Your kitchen is filled with safe, natural dyes. Common food items such as red cabbage, onion skins, and coffee can be used to transform plain white eggs into colourful Easter gems; non-toxic and fun to prepare! Kids will especially love discovering all the different colours they can create—let them experiment using hard-boiled eggs and bowls of cold dyes.

The process is not as labour-intensive as it may read on first pass – for my initial experience making these I was in a galley-sized kitchen and it was completely manageable!

Materials

To complete this project you will need:

• Natural dyeing agents (red cabbage, turmeric, onion skins, beets, and/or coffee – see quantities below)
• Eggs (raw or hard-boiled)
• Three-quart pot (or larger)
• White vinegar
• Strainer
• Small bowls
• Large metal spoon
• Paper towels
• Drying rack

Dye recipes

Select a dyeing agent from the list below based on your desired colour (see guide at the end of this article), and place it in the pot using the amount listed.

• Red-cabbage dye: 4 cups chopped cabbage
• Turmeric dye: 3 tablespoons turmeric
• Onion-skin dye: 4 cups onion skins (skins of about 12 onions)
• Beet dye: 4 cups chopped beets
• Coffee dye: 1 quart strong black coffee (instead of water)

Add 1 quart of water and 2 tablespoons white vinegar to pot; if more water is necessary to cover ingredients, proportionally increase the amount of vinegar.

Bring to a boil, and lower heat. Allow the ingredients to simmer for 30 minutes.

Strain dye into a bowl, and let cool.

Cold-dipping method

With this method, the eggs and the ingredients for the dye are boiled separately. Using a metal spoon, lower cooled hard-boiled eggs into a bowl of dye, and let them soak for as little as 5 seconds or as long as overnight, depending on the depth of colour you desire.

Remove eggs with spoon, pat dry with paper towels, and let dry on a wire rack.

The cold-dipping method produces subtle, translucent shades, but can result in an uneven colour unless the eggs are rotated vigilantly while in the dye.

For hollow eggs that will last indefinitely, cold-dip raw eggs, then blow them out after they are dyed.

Boiled method

This method involves boiling the eggs with the dye; the heat allows the dye to saturate the shells, resulting in intense, uniform colours.

Set raw eggs in a pot of strained dye; bring to a boil for the amount of time specified in our colour glossary.  Remove and dry eggs as with the cold-dipping method.

Colour guide

Natural dyes can sometimes produce unexpected results, but that’s all part of the fun! Use the following guide (source: msliving.com) to help you achieve the desired colours.

• Pale Yellow: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution for 30 minutes.
• Deep Gold: Boil eggs in turmeric solution for 30 minutes.
• Orange: Soak eggs in room-temperature onion-skin solution for 30 minutes.
• Sienna: Boil eggs in onion-skin solution for 30 minutes.
• Light Brown: Soak eggs in room-temperature black coffee for 30 minutes.
• Dark, Rich Brown: Boil eggs in black coffee for 30 minutes.
• Light Pink: Soak eggs in room-temperature beet solution for 30 minutes.
• Light Blue: Soak eggs in room-temperature cabbage solution for 30 minutes.
• Royal Blue: Soak eggs in room-temperature cabbage solution overnight.

Shelby Worts is a licensed and registered doctor of naturopathic medicine, in practice at the StoneTree Clinic in downtown Collingwood. As a naturopathic doctor, Shelby’s medical training includes a focus on preventive medicine as well as using safe and effective techniques to restore health to your body. Learn more at shelbywortsnd.com .