By Linda Taaffe

Natural dyes follow old tradition for Easter egg coloring

There’s a collection of common grocery items in most people’s refrigerator crispers, pantry shelves or spice racks that can double during the Easter holiday as natural dyes for boiled eggs.

Red onions, beets, cranberries and cabbage can all turn an egg shell into varying shades of red, violet or blue. Saffron, spinach and coffee will create shades of yellow, green and brown.

Using natural dyes to color eggs is a technique that dates back to the medieval kitchen. A food’s natural dye can be extracted in one of two ways: cold-dipping or boiling.

The first method will create subtle, translucent shades, but it could also leave uneven shading. Boiling the eggs with a natural dye will create a more intense and even color.

Eggs colored with natural dyes may not be suitable for eating.

Cold-dipping

Cold dipping requires boiling the dyes and eggs separately. Once the dyes are cooled and strained, soak the cooked eggs in the cold dyes for 5-10 minutes. Remove eggs, pat dry with paper towel.

Boiling method

If using the boiling method, put raw eggs in a cool pot of water with the dye ingredients. Make sure there’s enough water to cover the top of the eggs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10-20 minutes. The longer the eggs simmer, the more intense the color will become. Rinse eggs in lukewarm water.

Dye recipes:

Each of the following ingredients should be mixed with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar per quart of water or juice.

Red:

Boil four cups of red onion skins for 30 minutes to an hour. You can adjust the shade of red from light to crimson depending on the amount of skins and the soaking time.

Yellow:

Add 2-3 teaspoons of turmeric or saffron to hot water, or boil for more intense color.

Pink:

Soak hard-boiled eggs in cranberry or beet juice.

Purple:

Add violet blossoms to hot water and soak overnight. Lighten the mixture with lemon juice to create lavender.

Blue:

Boil two heads of chopped red cabbage in 3 quarts of water with 8 tablespoons of white vinegar. Soak overnight for a deep royal blue.

Green:

Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to the violet mixture above or boil eggs with spinach.

Lavender: Soak hard-boiled eggs in grape juice.

Pastels: Rub eggshells with blueberries and cranberries.

Beige: Boil 4 cups of yellow onion skins for 30 minutes to an hour. You can adjust the shade by adjusting the amount of skins and the soaking time.

Brown: Boil eggs in 1 quart of coffee or tea.

Information from PastryWiz and Cottonwood designs