If you'd rather not buy a commercial Paas Easter Egg dye kit to dye your eggs this Easter and are looking for a natural and fun alternative, here's how! Long before the Paas company and their competitors created dye tablets and packaged egg-dying kits, people dyed their eggs the natural way using extracts they made themselves.
Color | Ingredients | Preparation |
Blue | Red cabbage (1/4 head or more) and/or concentrated grape juice |
Chop 1/4 head of red cabbage, add to 2 cups of boiling water.
Simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, let cool. Concentrated grape juice: just thaw it; use undiluted. Or mix both for extra strength. |
Blue #2 | 1 pound of frozen blueberries | Crush the blueberries or puree them in a blender or food procesor |
Brown | Ground fresh coffee beans | Add 2 Tablespoons of dill seed to 1 cup of boiling water; simmer for 20 minutes over medium-low heat, let cool. |
Brown-gold | Dill seed | Add 2 Tablespoons of dill seed to 1 cup of boiling water; simmer for 20 minutes over medium-low heat, let cool. |
Green | 1 bunch fresh Spinach leaves | Chop the leaves and simmer them for 20 minutes over medium low heat in just enough water to cover them and keep from burning (you want it concentrated). |
Lavender | 1 cup purple grape juice 1 tea bag. 2 tablespoons lemon juice |
Simmer all 3 ingredients together for 10 minutes. Cool. |
Orange | Yellow onion skins, add pureed carrot, chili powder and paprika | Add the outer skins from 3 large yellow onions to 1 cup of boiling water; add 2 pureed carrots, 1 tablespoon chili powder and 1 Tablespoon paprika simmer for 20 minutes over medium-low heat, let cool. |
Purple / pink | 3 large fresh beets (the roots, not the leaves) or pickled beet juice (borscht works!) I've heard violet blossoms from your lawn also work. | Slice the beets and simmer them for 30 minutes over medium-low heat, again with just enough water to keep from burning! |
Purple | Blueberries (1 pint) | Add one pint of blueberries (fresh or frozen or canned with syrup) to just enough water to cover the berries (and make at least 1 cup of broth. Boil for 5 to 10 minutes over medium-low heat, let cool, strain out the skins. |
Purple | Dark red wine is also said to work | |
Red | 2 cups of grated or finely chopped beets. Others that work are
cherries, pomegranate juice and to a lesser extent, raspberries. |
I use the grater attachment on my food processor. |
Red (dark red) | Red onion skins | Add the outer skins from 3 large red onions to 1 cup of boiling water; simmer for 20 minutes over medium-low heat, let cool. |
Yellow | Turmeric - makes the brightest yellow. For a pale yellow, try these: Cumin, Paprika OR Saffron. Others that work are Orange or Lemon Peels or Green Tea | Add 3 tablespoons of turmeric (or other herb, just a few sprigs of saffron) to 1 cup of boiling water. Simmer for 10 minutes, then stir and let cool to room temperature. |
Note: DON'T use any aluminum pots, pans or utensils!
You will also need 1 small (pint) bottle of plain white vinegar; any type
(apple, or other) as long as it is clear and not colored.
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