New colors for naturally dyed Easter eggs!
A couple of years ago we started coloring Easter eggs the natural way, with vegetable and spice colorings that can be teased out in a few minutes of boiling, steeping and straining. Our first colors were beet-derived pink, turmeric yellow, and blueberry purple-blue.
This year we added two more to our palette: red onion, which gives you a sort of earthy khaki color, and yellow onion, which tints the eggs a marvelous glowy yellow orange.
Here’s how:
Save the papery bits of red onion and yellow onion until you have a generous handful (the papery skins of a two-pound bag of onions should do it). Place each color in its own saucepan with 2.5 Cups water and a teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a lively simmer for 10 minutes. Strain into your dipping container, stir in 2 Tbs white vinegar and you are ready to dip! (For perfect hard-boiled eggs, click here)
And in case you missed it, here are the original three:
Three pots, each filled with 2 Cups water
HOT PINK – 1 large beet, chopped (peel can stay on)
YELLOW 4 Tbs turmeric
VIOLET BLUE – 12 oz frozen blueberries
2 Tbs white vinegar per color
crayons or wax pencils
Put one coloring ingredient in each pot. Bring to a boil, turn off and let steep five minutes. Strain into three separate bowls (removing chunky bits*). Add 2 Tbs vinegar to each bowl. Start blending, dipping and cross-dipping until you achieve the colors you like. Dry in the egg carton and add any decorations you see fit.
Hot, Cheap & Easy 
I wonder how blackberries would compare to blueberries for the violet/lavender effect…. Your eggs are so pretty! 🙂
xo, and Happy Easter to you!!!
Kathryn
Cool – I’ve still got some from a couple of years ago that my Cypriot neighbour made. She told me that they play a game with the eggs, where the idea is tap your opponents egg hard with yours and the person who wins is the one with an uncracked egg (this can be played with 2 or more people) 😉
That sounds like a very fun game! And then you get to eat the spoils of war…
Eggsactly 🙂