LIFESTYLE

How To Make Natural Easter Egg Dye

before you start...

Before starting the dying process you will need to cook your eggs – this is optional and you could use fresh eggs but I find that it is actually easier to handle the eggs when cooked, plus it will be easier to preserve them as you can keep hard boiled eggs in a fridge for up to one week.

I also recommend to make sure you are ready for the dying process. This process can be messy and stain surfaces and tools – so make sure you use metal as much as possible as it can be easily cleaned, and lay newspaper or any other covering for your surfaces.

Prep Time15 min
Cook Time15 min
Total Time30 min
Ready in5 hours
Serving Size9

Ingredients

9 Hard Boiled Eggs
1 Pair of tights
Fresh leaves & flowers of your choice (I used Dandelions & Cow Parsley leaves form the garden!)

DARK DYE:

1/2 Cup of Hibiscus
Tap water
1 Tbsp. white vinegar

YELLOW DYE:

2 Tbsp. Turmeric
Tap water
1 Tbsp. white vinegar

BROWN DYE:

1/4 cup of dried or 1/2 cup of fresh Elderberries
Tap water
1 Tbsp. White vinegar

Method

DARK EGG DYE:

Fill a medium saucepan with water, add the hibiscus and boil for 15 minutes. Stir in vinegar. Your dye is ready to use.

YELLOW EGG DYE:

Fill a medium saucepan with water, add the turmeric and boil for 15 minutes. Stir in vinegar. Your dye is ready to use.

BROWN EGG DYE:

Fill a medium saucepan with water, add the elderberries and boil for 15 minutes. Stir in vinegar. Your dye is ready to use.

FINISHING THE PROCESS

Take a pair of tights and cut strips of about 10 cm . This is what you’ll be using to tie the eggs in.

Take an egg moisten the area you are going to put the leaf on to act as a “glue”, put a leaf or flower on it (Put it face down), wrap it tightly and make a tight knot.

Take each pan off the heat and add 3 eggs per pan – ( you could transfer the dye liquid in a glass jar if you prefer but I left mine in the pans).

Let sit for 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on how strong you would like your eggs’ shade to be – I left mine 5 hours as I wanted a deep colouration. Check the eggs every 15 minutes to make sure that they are all still submerged, at this stage you might need to turn them around with metallic tongues.

Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the eggs from the dye and set them in a shallow bowl lined with kitchen towel to absorb any of the excess dye.

Keep your eggs in the refrigerator just as you would any hard-boiled eggs! And enjoy – Happy Easter!!!

Enjoy… Bon appetit! ♥♥♥