Magnificent decorations, lots of delicacies and unforgettable moments with our loved ones – we love Easter and are already looking forward to the holidays! Whether as a decorative table decoration or hidden in the garden - Easter would only be half as beautiful without beautiful and colorfully decorated Easter eggs. Coloring eggs is fun and a great way to develop our creativity and make something with our children. Nowadays most of us go for the classic egg colors from the supermarket. Although these provide really cool results, they often consist of questionable ingredients, some of which can be harmful to your health. And that's exactly why we're going to forego the synthetic colors this year and instead dye our Easter eggs naturally. Whether red cabbage, beetroot, spinach, turmeric or even red wine - there are lots of great foods that are ideal for this. Would you also like to do without chemicals? Then read on and find out how you can make the natural colors yourself and use them to conjure up beautiful Easter eggs.
Coloring Easter eggs naturally: How does it work?
Nature can be pretty amazing. Did you ever think you could use red cabbage to color your Easter eggs blue? Or with turmeric in yellow? There are many natural ingredients that you could use to dye your Easter eggs naturally. The best thing is that you most likely already have most of the food in your fridge or basement. The natural colors don't seem as bright asthe egg colors on the shop, but the result is still visible. And most importantly – it’s really fun.
No matter whether you want to color the eggs with onion skins, turmeric, red cabbage or spinach - the procedure for all ingredients is the same. Follow our instructions and nothing will stand in the way of your beautiful Easter eggs.
- Before you dye the Easter eggs naturally, they should first be pre-cooked.
- Chop or grate the ingredients as small as possible.
- To make the stock, heat around 450-500 ml of water in a large pot and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
- Add the chopped ingredients to the boiling water and simmer for about 30-40 minutes. The longer they are boiled, the more intense the colors become.
- Allow the mixture to cool and then sieve through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Prepare the stock in several small bowls as desired and place the eggs in them.
- The same applies here: the longer the eggs are in the broth, the more intense the color becomes.
- Let the eggs dry on a kitchen towel.
- To really show off your natural colors, rub the Easter eggs with a little oil after they have dried.
- And that's it - it's that easy to dye your Easter eggs.
Dye Easter eggs red, of course
After explaining to you how to dye your Easter eggs naturally, we will now tell you which natural materials produce which colors. Beetroot is the absolute classic for beautiful red eggs. Mallow tea, red onion peels or apple tree bark would also be an alternative. To make it easier for the dye to get into the dye broth, you should chop the beetroot as small as possible. Depending on how intense the result should be, use three to four beetroot tubers and let them simmer for at least 40 minutes.
Blue Easter eggs with red cabbage or blueberries
Red cabbage and blueberries not only taste delicious, but are ideal for naturally coloring our Easter eggs. If you want to use red cabbage for this, cut it as small as possible. Blueberries, on the other hand, are best squeezed. For more intense egg colors, simmer the ingredients for 1 hour and then let them come to room temperature for another 1 hour.
Naturally dye Easter eggs in orange
Next time you cook dinner, don't throw away the onion skins! Just a handful of them is enough to color your Easter eggs golden brown or orange. Again, the more onion peels you use, the more intense the end result will be. Alternatively, you could also use marigold flowers or carrots. For a bright orange yellow, add around 300 grams of finely chopped carrots to a liter of water and let the mixture steep for 40-45 minutes.
With turmeric you can literally make your Easter eggs shine. To achieve an intense and bright yellow, add around 15-20 grams of turmeric powder to a liter of water and let the brew simmer for 10-15 minutes. To prevent it from sticking to the egg, make sure the turmeric powder is completely dissolved. Then place the eggs in the broth for 10-15 minutes and you're done - it's so easy to dye your Easter eggs naturally with turmeric!
Fresh greens with spinach or parsley
Would you like to dye your Easter eggs naturally green? Then you would be well advised to add spinach or parsley. To do this, cover about 350 grams of it with water and let the mixture simmer for 40-50 minutes. For a more intense color, place the eggs in the stock for at least 30 minutes.
Coloring eggs with red wine
And here's a great idea for all wine lovers! With red wine you can achieve a deep and shiny purple. For best results, use a good wine and let the eggs cook in it for 10-15 minutes. And the best part? The Easter eggs will smell like your favorite drink afterwards.
Coloring Easter eggs naturally: Helpful tips at a glance
To ensure that everything goes smoothly with the naturally colored eggs, we have a few helpful tips that you should know.
- Since the color residue from some foods is difficult to remove, it is best to use old pots.
- To avoid uneven discoloration, first wash the boiled eggs with a sponge cloth.
- The natural colors look best on white eggs.
- To ensure that the paint sticks well, always add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the broth.
