Growing up, my family and I used to dye eggs every Easter celebration. Unfortunately we used artificial colors from the store, which are toxic to the human body or the environment.
This year I’ve tried to use food to color my eggs. I learned that you can achieve vivid colors by using the natural beauty of fruits, vegetables and spices. It was a great learning experience and I highly recommend it as as natural alternative to using artificial fake colors. Though it will take a little more time than your basic Easter egg dye, you will find its worth the extra time. It was so exciting watching the eggs turn into beautiful but edible art pieces.
You’ll need:
2 cups of water for each dye.
2 tbsp of vinegar
2 cups of blueberries fresh or frozen (for grey blue color)
1o eggs (white or brown depending on the preferred color)
Handful of red onion skins
2 tbsp hibiscus petals (for purple/red eggs)
cheese cloth
Method:
Hardboil your 10 eggs (about 8 minutes)
Cook the blueberries and the hibiscus petals in water for about 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat. Strain the liquid into glass jars or keep the ingredients in the liquid for a rustic look and let cool to room temperature. Add 2 tbsp of white wine vinegar.
Place the eggs into the jars, submerging each egg completely and store in fridge until it reaches an appealing color. Leave eggs in the dye longer for deeper colors (about 20 hours).
If you prefer an even more rustic uneven look prepare the eggs by wrapping them in onion skins and then wrapping them in cheese cloth. I prefer the red onion skins because it matches with the blueberries and hibiscus very well but you can use yellow or white onion skins as well depending on which color tones you are looking for. Please be aware that egg dyeing with foods, spices etc. is a very delicate process and depending on different factors you’ll be able to achieve unique looks and color tones.
Other color options:
Brown: Coffee
Light Green: Green Tea
Yellow: Turmeric
Blue: Red Cabbage, Grape Juice
Blue-Grey: Blueberries
Orange: Paprika, yellow onion skins
Pink: Beets, Cranberry Juice
Purple: Hibiscus, Red Wine