tops in 1 1/2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Cool and strain. Mix both dyes and add your eggs.
Very pale yellow – Orange peels
Simmer the peels of 6 oranges in 1 1/2 cups water for 20 minutes: strain. Add 2 tsp. of vinegar.
Pastel yellow – Chop 4 oz. goldenrod and simmer in 2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. of white vinegar.
Rich yellow – Carrot tops
Simmer 4 oz. chopped carrot tops in 1 1/2 cups water for 15 minutes. Add 2 tsp. of white vinegar. Strain before adding eggs.
Mustard yellow – Turmeric
Stir 2 Tbsp. turmeric into 1 cup boiling water. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.
Orange – Onion skins
Put skin of 6 large yellow onions and simmer in 2 cups water for 15 minutes. Cool, strain and add 3 tsp. of white vinegar. The longer you soak the eggs, the darker the color will be.
Pale Orange – Paprika
Stir 2 Tbsp. paprika into 1 cup boiling water. Add 2 tsp. of white vinegar.
Brownish-Gold: Simmer 2 Tbsp. dill seed in 1 cup water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.
Palest Pink – Flowers (like roses, lavender and hibiscus)
For pink from rose petals and lavender – Steep pink or red rose petals and purple lavender blossoms for 15 to 30 minutes or until the water turns the shade you want.
Strain out flower debris through a fine-mesh sieve. Add a tsp. of vinegar. Gently place your eggs, one at a time, into the dye. Leave them to soak until they are the shade of pink you want.
Medium pink – Avocado skins
Simmer the skins and pits of 4-6 avocados with 2 cups water (or enough to cover all ingredients) add 2 tsp. vinegar, bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes to an hour (longer for deeper color). Strain all debris and add eggs.
Bold pink – Beets
Cut 1 medium-sized beet into chunks and boil in 4 cups water. Stir in 2 Tbsp. vinegar and let cool to room temperature. Remove beets and strain the liquid. The eggs will continue to darken the longer they sit in the liquid.
Beautiful Brown – Black Tea
Steep 8 black tea bags in a heat-safe glass bowl with the one quart of boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove tea bags and squeeze out the liquid from each bag back into the bowl and one Tbsp. vinegar.
Place hard-boiled eggs in the dye and allow to soak until desired color is achieved. For darkest brown, it might take about 8 hours or more.
Whichever method you use, unless you want to be sporting multi-colored fingertips, I’d advise wearing painting or dishwashing gloves when dyeing eggs. And use an apron, too. Remember, if it will dye an egg, it’ll also dye your hands and your clothes.
Handle the eggs with care. Be careful not to crack them during the boiling and dyeing process.
Whichever method you use and whichever color you want to create, the longer eggs stay in the dye, the more color their shells will absorb.
Eggs can remain in the dye, in the fridge, for hours. For darkest shades, leave them in the fridge for 24 hours.
Use the precise amount of vinegar that the recipe calls for. Too little vinegar can cause the dye not to adhere well enough, too much may dissolve the eggshells.
Always use white, distilled vinegar.
After they are dry, you can make your eggs shiny by gently rubbing them with a little vegetable oil and patting them dry.
If hardboiled eggs have been kept in the fridge before and during the dyeing process, colored eggs are edible. They can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week until you’re ready to display or eat them.
Once you get the hang of natural egg dyeing, have fun experimenting with other fruits, vegetables, juices and spices and by combining ingredients to see what other colors you can create.
