Use natural egg dye to make colorful eggs at Easter or any other festive occasion without worrying about the side effects from artificially colored dyes. By taking colors from nature, such as berry juices and herbs, you can create a subtle palette of colors for your eggs. The process is basically the same no matter what colorstuff, or dye material, you use.
You can achieve the following colors using the items noted, and you can experiment with other items as desired to find the perfect hue.
- Blue: Purple grape juice concentrate, canned blueberry sauce, boiled red cabbage leaves
- Lavender: Hibiscus flowers, less grape juice concentrate, violet blossoms, Red Zinger tea bags
- Pink: Beets or pickled beet juice, cranberries, raspberries
- Red: Canned cherries, pomegranate juice, boiled red onion skins
- Green: Spinach, chlorophyll in liquid form
- Brown: Dill seeds, coffee or black tea, boiled walnut shells
- Yellow: Saffron, carrot tops, orange peels
- Orange: Yellow onion skins, curry powder, carrots, paprika
Only dye hard boiled eggs that have been washed gently with soap to remove any oils that would keep dye from sticking to the eggshell.
Here are the basic steps to using natural Easter egg dye to color eggs:
- Place dyestuff in a small pot and add water to cover the stuff by about an inch.
- Bring water to a boil and simmer gently for 15-60 minutes until achieving the desired color.
- Remove from the burner and pour through a sieve into a glass measuring cup.
- Add 2 teaspoons white vinegar per cup of dye mixture.
- Pour dye and vinegar mix into a stainless steel or glass bowl.
- Gently place eggs into the dye liquid, allowing them to sit for at least an hour.
- Remove eggs and dry on rack over paper towels.
Be careful not to over-handle the eggs after dyeing; their shells are weakened by the vinegar. As you practice
with natural egg dye, you’ll find other materials to use for coloring the eggs and get a better feel for how much material to use and how long to let the eggs soak to get specific colors. After dyeing the eggs, you can buff them with a little mineral oil to add sheen and brightness.
By Maria T. Miller