Easter eggs, naturally

Colouring eggs naturally for Easter can be a fun and eco-friendly alternative to using artificial food colors. You can use common kitchen ingredients and natural dyes to create beautiful and vibrant eggs. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Red/Pink – Beets

• Ingredients: 1-2 medium-sized beets, water, vinegar

• Instructions:

  1. Grate the beets or chop them into small pieces.

  2. Boil the beets in about 2 cups of water for 20-30 minutes until the water turns dark red or pink.

  3. Strain the beet pieces out of the liquid and add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar (this helps set the color).

  4. Let the dye cool before dipping your eggs. The longer you leave the eggs in the dye, the deeper the color.

2. Yellow – Turmeric

• Ingredients: 2 tablespoons of turmeric powder, water, vinegar

• Instructions:

  1. Mix 2 tablespoons of turmeric with 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil.

  2. Add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar.

  3. Let it cool before dipping your eggs in the dye. For a bright yellow, leave them in the dye for a few hours.

3. Blue/Purple – Red Cabbage

• Ingredients: Half a head of red cabbage, water, vinegar

• Instructions:

  1. Chop the cabbage into small pieces and boil it in 2 cups of water for 30 minutes.

  2. Strain the cabbage out and add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar to the liquid.

  3. The color will vary depending on the pH level, so for a blue hue, keep the dye slightly acidic (add more vinegar), and for purple, use less vinegar.

4. Orange – Yellow Onion Skins

• Ingredients: Yellow onion skins, water, vinegar

• Instructions:

  1. Collect the skins from about 5-6 yellow onions and place them in a pot with 2 cups of water.

  2. Boil for 30-45 minutes until the water turns a rich amber color.

  3. Strain out the onion skins and add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar to the dye.

  4. Cool the dye before dipping eggs for a lovely orange hue.

5. Green – Spinach

• Ingredients: A large handful of spinach, water, vinegar

• Instructions:

  1. Boil the spinach in 2 cups of water for 15-20 minutes.

  2. Strain the spinach out and add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar to the liquid.

  3. Let it cool before dipping eggs for a subtle green color.

6. Brown – Coffee or Tea

• Ingredients: 2 cups of strong brewed coffee or tea, vinegar

• Instructions:

  1. Brew a strong cup of coffee or tea.

  2. Add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar to the brew.

  3. Dip your eggs in the liquid for 10-20 minutes, depending on the depth of brown you desire.

7. Pink/Red – Pomegranate or Cranberry Juice

• Ingredients: Pomegranate or cranberry juice, vinegar

• Instructions:

  1. Use natural juice (without added sugar) from pomegranate or cranberries.

  2. Add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar to the juice.

  3. Dip your eggs in the juice for a few hours for a soft pinkish hue.

General Tips:

• Boiling the eggs: Boil your eggs first and let them cool before dyeing them.

• Vinegar: Adding vinegar helps the dye to adhere to the egg and also intensifies the color.

• Longer soak = richer color: The longer you leave the eggs in the dye, the deeper the color will be.

• Extra effects: You can create different effects by wrapping eggs in onion skins or leaves and then dyeing them to leave beautiful imprints.

Using natural dyes gives your eggs a lovely, soft palette of colors. Enjoy your natural Easter eggs!