I have ALWAYS wanted to dye eggs using natural ingredients, not food dyes, but I’ve always been too lazy to try. So this year I decided to give it a shot. I only attempted 3 colors, though I would have loved to try red and green as well. But, like I said, too lazy. Plus, I’d rather eat my beets and spinach, thank you very much.
Of course, I did some research, what foods would result in what colors, and chose the stuff that I already had on hand:
- Red Cabbage = BLUE
- Yellow Onion Skins = ORANGE
- Ground Turmeric = YELLOW
For the Red Cabbage, I roughly chopped half a cabbage and added it to a saucepan with about 3 cups of water. I brought it to a boil, removed from heat, and then let it steep for about 15 minutes. I removed all the cabbage with a slotted spoon and poured the now-purple water over my hard-boiled eggs. It sat in the refrigerator overnight.
For the Yellow Onion Skins, I peeled off the outer layer of the onions (about 10 small onions) and placed them in a saucepan with about 3 cups of water. I brought it to a boil, removed from heat, and then let steep for about 15 minutes. I removed all of the skins with a slotted spoon and poured the now-yellow water over the hard-boiled eggs. It sat in the refrigerator overnight.
For the Turmeric, I used about 1-2 Tbsp in 3 cups of water. In hindsight, that was probably too much. I’m also not a fan of the smell of turmeric, but whatever. I let the water come to a boil and then just poured all the water over the hard-boiled eggs and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
I was hoping for more vibrant colors, and upon inspection, I realized I would have had brighter colors had I taken one extra step. You see, I boil my eggs in water with some white vinegar added (it helps the shells peel off easier). Apparently, it also adds a coating on the shells. Had I noticed that, I could have rubbed it off and the color would have soaked in and adhered better to the shell, instead of the coating that just rubbed off along with the color. Note taken for next time. But I still love the results, and will definitely be doing this again.