Natural Easter Egg Dyes

How To Make Natural Easter Egg Dyes

Give the Easter bunny a run for his money by dyeing Easter eggs the natural way, using common foods and flowers.

 

Natural Easter Eggs

 

  • Start with hard-cooked (boiled) eggs and refrigerate until ready to use.  Eggs that are too fresh are difficult to peel.  The fresher the eggs, the harder it will be to peel them because the white membrane is just not mature enough.  Hard boiling farm fresh eggs will invariably lead to eggs that are difficult to peel.  Eggs need to be at least three (3) days old to peel well.  Learn how to cook Perfect Boiled (hard-cooked) Eggs.
  • The longer you soak the eggs in the following dye liquids (of your choice), the more intense the colors will be.
  • If desired, before dyeing the eggs, draw shapes, pictures or inspiring words on them with crayons or a piece of wax.  The wax won’t absorb the color so the designs will show through.  Using a crayon, simply draw a design onto your eggs and then dye as you would any other Easter egg.  Your crayon design will be accentuated by your choice of dye!
  • Rubber bands are all you need to make tie-dyed eggs.  Use a collection of different sized rubber bands.  Wrap the rubber bands, one at a time, around the eggs.  Make sure to leave some of the egg shell exposed so it can be dyed.
  • Once the eggs are dyed to the color you like, remove them from the water and let them dry.  Once dried completely, pull the rubber bands off to reveal your banded design.

 

Natural Easter Egg Dye

 

Also learn how to make Tea Infused Eggs (Marbleized Eggs) by Ellen Easton.

Sometimes called Tea Eggs (because they are cooked in tea) and also called Marbled Eggs (because of the marble look when shelled).  In the Orient, tea eggs are often sold by street vendors as a snack or appetizer in Asia.  These Tea Infused Marble Eggs would make an interesting alternative to the usual hard-cooked eggs served for afternoon tea and also for the Easter holiday.

 


Natural Easter Eggs DyesHow to make natural egg dyes:

Wash hard-cooked (boiled) eggs in warm soapy water to remove any oily residue that may impede the color from adhering to the eggs.  Let eggs cool before attempting to dye.

You need to use your own judgment about exactly how much of each dye stuff to use.  Except for spices, place a handful (or two or three handfuls) of a dyestuff in a saucepan.

Add tap water to come at least one inch above the dye stuff.  NOTE: This will be about 1 cup of water for each handful of dyestuff.

Bring the water just to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low.  Let simmer about 15 minutes or up to an hour until you like the color obtained. Keep in mind that dyed eggs will not get as dark as the color in the pan.  Remove the pan from the heat.

Pour mixture into a liquid measuring cup.  Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of white vinegar for each cup of strained dye liquid.  Pour the mixture into a bowl or jar that is deep enough to completely cover the eggs you want to dye.

Use a slotted spoon to lower the eggs into the hot liquid.  Leave the eggs in the water until you like the color.  NOTE: Allow the egg to sit in the tea for several hours or overnight.  The longer the egg soaks, the deeper the final color will be.  If you plan to eat the eggs be sure to do this step in the refrigerator.

When eggs are dyed to the color you desire, lift the eggs out with the slotted spoon.  Let them dry on a rack or drainer.  NOTE: An egg carton works nicely as a drying rack.  Be careful to handle the eggs gently and minimally as some of the colors can easily be rubbed off before the egg has dried.

For a textured look, dab the still wet egg with a sponge.

Eggs colored with natural dyes have a dull finish and are not glossy.  After they are dry, you can rub the eggs with cooking oil or mineral oil to give them a soft sheen.

Natural Color Dye Chart:



ColorItems to Dye with
BlueCanned Blueberries
Red Cabbage Leaves (boiled)
Purple Grape Juice
Brown or BeigeStrong Coffee
Instant Coffee
Black Walnut Shells (boiled)
Black Tea
Brown or GoldDill Seeds
Brown OrangeChili Powder
GoldTurmeric
GreenSpinach Leaves (Boiled)
Liquid Chlorophyll
Greenish YellowYellow Delicious Apple Peels (boiled)
GreyPurple or red grape juice or beet juice
LavenderSmall Quantity of Purple Grape Juice
Violet Blossoms plus 2 tsp Lemon Juice
Red Zinger Tea
OrangeYellow Onion Skins (boiled)
Carrots
Paprika
PinkBeets
Cranberries or Juice
Raspberries
Red Grape Juice
Juice from Pickled Beets
RedPomegranate juice
Canned Cherries (with syrup)
Raspberries
Cranberries
Lots of Red Onions Skins (boiled)
Violet or PurpleViolet Blossoms
Hibiscus tea
Small Quantity of Red Onions Skins (boiled)
Red Wine
YellowOrange or Lemon Peels (boiled)
Carrot Tops (boiled)
Chamomile Tea
Celery Seed (boiled)
Green tea
Ground Cumin (boiled)
Ground Turmeric (boiled) or Saffron

 

Categories:

Cooking Articles    Easter    Egg Recipes    Kid Friendly   

Comments and Reviews

One Response to “Natural Easter Egg Dyes”

  1. Doddie Walker

    I’m looking forward to getting ideas and recipes.

    Reply

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