Eco-Easter – how to make beautiful Easter eggs using only natural dyes
Easter is coming, and with it the time for colourful Easter eggs! Many people dye their eggs with food dyes, but there is also a natural method that creates beautiful pastel colours without chemical dyes.
Natural egg dyeing is a simple and ecological method that uses natural ingredients – mainly vegetables and spices. The choice is really wide and all you need are eggs, dyeing ingredients and a little patience.
You can dye raw eggs as well as already cooked eggs. The strength of the colour usually depends on how long you dip the egg in the dye and what colour the shell is – the lighter it is, the faster and more beautiful the colour will be. Here is our quick guide to some tried and tested methods for natural dyeing.
1. Dyeing eggs with turmeric
How can you dye eggs yellow? Only with turmeric! Dyeing eggs with turmeric is a quick and easy way to get a beautiful, intense yellow shell colour. How to do it? Prepare the mixture: put water in a pot, add 4-5 tablespoons of turmeric, some salt and vinegar, put the eggs in and boil them for 10 minutes. Let it cool down or leave it in the pot for another 2 hours. That’s it!
2.Dyeing eggs in the onion
Dyeing eggs in onion skins is one of grandma’s most traditional ways of dyeing eggs brown/dark brown. Start collecting the onion skins a few weeks before Easter (it depends on how many onions you use). The more you have, the better! Dry the peels in a bag, don’t let them rot.
Put the onion skins in a pot, put the eggs on top. Then pour cold water over everything, add 2/3 teaspoon vinegar and a little salt, put the rest of the peels on top. Boil everything for 10 minutes. Let the eggs cool in the pot, then they will get a nice dark colour.
Our tip: If you want an ombre effect, take out one egg at a time at certain intervals – the eggs will then have different shades.
3. Dye eggs with spinach
To dye eggshells green, you need fresh spinach. Put the green leaves in the bottom of a pot, pour water into it and bring it to the boil. Add the eggs to the boiling spinach and cook for 15 minutes. Let everything stand overnight!
4.Dye eggs in cabbage
You can dye both blue and purple eggs with red cabbage. How to do it? To get blue Easter eggs, all you need is the red cabbage itself. Place the eggs in a broth of pre-chopped cabbage and a little salt and boil for 10 minutes. Then leave to stand overnight!
If you want purple Easter eggs, don’t pour off the red cabbage broth, but put it in a pot without the leaves, add 3 tablespoons of vinegar and stir thoroughly. In this broth, add the blue eggs that you prepared according to the instructions above. Leave the eggs to soak for another 8 hours.
We must tell you that the effect of dyeing the eggs with cabbage is phenomenal, as each Easter egg has a different colour quality and subtle discolouration. To further enhance the depth of colour, we recommend brushing the eggs with fat at the end, e.g. butter or olive oil.
5. Dyeing eggs in beetroot juice
If they were blue, they must also be … pink! And this unique colour, guaranteed to make your Easter egg stand out, can be achieved with beetroot juice. Simply boil the eggs in beetroot juice with 3 tablespoons of salt and 3 tablespoons of brandy vinegar. The intensity of the colour depends on how long the eggs are in the juice.
The natural colours of the Easter eggs are not enough for you as a decorative element? Then try adding extra decorations to make the egg even more beautiful!
How about a decoration in the form of delicate stripes? Simply place the rubber bands around the eggs according to the desired structure and then prepare them as described above. Here you can choose between rubber bands of different widths, too.
Another method for beautiful, unique Easter eggs is to paint the eggshell with a liquid wax. Once the wax has dried on the egg, carefully place it in a natural colouring solution and let it soak for the desired amount of time. Finally, scrape off the wax and the painted motif remains on the dyed egg.
You can also decorate the Easter eggs with herb leaves, for example parsley or boxwood. To do this, soak the herbs in water and cut an old pair of tights into smaller pieces. Then place a piece of pantyhose on your hand and on top of it an egg and the previously soaked herbs. Then pull the tights tightly over the egg and tie them into a knot. The eggs prepared in this way can be dipped in the natural colours mentioned above.
Simple, isn’t it?
Natural egg dyeing is not only a simple and ecological method, but also great fun for the whole family. The kids will surely be thrilled to see ordinary eggs change into magical, colourful Easter eggs! Let’s not forget that the best and healthiest eggs come from free-range chickens and therefore need to be treated with the best natural dyes you can find…. In your own kitchen.
