Natural Dye Easter Eggs!

I LOVE finding interesting articles online. THANKS AUNT DONNA for sending this to me! This article was on What’s cooking America. Every year we use different items like the follow list to dye our eggs. Looking forward to the weekend to do it again. 🙂

As most of you know, Elwyn is Anaphylaxis to Red Dye – Easter when she was about 15 months old, I fed her jelly beans and she has a reaction that sent us to the hospital when her heart having to be restarted among other terrible things because of the dyes that I fed her. We have converted the entire house to dye-free and it helps my 3 amigos as well (Autism and PTSD & ADHD can also be effected by dyes and processed foods as well). 

How to make natural egg dyes:

• Wash hard-cooked (boiled) eggs in warm soapy water to remove any oily residue that may impede the color from adhering to the eggs. Let eggs cool before attempting to dye.
• You need to use your own judgment about exactly how much of each dye stuff to use. Except for spices, place a handful (or two or three handfuls) of a dyestuff in a saucepan.
• Add tap water to come at least one inch above the dye stuff. NOTE: This will be about 1 cup of water for each handful of dyestuff.
• Bring the water just to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Let simmer about 15 minutes or up to an hour until you like the color obtained. Keep in mind that dyed eggs will not get as dark as the color in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat.
• Pour mixture into a liquid measuring cup. Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of white vinegar for each cup of strained dye liquid. Pour the mixture into a bowl or jar that is deep enough to completely cover the eggs you want to dye.
• Use a slotted spoon to lower the eggs into the hot liquid. Leave the eggs in the water until you like the color. NOTE: Allow the egg to sit in the tea for several hours or overnight. The longer the egg soaks, the deeper the final color will be. If you plan to eat the eggs be sure to do this step in the refrigerator.
• When eggs are dyed to the color you desire, lift the eggs out with the slotted spoon. Let them dry on a rack or drainer.NOTE: An egg carton works nicely as a drying rack. Be careful to handle the eggs gently and minimally as some of the colors can easily be rubbed off before the egg has dried.
• For a textured look, dab the still wet egg with a sponge.
• Eggs colored with natural dyes have a dull finish and are not glossy. After they are dry, you can rub the eggs with cooking oil or mineral oil to give them a soft sheen.

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