Coloring Easter Eggs: Natural Alternatives

An alternative to purchasing an egg coloring kit is to create your own, straight from the kitchen cupboards. Although the color is not as bright, it is an option for anyone wanting to color eggs organically.

Most eggs must be left in natural dye for hours to develop the color you desire. Do not eat these eggs. Boil extra eggs specifically for eating and refrigerate those eggs immediately. Refer to the chart below for what natural product to use in order to get your desired color. In most cases it is necessary to boil the natural product in a small amount of water to produce the dye you need. Strain the dye mixture of all solids and allow the water to cool. Add two to three teaspoons of white vinegar per cup of dye. Submerge the eggs into the dye and allow to set until the desired color is reached. Other products, such as the grape juice or canned blueberries, etc can be used just as they are for the dye. Just place the eggs into them directly.

Pink	Beets or cranberries or Soak hard boiled eggs in deep red fruit juice. or Soak in frozen raspberries that have been pureed.
Red	Red is a difficult color to create in your kitchen. Save red onion skins and boil with eggs for 1 hour. If you would like a deeper red, remove from stove and leave egg in water overnight.
Purple	Soak hard boiled eggs in purple juice, such as grape juice.
Yellow	Turmeric spice or Ground cumin or Yellow apple peels or Orange peels (pale yellow)
Green	Boil eggs with spinach leaves.
Blue	Soak in canned blueberries or pureed frozen blueberries. or Red cabbage leaves
Brown	Strong brewed coffee or Chili Powder or Walnut shells or Yellow onion skins (rich brownish-orange)

If you prefer not to dye your eggs, try these simple creative ideas, but do not eat these eggs:

• Using glue that dries clear, decoupage or wrap colorful string around the egg.
• Decorate hard boiled egg with markers, stamps, and/or stickers.
• Glue craft jewels on hard boiled eggs or use glitter glue for the look of jewels.
• Be creative with “puffy” paints.

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