With the upcoming Easter holiday, many families will be off to their local Big Box store to get their egg dying kits. I remember dying eggs the night before the “big day” when I was little. If you come from a large family like mine, there were a lot of eggs to boil in preparation. I will say, that there are some better ways to prep your eggs and dye them. I have included two links that you can use to get a more “natural color egg” and the step by step process. In my personal opinion these eggs look beautiful. Looking at the ingredients below, many of which you have right in your refrigerator or panty and a fun way to expose your kids or yourself to something new.
Color Chart:
Purple Cabbage: (makes blue on white eggs, green on brown eggs)
Red Onion Skins: (makes lavender or red)
Yellow Onion Skins: (makes orange on white eggs, rusty red on brown eggs)
Ground Turmeric: (makes yellow)
Red Zinger Tea Bags: (makes lavender)
Beets: (makes pink on white eggs, maroon on brown eggs)
Egg Preparation:
I can go either way with boiling or using a steamer, but the key is not to use super fresh eggs. You need them about a week old. Otherwise, it is a royal pain to try and remove the shell to eat them later. It is all about the egg membrane, and such. So, in a nutshell, buy them at the grocery store, not from the farm if you want to have some egg left after you peel them.
Put the eggs in a pot (not crowded) and cover with cold water and turn the stove on high until the water comes to a complete boil. Turn off the heat and cover with a tight fitting lid and let them sit for 30 minutes. Drain the water and cover with cold water and let them cool for about 30 minutes again. I usually put them in the frig at this stage and forego the cooling stage in water.
Once cool, let the decorating begin!!!
Let me know your ideas for decorating eggs or send me pictures of what you have done and I will post.
Happy crafting and Happy Easter.