At Easter time we color eggs,
Shades of yellow, red and blue.
We make them pretty as can be,
We’ll make some for me and some for you.

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This Easter, why not color your eggs using nature’s very own dyes? It’s possible to come up with a great number of colors using natural ingredients that can easily be found in almost any kitchen.

Pale Red: Fresh beets or cranberries, frozen raspberries

Orange: Yellow onion skins

Light yellow: Orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed or ground cumin

Yellow: Ground turmeric

Pale green: Spinach leaves

Green-gold: Yellow Delicious apple peels

Blue: Canned blueberries or red cabbage leaves

Beige to brown: Strong brewed coffee
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To dye the perfect Easter eggs the natural way, here’s what to do:

Put eggs in a single layer in a pan. Pour water in pan until the eggs are covered.

Add about a teaspoon of vinegar.

Add the natural dye appropriate to the color you want your eggs to be. (The more eggs you are dying at a time, the more dye you will need to use.)

Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove the substance you used to color the eggs. Put eggs in a bowl.

If you want your eggs to be a darker shade, cover them with the dye and let them stand overnight in the refrigerator.
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Onion Skin Eggs

One of my favorite egg dyes is with onion skins! Gather lots of onion skins; the dry outer layers. (try to get a good variety of colors–I like plain brown best; red onion also makes a good color) Gently wrap them around*raw* eggs and hold them in place with rubber bands. Hard boil the eggs like usual. Unwrap them and WOW! Beautiful colors and designs! You may polish with vegetable oil for a nice gloss. This is a natural dye and the eggs are still quite edible. Happy eggs-ploration!

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