Spinach and Easter Eggs? Why not?
Dye Easter Eggs with Fun Foods from the Kitchen
Popeye loves spinach, and so will you when you soak your eggs to a lovely pastel green in spinach juice. Beets, oranges, carrots and coffee - raid the kitchen and try out some of nature's natural dyes. The process will take longer than commercial dyes, but if you have the time, natural dyes can be fun.
How to Work with Natural Dyes
We found many opinions on how to get the best results from natural dyes, so we have compiled the dyeing techniques natural dye "experts" seem to agree work best.
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Choosing your Dyeing Pot
Everyone who works with natural dyes does seems to agree about the type of pot to use: an enamel or teflon-coated pot. Tin, iron or aluminum pots can change the color of the dye.
Preparing your Eggs
- Keep eggs refrigerated before boiling.
- Wash your hands before handling the eggs.
- Wash and rinse eggs before dyeing to remove any coating that may prevent the dye from taking.
- If you want to keep the eggs, boil them for three hours. If the eggs don't crack, the contents inside the eggs will eventually dry inside the shell.
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Basic Dyeing Guideline
As a basic guideline, combine up to four cups of vegetables per 1 quart of water, but feel free to experiment for color intensity
The Two Methods of Natural Dyeing
- Cold Dip Dyeing
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The cold-dip method produces soft, translucent shades. Here's how it works.
- Boil the eggs and dyeing ingredients separately.
- Let the dye cool, then strain out the dyeing ingredients.
- Return the dye to the pot and dip the eggs in the dye for 5 to 10 minutes
- Lay the eggs out to dry on paper towels.
- To avoid uneven coloring, continuously rotate the eggs.
- Hot Dip Dyeing
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The hot-dip method produces darker colors. Here's how it works.
- Boil the eggs and the dyeing ingredients together. As the eggs roll around in the hot water, they take on a more uniform color.
- The basic formula is: 8 eggs / 2 tablespoons of white vinegar / 1 quart of water
- Place eggs in pot and add water until the level is at least 1 inch above the eggs.
- Add natural dye ingredients
- Bring to a rolling boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water.
Colors from nature
Pale Red: Fresh beets, cranberries, raspberries if they're frozen
Orange: Yellow onion skins
Light yellow: Orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed, ground cumin
Pale green: Spinach leaves
Green-gold: Yellow apple peels
Blue: Canned blueberries, red cabbage leaves
Beige to brown: Strong brewed coffee
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Paper and Eggs |