How to dye eggs using plants and spices!

How to dye eggs using plants and spices!

It is that time of year again: time to boil up a dozen eggs to dye with your kids! Would you like to try something other than buying the usual egg dye at the grocery store? How about showing your children how to dye eggs with natural dyes derived from plants and spices!

Combine a quart of water and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar in a medium pot.

Bring it to a boil, add your dye ingredients (as seen below), and lower the heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Let the mixture cool.

Using a strainer drain off the liquid dye from the pot. Then place the boiled eggs into the dye and let sit for at least 30 minutes or a few hours, depending on how deep you would like the color to be.

 *You can cut the measurements above in half if you would like. Mason jars are great to use as a container for dyeing eggs. White eggs will give you a purer color, but using brown eggs might make it a little interesting! The longer you soak the eggs, the brighter the color!

Here are some tried and true dyes to try, but you can use your imagination and try other plants as well.

In the water and vinegar mixture, add the choices below and simmer for 30 minutes.

          4 cups of chopped beets for pink eggs.

          4 cups of yellow onion skins for orange eggs.

          3 tablespoons of Turmeric for yellow eggs.

          3 cups of purple or red cabbage for light blue eggs.

As with all dyes, they can stain your clothes and countertops, so take precautions with using natural dyes as well.

The science behind the vinegar in dyes:

Eggshells are made of calcium carbonate, and they have a protective coating on the outside that keeps bacteria from entering the egg and reduces moisture loss from within. By washing the eggs with soapy water before dyeing and by using the vinegar, it breaks down this coating and allows the dye to penetrate the shell. You can also use 1 teaspoon of alum in place of the tablespoon of vinegar to set the dye.

Have fun dyeing eggs!